The kantele1 refers to a group of plucked string instruments
that have been common in traditional folk music in
Finland, its neighboring region in Northwest Russia, and the
Baltic states.2,3 The instrument and its variations are called
the kannel in Estonia, the kankle˙s in Lithuania, the kokle in
Latvia, and the gusli in Russia.2 They belong to the family of
zithers. The five-string Finnish kantele has a significant role
in Finnish folklore as the instrument of rune singers, and in
Finnish mythology, especially in the Kalevala, the collection
of ancient Finnish runes.4 It is estimated that the origins of
the kantele are more than 1000 years old.
The traditional Finnish kantele has five strings and a
body made of a single piece of wood. The traditional instrument
illustrated in Fig. 1 is hollowed out at the top and the
opening is covered by a top plate with a sound hole ~Xshaped
in this model!. Strings are terminated at the wider end
around wooden tuning pegs. At the other end the strings are
attached with a knotted termination around the varras, a bar
typically made of metal, in a U-shaped raised body structure
~the ponsi!.
At the end of 18th century the instrument started an
evolution to new forms. The body of the kantele was eventuallyconstructed of separate plates instead of a single piece
of wood, and the wooden tuning pegs were replaced by metallic
tuning pins. This type of the instrument is the focus of
the present study. To be able to play more complex music the
kantele was made larger and equipped with more strings—
for example, 9 to 15 strings. For compatibility with concert
music, a concert kantele has been developed since the 1920’s
to contain up to 45 strings, with a range of about five octaves.
The challenge of playing in different keys and with
chromatic notes was solved by including a lever mechanism,
similar to that of a concert harp, for rapid change of tuning.
The kantele has a characteristic sound that is bright and
reverberant.5 Only recently, acoustical studies have been carried
out on the instrument to reveal the features that make the
unique sound. In a previous work,6 based on measurements
and signal analysis, specific properties of string terminations
were reported as prominent sources of the characteristic kantele
tone. A recent study focused on the body vibrations of a
general class of the Baltic psalteries.7
The objective of the present article is to give a systematic
and thorough presentation of the instrument, showing the