Exposition

Soittaa omaa mahtia - An Experimental Approach to the ‘Inner Power’ Improvisation in 19th‑Century Karelian Kantele Tradition (2025)

Arja Anneli Kastinen

About this exposition

This exposition introduces an experimental framework for acquiring the “inner power” improvisation associated with 19th‑century non-literate Karelian kantele players. While their precise thought processes remain unknowable, it is clear they did not focus on finger control. The method emphasizes internalizing traditional plucking patterns without sheet music, allowing subconscious decision‑making to guide improvisation. Stepwise learning of increasingly complex patterns enables musicians to combine and vary them freely, creating a continuous flow of tones in which the player becomes part of the sound field. Contemporary practice thus reconnects with what kantele players once described as “playing their inner power” (“soitan omaa mahtia”), a style later termed “Quiet Exaltation” by folk music researcher Armas Otto Väisänen.
typeresearch exposition
date04/11/2025
published09/12/2025
last modified09/12/2025
statuspublished
affiliationSibelius Academy Folk Music Department, Uniarts Helsinki
copyrightArja Kastinen
licenseCC BY-NC-ND
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/3968595/3968596/176/36
doihttps://doi.org/10.22501/rc.3968595
published inResearch Catalogue


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