Viking Music: What Music Did the Norse Play? (+ Curated Playlist Included)

Music has been a central component of cultures for a long time. 

While there is limited evidence of exact songs because the Vikings didn’t keep written record of music, we have found instruments of various types — string, wind, percussion. From these findings and understanding of Viking culture, a variety of historians and musicians alike have recreated music inspired by, derived from, and interpreted through the ancient Norse.

Before you read further about Viking music’s instruments, creation, and history, start a song in our curated playlist featuring artists that have recreated Nordic music with authenticity in mind:

Music in Viking Festivities

Music was deeply embedded in Viking society, as it has been across the world and across time. However, the Vikings’ use of music is particularly interesting as a perspective on their worldview and society.

Music would be used in religious and cultural events and happenings.

At funerals, a dauðalög, or death songs, would be performed. These chants and instrumental pieces would honor those passing away. Primarily vocal songs, they would feature poetry referencing themes like Valhalla and acknowledging the last stage of the Vikings’ life: death. Emotionally driven, these ceremonial farewells are fitting to the ancient Norse culture’s cultural value of honor and acceptance of death as part of the cycle of life.

Viking weddings were also enhanced with music.

These songs would celebrate union, intending to bless the couple in their next stage together. The lyre, a string instrument, would be commonly used in these ceremonies. A modern wedding song, Bånd Binde, was created by artist Kjell Braaten with lyrics from Leif-Arne Furevik. While created recently, Braaten uses a lyre and vocal chants for authenticity. It certainly provides the right atmospheric and spiritual feelings that ancient Norse weddings would have.

Outside of funerals and wedings, other ceremonies would involve music. Some may have involved religious events and sacrifices, and other times, for casual festivities. Skalds come into play whenever storytelling — an important element of Viking culture — comes into play.

Skalds were professional poets in the society.

Their intricate Norse poems required talent and knowledge alike, weaving in metaphors (“kennings”), creative repetitions (alliterations), and rhythmic structures (“meters”). Here’s an example:

From Hávamál in Old Norse:

Brandr af brandi

brinn til brunns

Translation to English:

A fire from a fire

burns until it is burnt out

The meter is shown through the two lines with two strong beats each (brandr (1) af brandi (2), brinn (1) til brunns(2)). The alliteration is shown through the repetition of the “b” sound (Brandr, Brandi, Brinn, Brunns). The kenning is seen in “brandr”, a poetic way of saying fire that would be more vivid than simply saying fire, if you spoke Old Norse.

This is a very simple example to bring to life the skill Skalds would bring to the community, and how the music of the time was likely influenced. This aligns with the fact that the Viking culture was largely illiterate without a written language and instead heavily based on oral communications and traditions.

Music connected Viking communities at feasts, festivals, and gatherings, in longhouses, at outposts, and in trade settlements. Music was part of everyday life. In their work, like when rowing longships, music would keep groups in sync.

Norse Musical Instruments

Vikings had instruments across three main categories: string, wind, and percussion. Here’s what we know about each:

String Instruments

Lyre: Lyres have been found at Viking settlements such as Hedeby and Birka. They are 6 string instruments typically, though some can have 5 to 8 strings in total. They’re made of wood with sheep gut or horsehair strings, played by strumming. This would be a common instrument to pair with a Skald’s poetic verses.

Tagelharpa or Talharpa: The tagelharpa is the variant of the lyre that uses a bow, also using sheep gut or horsehair for its strings. It is possible these were used during the Viking Age, but it may have come later as the earliest evidence found thus far was from late medieval period, while the Viking Age was of the early medieval period. Many believe it was likely used and simply lost in time without written evidence to support its existence at that time. They were used elsewhere in the world, and with such a strong trading component of ancient Viking society, it’s likely they would have encountered and adapted this Lyre variant.

