Prologue
Then it is brought out and a gray-haired old man sits down at it. His bent fingers touch the strings, his ear listens, the movement of his fingers gradually becomes more frequent and soon the entire air in the room turns into a harmonious sea of tones. The player himself is enchanted and appears as a living phenomenon, completely merging into a multi-coloured bubbling spring.
(Translated by the author.)
Sjöström, Juhani 1896 (p. 77): Korpien povessa. Kuvauksia itäisestä Karjalasta. Helsinki, Otava.
Background
The musical world of small kantele instruments encompasses many cultural layers, both historical and regional. Those that have not disappeared from our view contain diverse and still-evolving instrument models, playing techniques, and musical applications.
This exposition outlines an approach to improvisation on the small kantele. It was developed as part of my research project, Kantele of the Runosong Culture and the Dialogue of Creativity, and is based on documetation of the old kantele tradition recorded in the Karelian region during the 1800s and early 1900s. The entire project builds upon the research of previous generations.
The revival of the Karelian kantele playing style began in the 1980s at the Finnish Folk Music Institute in Kaustinen, under the leadership of Heikki Laitinen and Hannu Saha. The original material was primarily drawn from the 1928 book Kantele- ja jouhikkosävelmiä (Kantele and Jouhikko Tunes), edited by Armas Otto Väisänen (1890–1969) and published by the Finnish Literature Society (SKS).
This revival sparked widespread interest in the small kantele and led to initiatives such as the Kantele to School project, through which all Finnish primary schools received their own five-string kantele. The project introduced a model of creative music-making that was considered innovative and progressive in music education at the time. It offered everyone the opportunity to create their own music, for which the small kantele served as an ideal tool.
In my own research, I approach the same topic by considering how a 19th-century non-literate member of an oral runosong culture might have perceived kantele music — "What are your thoughts while you're playing?"
I recognize that such a question cannot yield unambiguous answers, if at all. Through this performance, however, I seek to explore how setting aside the concepts of notation and Western musical frameworks may reshape the structure and experience of music, and whether this approach can offer something new to people today.
As in life more broadly, many things we take for granted in music are often no more than preconceptions and assumptions. In this context, it seems reasonable to conclude that we cannot fully grasp the essence of an ancient musical culture by approaching it through the frameworks of our own
The aim is not to recreate a bygone era, as such an attempt would be fruitless. Rather, this experimental approach seeks to offer insight into the essence of a centuries-old tradition of improvisation while simultaneously fostering creative problem‑solving skills, breaking free from rigid norms, and encouraging exploration of alternative modes of action through free play.
This approach to music-making also embraces the principles of equality and accessibility, recognising that everyone has the right to musical self-expression, regardless of background, training or skill level. This is possible thanks to the inherently simple and versatile nature of the small kantele. What matters most is the process itself: immersing oneself in the music and expressing personal emotion through sound.
Several accounts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries describe Karelian kantele players so immersed in music that they lost awareness of their surroundings. They referred to improvisation as soittaa omaa mahtia — playing one's inner power (see, for example, Six Hours of Exploratory Improvisation and Connected Alone – An Ancient Musical Culture As a Tool For Self-Expression Today). Folk musicians who became absorbed in their music for hours on end were later associated with the Finnish term hiljainen haltioituminen — quiet exaltation — coined by Väisänen.
Finger movement and free choice
This website explores improvisation on the small kantele by examining how music emerges through the traditional plucking technique and the physical movements of the fingers. This technique, referred to in Finnish as yhdysasentoinen näppäilytekniikka — a term once again coined by Väisänen — involves the interlocking of both hands along the scale using various fingering options. In this approach, the left and right hands do not assume separate roles such as accompaniment and melody, but instead co-create the soundscape as equal partners.
It is also important to pluck the strings upward into the air, taking care not to touch adjacent strings so they remain unstopped. This allows the strings to resonate freely, blending with the resonance of the sound box and the instrument's structural components to produce a sound field that is more multidimensional than the sum of its individual notes.
