Kantele

A kantele (Finnish: [ˈkɑntele]) or harppu (in Sami) is a traditional plucked string instrument of the dulcimer and zither family native to Finland and Karelia. Its relatives can be found throughout the world, including Estonian kannel, Mari kusle, Russian gusli, Latvian kokle, and Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries. Kantele is also related to the ancient Asian instruments such as Uyghur kanun, Chinese gu zheng, Japanese koto, and Korean gayageum.

Construction

Small kantele

Modern instruments with 15 or fewer strings are generally more closely modeled on traditional shapes, and form a category of instrument known as small kantele, in contrast to the modern concert kantele.

The oldest forms of kantele have 5 or 6 horsehair strings and a wooden body carved from one piece; more modern instruments have metal strings and often a body made from several pieces. The traditional kantele has neither bridge nor nut, the strings run directly from the tuning pegs to a metal bar (varras) set into wooden brackets (ponsi). Though not acoustically efficient, this construction is part of the distinctive sound of the kantele.