The most popular tunes were the more recent ones, i.e. schottisches, polkas, waltzes, marches and mazurkas. Ensemble playing became the most common form of performance, and the Kaustinen ensemble, consisting of violins, harmonium and double bass, became almost a national standard. K austinen became the focus of Finnish folk music. A part from Kaustinen, there are other centres that host both a prestigious festival, training opportunities and a great many well-known performers, most significantly Haapavesi and R kkyl . The largest folk dance event in Finland is Pispalan sottiisi , organized in Tampere.
Summer is a good time for folk music because of the numerous festivals going on.
Y outhful new drive was brought into fiddler music in the 1970s by Kankaan pelimannit and Kyl pelimannit . The first experiments in blending Finnish folk music with genres of popular music were made by Paroni Paakkunainen and Edward Vesala, with their Karelia band, in the early 1970s. Paakkunainen went on to do pioneering work with Nils-Aslak Valkeap and a new brand of S mi yoik. It was thus one of the first world music bands in the true meaning of the word. At the moment, kantele music spans all sorts of genres.