Kantele – an ancient Finnish musical instrument

The five-string kantele is an instrument that has absorbed the aesthetics of the Finnish, Karelian, and Vepsian peoples, and the magic of the “Kalevala” – the national epic of Karelia and Finland.

 

Scope of delivery:

5-string kantele

Soft suitcase

Tuning key

Spare strings set

Hooks for attaching a strap

 

3 years warranty

Shipping included (within Europe / For delivery to third countries excl. Shipping; please contact by e-mail)

 

Technical part

Specs:

Body: alder

Soundboard: spruce

Other details: maple

Pegs: metal

 

Body dimensions:

Length: 692 mm

Width: 112 mm

Thickness: 75 mm

Weight: 0.8 kg

(Size, color, wood structure, and weight can vary slightly, as the instruments are handmade)

 

Tuning:

D4 E4 F#4 G4 A4 (D major)

D4 E4 F4 G4 A4 (D minor)

 

String Diameter:

D4 – 40 mm

E4 – 35 mm

F#4 – 35 mm

G4 – 30 mm

A4 – 30 mm

 

Tips & Tricks

The kantele is an instrument that will play even in the hands of a person who has never played any musical instrument before. All you need to perform beautiful music is a kantele, a tuning key, and a tuner.

How to tune a kantele?

To tune a kantele you need the instrument itself, a tuning key, and a tuner. A tuner is a device for tuning musical instruments. You can either purchase it in a music store, or download the app. We use the CarlTune app, which is available on Google Play and the App Store.

The instrument is tuned as follows: the lowest string is the note D. Turn on the tuner, pluck the string and check if the tuner arrow is on the D note. If the arrow does not reach the note, i.e. it sounds lower, then the string needs to be tightened. We need to take the tuning key and smoothly turn the peg of the first string clockwise. As the peg turns, the sound will become higher, and the arrow will get closer to the desired designation.

As soon as the arrow hits the note and turns blue, it will mean that the first string of the kantele is tuned. Accordingly, if the string is overtightened, i.e. it sounds higher than the desired note, the peg should be turned counterclockwise to loosen the string tension and lower the sound.

The process of tuning the other strings is the same as tuning the D string. Tune the second string to E, the third string to F#*, the fourth string to G, and the fifth string to A.

*Nota bene! The third string has two ways of tuning: to F# and to F. If we tune it to F#, we will get a major tuning (in other words, the kantele will sound “cheerful”); if we tune the string to F, we will get a minor tuning (it will sound “sad” respectively).

How to hold?

There’re two ways:

– horizontally, i.e. when the strings face upwards. In this case, the kantele is either placed on your lap or on the table;

– vertically, i.e. when the strings face forward. In this case, kantele lies on the lap, leaning the back deck against the belly.

We advise to place the kantele vertically, as this position of the kantele will ensure free and relaxed movement of the arms and prevent muscle strain.

The player sits with a straight back. Movements of hands, fingers should be distinct, but at the same time relaxed.

How to play?

There are two ways of playing: plucking and strumming.

Plucking technique is a technique when particular strings are plucked. Basically, one uses the thumb and index finger of the right hand for D and A strings and the index, middle and ring fingers of the left hand for E, F#, and G strings.

When we need an accompaniment (for example, to songs), the strumming technique is used: we hit all five strings with the index finger of the right hand, and use the fingers of the left hand for muting certain strings.

 

Historical information

The kantele is one of the oldest musical instruments, which is perhaps the brightest symbol of the culture, worldview and historical development of the Finns, Karelians, Veps and inhabitants of Ingermanland. Its age is still a mystery to scientists: some claim that the kantele was created about 1,000 years ago; others are convinced that this instrument appeared much earlier – more than 3,000 years ago.

Traditionally, the appearance of kantele is associated with the name of the main character of the Karelian-Finnish epic “Kalevala”, the sage, the rune singer and the wizard Väinämöinen. According to legend, Väinämöinen caught a huge pike and made a body for a kantele from its bones, pegs from its teeth, and made strings of the mane of a horse. And every time Väinämöinen played the kantele, everything living in the air, on earth and in the sea gathered to listen to his playing, and everyone wept with joy at the beauty of the melodies.

In traditional culture, whole pieces of wood were used in the manufacture of a kantele, preference was more often given to spruce or alder, less often to birch or aspen; in the process, the body was repeatedly wetted with salt water to compact the wood, improve its resonator properties and increase its resistance to deformation during drying. If possible, the new kantele was soaked in the sea – the masters believed that “the sea gives the voice to the kantele.” The strings were made either of gut or of metal, but there were also instruments with hair strings.

According to the customs of that time, the kantele should be made for six weeks: during this time, the instrument “gets a soul” and thereby becomes more sonorous.

It is generally believed that the oldest kanteles had five strings, what corresponded to the number of fingers on the hand. Also in the “Kalevala” a five-string instrument is mentioned. However, in practice, five-string kanteles were not so common, they were spread mainly in the North of Karelia.

The kantele has many related musical instruments with an equally interesting and rich history: for example, the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle, the Lithuanian kankles, and the Estonian kannel.