Kantele
Finnish plucked instrument of the zither family, central to Finnish folk music.
What it means
The kantele is a Finnish plucked instrument of the zither family. Several strings are stretched over a flat resonating body, usually made from a single piece of wood, and are plucked with the fingers. Traditional kanteles have five strings, modern concert instruments considerably more.
Musical use
The kantele is one of the oldest instruments of Finnish and Karelian musical tradition and is described in the Finnish national epic Kalevala as a divinely inspired instrument. It traditionally accompanied epic songs and rune singing. In the 20th century, alongside the small, traditional kantele, larger, chromatically playable concert kanteles with mechanisms for retuning individual strings also developed.
The kantele should be distinguished from related zithers of other cultures, such as the Russian gusli or the Estonian kannel, with which it forms a common instrument family but from which it differs in construction and musical tradition.
Performance practice
Pluck the kantele with an even touch of the fingers of both hands and let the strings ring freely. Practise simple melodies modelled on the Kalevala metre first, to get a feel for the instrument's traditional rhythm.