What type of instrument is a kantele?
What type of instrument is a kantele?
string instruments
The kantele belongs to a large family of string instruments called zithers. Zithers have a resonating body with a variable number of strings, which can be plucked, strummed, struck, or bowed. In the case of the kantele, the strings are plucked or strummed and the smallest kanteles can be held in the player’s lap.
How many strings does a kantele have?
40 strings
A modern concert kantele can have up to 40 strings.
When was the first kantele made?
1920’s
The first concert kantele, or machine kantele, was invented in the 1920’s by Paul Salminen. Concert kanteles are equipped with a tuning machine that makes it easy to quickly change keys. Kanteles don’t have a bridge. Instead, the strings are attached to a metal rod at one end and pegs at the other.
Is kantele easy?
The five-string kantele is an easy-to-learn instrument. Whenever you like to sing with your own family, or if you work with children or elderly people in your job or as a volunteer – take a kantele in your hands to support or accompany your singing!
How much is a kantele?
The standard 5-string kantele ($165 for an open bottom model, $185 for one with a bottom and a soundhole in the top) is about 22 inches long, 2.5 inches deep at the deepest part, and about 4 inches wide at the widest part.
Is kantele difficult to play?
The five-string kantele is an easy-to-learn instrument. You can take it wherever you go. As the kantele is a diatonic instrument, there are some restrictions. If you want to make music with others, ask them to play in the key of D-major or D-minor.
How much does a kantele cost?
Is the kantele hard to learn?
The five-string kantele is an easy-to-learn instrument. You can take it wherever you go. Whenever you like to sing with your own family, or if you work with children or elderly people in your job or as a volunteer – take a kantele in your hands to support or accompany your singing!
How do I tune my Kantele?
It is quite simple to tune a kantele into a minor scale. On a five string kantele, with the tuning wrench in your left hand, place it on the third string peg and tune the string from F# down to F. Musically you are changing the tone by one half step. With practice you will be able to do this very easily.
What is the psaltery and harp?
Psaltery, (from Greek psaltērion: “harp”), musical instrument having plucked strings of gut, horsehair, or metal stretched across a flat soundboard, often trapezoidal but also rectangular, triangular, or wing-shaped.
Is a dulcimer?
Dulcimer, stringed musical instrument, a version of the psaltery in which the strings are beaten with small hammers rather than plucked. The player’s right hand strums with a small stick or quill, and the left hand stops one or more strings to provide the melody.
What are the strings of a Kantele made out of?
A kantele is a very simple instrument in its construction, it is basically a soundbox with some tuned strings that are stretched over the top surface of the box. Most kanteles today have strings made from steel – actually from wire that is used for pianos. In ancient times strings were made from horsehair.
Are there any books for 5 string kantele?
There is one instruction book for playing five string kantele available from Finland in English (see Resource section). There are also three books of tunes for small kanteles (5 & 10 string), however the text in these books is in Finnish. The material that follows includes information about tuning, holding, fingering, chording and improvising.
What kind of music can you play on a kantele?
What you will play on the kantele will be determined by what you want to hear. When the strings are plucked, it sounds harp like, and so it lends itself to a more celestial type of music. When the strings are strummed, it sounds more guitarlike and then lends itself easily to accompanying singing.
Where are the tuning pegs on a kantele?
The tuning pegs for the strings are anchored in a piece of hardwood at the peg end of the kantele. The pegs are inserted into the peg end so that the strings, made from piano wire, will be of graduated lengths, allowing for graduated tones.