birch trumpet
The birch trumpet (Norwegian: neverlur, Swedish: näverlur, Latvian: tās̆u taure, Lithuanian: ragas, daudytė, Finnish: tuohitorvi, Estonian: karjapasun) is a type of natural trumpet made of spruce covered with birch bark, known in Norway, Sweden, Finland, England, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Estonia. Even cruder and less durable versions were made of plain birch bark. They are associated with the early European Chalet culture, where it was presumably used to intimidate predators, frighten supernatural enemies, and convene council meetings. • Illustration — Neverlur Usually, the birch trumpet is a natural horn, having no fingerholes or valves.
birch trumpet

Julius Jääskeläinen · A young Swedish women playing a birch trumpet c.1930. · CC BY 2.0
- Field
- natural trumpet
- Region
- Sweden · Norway
- Related practice
- birch bark
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wikidata · Q12339842 · wikipedia · Birch trumpet
In this article
Norway
Norway
Normally, a player can play 10 tones from the natural scale on the instrument. In the modern era, the birch trumpet is primarily a cultural curiosity, used for the occasional fanfare. • Illustration — Two tuohitorvi in the Finnish National Museum, with the one in front being modelled after a brass bugle In Finland, the birch trumpet, locally known as the tuohitorvi, comes in different varieties. Some instruments are built as natural horns and used for signalling, usually by shepherds, whereas others are built in the style of the mute cornett and have fingerholes for melody playing. • Illustration — Two birch trumpets in the coat of arms of Pielavesi Tolga kulturskole (culture school) in Norway regularly teaches playing the birch trumpet to all interested people living in Tolga Municipality. The oldest recovered birch trumpet in Sweden dates back to the 10th century, and resembles earlier bronze trumpets.
• Magnar Storbækken at the company Naturinstrumenter in Tolga Municipality
Sweden
Sweden
• Illustration — Swedish birch trumpet • Rune Selén was Sweden's best known birch trumpet manufacturer. He manufactured more than 11,000 birch trumpets between 1959 and 2005, when he retired because of dust allergy. He died on 28 October 2011. • Lisa Byers Runberg in Alunda. She was taught by Rune Selén. Her husband Per Runberg is a folk musician and riksspelman. • Jan Nordkvist at the company Lurmakaren in Tällberg
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Sweden and Norway
Country
birch trumpet is associated with Sweden and Norway.
Country
Similar and related instruments
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Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Birch trumpet, revision 1372586999 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Pučiamieji instrumenatai. www.folkinstruments.lt.
- 2.Store norske leksikon AS. Musikk i Latvia. Store norske leksikon.
- 3.World Music Network. The Music of the Baltic States. Guide to World Music. 16 May 2011.
- 4.Ellen Vibeke Nygjelten. Neverlur. The web pages of Tolga Municipality. Tolga Municipality. 28 February 2013.
- 5.Magnar Storbækken. Naturinstrumenter. Company web pages. Naturinstrumenter AS. Neverlur / Birch bark lure. 1 September 2010.
- 6.Arbetsgruppen för Rune Seléns Kulturfond. Rune Seléns Kulturfond och Västgöta Horn & Lurblåsare!.
- 7.Stockholms Symfoniorkester. Svensk sommarmusik, hyllningskonsert. 2005.
- 8.Anna Ehn. Näverlurar från Alunda till Shakespearepjäs i London. Uppsala Nya Tidning. 25 April 2006.
- 9.Anna Ehn. Näverlurar på export till Shakespearteater. Uppsala Nya Tidning. 25 April 2006.
- 10.:sv:Per Runberg
- 11.Jan Nordkvist. Lurmakaren.
- 12.Store norske leksikon AS. lur – blåseinstrument. Store norske leksikon.
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1- SwedenPlace
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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