Koistinen concert kantele with 38 strings

A kantele, Finnish (or kannel) in Estonian, is a traditional plucked string instrument. It is related to the Russian Gusli, the Latvian Kokle and the Lithuanian Kankle. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic Psalteries. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1099x499, 35 KB) Große Konzertkantele Fotograf: Paul Lenz Linzenz: GNU-FDL Originally published on Wikipedia de: http://de. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1099x499, 35 KB) Große Konzertkantele Fotograf: Paul Lenz Linzenz: GNU-FDL Originally published on Wikipedia de: http://de. ... Logo of the Kannel project Kannel is an open source WAP gateway. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... The Gusli (гусли) is an ancient Russian musical instrument, a kind of a harp, not to be confused with Balkan Gusle. ... Traditional Latvian music is dominated by folk songs called dainas, featuring pre-Christian themes and legends, drone vocal styles and Baltic zithers. ... Categories: Music stubs | Lithuania-related stubs | Lithuanian music | Musical instruments | String instruments ...

The oldest forms of kantele have 5 or 6 horsehair strings and a wooden body carved from one piece, more modern instruments have metal strings and often a body made from several pieces. Modern concert kanteles can have up to 39 strings. Modern instruments with less than 15 strings are generally more closely modelled on traditional shapes than the concert kantele, and form a seperate category of instrument known as 'small kantele'. The playing positions of concert kantele and small kantele are reversed, ie to the player of a small kantele the longest low pitched strings are furthest away from his body, whilst to a concert kantele this side of the instrument is nearest, and the short high pitched strings furthest away. The instruments have different though related repertoires.

The Finnish kantele generally has a diatonic tuning though small kantele with between 5 and 15 strings are often tuned to a gapped mode missing a seventh and with the lowest pitched strings tuned to a fourth below the tonic as a drone. The Estonian Kannel has a variety of traditional tunings. Concert versions have a switch mechanism (similar to semitone levers on a modern folk harp) for making sharps and flats. Players hold the kantele in their laps or on a small table. There are two main techniques to play, either plucking the strings with their fingers or strumming unstopped strings (sometimes with a matchstick). In Music theory, the diatonic major scale (also known as the Guido scale), from the Greek diatonikos or to stretch out, is a fundamental building block of the European-influenced musical tradition. ... A string is a vibrating element used on many musical instruments, such as the violin, guitar, harp, and piano. ... Household safety matches Ignition of a match burning match This article refers to the implement used to create a flame. ...

There have been strong developments for the kantele in Finland lately; for instance, an electric kantele has been made. Education for playing the instrument starts in schools and music institutes up to conservatories and the Sibelius Academy, the only music university in Finland. Even some artistic doctoral studies are being made at the Academy with traditional, western classical and electronic music. The Sibelius Academy in downtown Helsinki. ...

In The Kalevala (Finland's national epic), the magician Väinämöinen invents the first kantele with the jawbone of a giant pike and a few hairs from Hiisi's gelding. The music it makes draws all the forest creatures near to wonder at its beauty. The kantele has a distinctive bell-like sound. The Kalevala is an epic poem which Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish folk lore in the 19th century. ... Illustration from the Kalevala, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela 1896. ... Hiisi (root: hiite-) are a kind of tutelary spirits in mythologies of the Baltic Sea area, especially in Finland. ... A gelding is a castrated animal—specifically, a castrated male horse. ...

External links

• Online version of Carl Rahkonen's doctoral dissertation on the Finnish Kantele
• Virtual Finland: Kantele
• Sibelius Academy
• Kantele Players Group
• Finnish Kantele musician Eva Alkula
• English Kantele maker
• Finnish Kantele artist Timo Väänänen
• Experimental electric kantele group "Memnon"
• Finnish "Kantele metal" artist "Nostatus"
• Finnish ethnic Kantele rock band "Poropetra"
• Finnish folk metal band Ensiferum use Kantele often.
• Finnish nature-wave band Nest
• Kantele Making
• The Kantele shop(USA).
• Kantele music
• Koistinen Kantele - a finnish kantele developer