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♫ Finnish Kantele ♫
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You know, the kantele is like the rock star of string instruments. It's part of this exclusive club called zithers, and they're the cool kids of the music world. They have a resonating body and a variable number of strings – versatile, right? You can pluck it, strum it, strike it, or even give it a little bow, you know, like it's going to a fancy party.
Now, the kantele is from Finland, and it's like a national treasure. It's so beloved that Finnish folk poetry claims the first kantele was made from the jaw bones of fish and the hair of young maidens. Yeah, you heard that right – fish jaw bones and maiden hair. It's like they raided a fantasy novel for instrument-making ideas.
And when they played the first kantele, magic happened. The sound was so stunning that all living things started crying. We have heard of music moving people to tears, but it is said kantele turned tears into ocean pearls! Imagine the sea, filled with tears-turned-pearls – it's like the world's most emotional oyster buffet. I bet even Poseidon shed a tear and said, "That's some good kantele playing right there."
Source: Pixabay
♫ 5 strings or 39, humble bright sound
Kantele plays a central role in Finnish culture. Kalevala, Finland’s national epic poem, first published in 1835, has a kantele-plucking hero. A 1840 companion volume contains similar verses and bears the title Kanteletar (the term for a female kantele player).
Resembling the zither, the instrument has been played in Finland for some 2,000 years, and variations exist in other eastern Baltic countries. The most basic version has five strings but there are up to 39 on large concert models.
♫ Sounds amazing, and looks amazing too
You can easily get sound out of the kantele, unlike, for example, wind instruments. But that's also the most difficult aspect of the kantele: then you pluck a string, it keeps vibrating for a very long time. The difficulty comes from practicing different silencing techniques. Learning these techniques can be tedious, but it is necessary for mastering the kantele, otherwise the music becomes mushy as the chords keep producing the tune for a long time.
Usually Finnish people encounter the instrument in the standard way – at music playschool when we are just kids, four or five years old, or at the lower primary school in the first or second year. It is a good introduction to music, and an easy way to start. That’s why the kantele has been a key element of Finland’s celebrated music education system since the 1970s.
Back then nobody was playing the kantele, but musician and composer Martti Pokela saved the instrument, when he encouraged every school to get at least one small, basic kantele.
The traditional kantele has no metal reinforcements of any kind, and this is an instrument built entirely of wood. However in recent years the previously quiet and humble kantele has undergone some development with the help of Finland's largest kantele producer in order to suit the younger generation of musicians. Nowadays you can get this harmonious instrument in multiple colors, amplified with electricity and in a shape that can also be played in standing position, instead of the seated position than before. And now kanteles are appearing in rock clubs, pop videos and music festivals around the globe.
♫ Some kantele performers
Nuku nuku nurmilintu, traditional Finnish lullaby, Sanni Halla
Gangstas Paradise cover by electrical kantele, Ida Elina
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Happy listening!
Minna, OLS Community Manager – Finnish
Source: Adobe CC