Wind Instruments

 

• Lur: Made of wooden horns, these instruments were made by splitting and hollowing out wood. Then, they would bind the halves with willow or birch bands. We have evidence of lurs dating back to 834 in Norway from the Oseberg ship burial, as well as other sites. These were likely used in battle for signaling, for calling livestock, and potentially in ceremonies.
• Panpipe: A wooden instrument with evidence from a 10th-century find in the Jorvik/York area of England. This indicates an Anglo-Scandinavian use. With natural deterioration on these finds, it is anticipated that there may have been from five to eight tubes in total with each panpipe.
• Flutes: Vikings made flutes of either elder or willow wood or horns or bones of cows, goats, deer, or birds.  While some flutes had zero holes, likely for animal calls, those used in music would have up to seven holes to provide creative variations in what was composed.

Percussion Instruments

• Drums: While evidence is limited, drums were widely used across the world for millennia, including during the Viking Age and amongst their trading partners. Of what we know, they would have been made with wooden frames and animal hide for the drum surface.
• Jar Harp or Munnharpe: From the Danish city of Odense was the Gammeltoft find, where jaw harps were found. This and other finds show these instruments date from 9th to 13th centuries. They were made of metal and played by plucking while held in the mouth to create a resonating sound.

Reconstructing Viking Music

As mentioned, the Vikings lacked a written language and thus, a lot of our knowledge of their culture is dependent on burial finds, excavations, and interpretations. This affects music as well.

Later medieval texts, like the sagas and Eddic poetry, have provided some basis to interpret what Viking Age music would be like. Likewise, Vikings were avid traders, which provided ample opportunities for other cultures to interact and keep a record of the Vikings. Combining this evidence with archaeological reconstructions and tracking cultural patterns over time, we are able to identify certain elements of the traditional music with relative confidence.

We are confident in lyres, lurs, bone flutes, and panpipes as core instruments. Even without hard evidence, drums are ubiquitous enough to believe they were used as well, further reinforced by references to rhythmic rituals in the sagas.

One Arab traveler of the 10th century, Ibn Fadlan, helped reinforce the vocal component of Viking music. The translation of Fadlan’s description of Viking singing may be "a hum worse than a dog’s howl," or “the growling sound of a dog’s throat, only more untamed”. Beyond amusing, this is suggestive of a deep, rhythmic, communal chant.

Modern Interpretations of Viking Music

Genres of Viking Music

Viking music wasn’t recorded in writing, so there is no true way to define its genres. However, we can group Viking music today into three categories:

1. Historical and Neo-Folk: Music made with reconstructed instruments and lyrics of the Old Norse language. Artists who aim for authenticity will use this approach and are often classified as Nordic folk or Pagan folk.
   
2. Viking Metal and Folk Metal: Merging heavy metal with Nordic themes. Traditional instruments may be used, as well as rhythmic beats and vocal chanting. Typically, the focus is on references through lyrics and accompanying visuals.
3. Soundtrack and Atmospheric: Compositions used in film, TV series, and games blend orchestral and folk elements. The intention is to evoke emotions and acknowledge the Norse spirit and our modern interpretation of Viking culture.

Artists of Viking Music

Authentic and Historically-Driven Artists include:

• Wardruna
• Heilung
• Danheim
• SKÁLD
• Voluspa

Metal Artists with Viking Inspiration include:

• Amon Amarth
• Týr
• Einherjer
• Falconer
• Manowar
• Brothers of Metal

There are countless more artists who have continued the Viking spirit today, which you can find in our curated playlists.

Curated Viking Music Playlist

The playlist below features some of our favorite music by modern artists who value the authenticity of Viking Age music. Songs feature lyrics in Old Norse, derived from the sagas, and with deep meaning, to those who embrace the Viking spirit.

Click the (+) symbol to save the playlist, then hit play to give it a listen now.

Follow Vikheim on Spotify to stay up to date on our evolving and new playlists.

A Look Back and Ahead on Viking Spirit Invigorated through Music

Despite the lack of written records, we have been able to establish significant clarity on what Nordic music would have been like during the Viking Age. Discovering the use of instruments like the lyre, lur, flute, panpipe, and jaw harp, we can determine within boundaries how music could sound. Layer in what we know of the vocal component of their music and culturally where music would play a role, we are able to hone in on what music would sound like.

Today, we are grateful for artists who provide historically accurate reenactments, as well as those who bring ancient motifs and mythological references into modern compositions to expand the reach of the Viking culture further.