Kantele

A kantele (frae the Finnish) is a tradeetional poukit string instrument frae Finland.  In some weys it is sib tae a zither.

The Instrument
The auldest kynds o kantele haes anerly five or sax strings made o cuddy-hair, eikit tae a widden bouk cairved frae the ae bit wid.  Mair modren kanteles haes metal strings, an the bouk is aften made frae mair nor the ae bit wid.  Modren concert kanteles (for ordinar uised in clessical muisic) can hae sae mony as 39 strings, tho maist modren kanteles haes 15 or fewer, an is for ordinar mair sib tae tradeetional shapes.  This anes is aften cried smaw kanteles.  Wi smaw kanteles, the langest strings (that's lawest in pitch) is furdest awa frae the muisickers body, but wi concert kanteles it is the ither wey aboot, wi the cutty, heich pitched strings bein furdest awa.  The instruments is uised for tae play strynds o muisic that's sib tae ilk ither but deeferent in mony weys.

Thare is sic a thing as the electric kantele an aw, that's a gey modren oncome.  It uises a pickup no sae deeferent frae them uised on electric guitars, an haes been uised bi a twa-three hivy metal baunds.

Kanteles haes a disteenctive, skellat-lik soond, an is played aither bi poukin wi the fingers or bi strummin wi a wee wand no unlik a matchstick.  The muisicker hauds the kantele aither on thair laips or on a wee buird afore thaim.

Kanteles in Kalevala
In the Finnish naitional epic, Kalevala, the weirdman Väinämöinen maks the first kantele frae the chowk-bane o a muckle ged an a few hairs frae a cuddy.  The muisic the kantele syne maks draws aw the shaw-beasties near tae it, for tae strange at hou bonny the muisic is.  Later, Väinämöinen maks a kantele o wid, strung wi the hairs o a maiden, an the glamoury it gies is juist as fell.  Whan he quats the laund o Kalevala (seen bi maist fowk as a seembol for the kythin o Christianity in Finland, he lea's ahint his kantele as the gift o muisic for his fowk.

Kanteles in Modren Muisic
Mony Fowk metal baunds, sic as Ensiferum uises kanteles in thair muisic, as an exemplar o the wey that tradeetional muisic an mair modren weys o playin hae been jyned thegither in the recent past.  The uiss o kanteles in modren forms o muisc (as weel as the growth in interest in makkin tradeetional kynds o muisic) is likely tae growe in the futur, syne kantele is teached in schuils in Finland the nou this will gar mair young muisickers tak tae the instrument.  It can nou be studied at aw levels, e'en tae The Sibelius Acadamy, the ae muisic varsity in Finland.

Fremmit Airtins
Ae exemplar o kantele playin
Anithir exemplar, this tyme wi American fowk muisic jyned wi the tradeetional Finnish instrument
Sibelius Academy
Finnish Kantele musician Eva Alkula 
Kantele music

Category:Baltic psaltery
Category:Finnish muisical instruments
Category:Naitional seembols o Finland