This exposition consists of systematically progressing fragments, each based on fingering patterns derived from the traditional plucking technique. While structured, each fragment allows for a degree of freedom and interpretive choice. Beyond the original tradition, I use geometric patterns and colours to support memory and to clarify the broader musical structure. These visual tools are not meant as fixed frameworks; they may be disregarded from the outset or set aside once the technical foundations and principles of musical construction have been mastered.
The website includes separate tabs for five-string kanteles and for larger instruments with approximately 10 to 15 strings. To view the table of contents, move your pointer to the top left corner of the page's navigation bar.
The core idea of this step-by-step material is that nothing in the construction of music is predetermined — musicians always retain the freedom to make choices that suit them in each moment. Basically, there are no mistakes or wrong decisions, only possibilities. Initially, it may be difficult to accept choices that feel incorrect as part of the whole, but this often leads to discovering new directions. As in all creative work, apparent "damage" or mistakes can be reimagined as integral parts of the whole, opening up fresh perspectives when reconsidered.
Each pattern is accompanied by a video that demonstrates its musical possibilities. The aim is not to replicate the examples note for note, but to engage with the video using your own choices. Think of the video as a playing partner — someone to collaborate with in creating your own music.
The progression of music explored in this material can be conceptually imagined as a diagram: it begins with clear order, unfolds through multiple possibilities, and moves toward a state of chaos. This imagined trajectory illustrates how musical interaction generates new pathways — shaped by the communicative tension and dynamic flow between chaos and order.
Variety
Archival material on the old Karelian kantele tradition reveals a musically rich oral culture maintained by non-literate tradition bearers, whose conceptual framework differed significantly from Western musical norms.
The aim of this performance is to explore music-making through the mindset once embedded in runosong culture, where music was an inseparable part of life — not a separate domain removed from everyday experience or a creative privilege reserved for a select few.
Everyone can engage in music-making from their own starting point — in their own way, as part of daily life, and in dialogue with others, themselves, and their instrument. All approaches are equally valid and contribute to a diverse whole. The possibilities are many, limited only by the scope of human imagination.
Although the old kantele tradition — with playing techniques linked to runosong culture — is known to have existed for centuries, precise information about the music performed in different regions before the 19th century, or even during its early decades, remains scarce. Countless musical performances have vanished without ever being documented.
Yet the preserved fragments of this tradition open up a remarkably wide horizon. Through them, we may discover new ways of approaching music and its creation — ways that support efforts towards an equal, multidimensional, creative, inventive, enabling, and open society.
It is unlikely that a single, universally accepted method of creating this music has ever existed. Approaches have varied as widely as the individuals, situations, encounters, and moods involved. Music was deeply embedded in everyday life and communication, with different regions developing their own stylistic nuances. Within these frameworks, individuals retained the freedom to make personal choices. As music formed an essential part of existence, it also offered a way of connecting with realities beyond the visible world.
The material on this site focuses on developing automated fluency in the traditional plucking technique. The aim is to internalise the finger movements so thoroughly that the player can eventually surrender to improvisation guided by the subconscious. In such moments, the musician does not follow a predetermined path or pursue a fixed goal. Instead, they remain fully present, allowing the music itself to guide the direction and movement of their fingers.
Presence means listening attentively and focusing on the nuances of notes and timbres. It involves observing and sensing subtle yet musically significant differences. Listening is a key that opens the door to musical creation.
Just as Karelian kantele players continually reshaped their music by introducing new nuances and ideas, we too can carry this tradition forward in our own lives — adapting it to our thoughts and experiences to form new musical narratives. This music is never complete; it keeps unfolding, like life itself. Its essence lies in endless variation and subtle, ongoing transformation.
Interaction and sound field
Music facilitates interaction — between people, between musicians and their instruments, between individuals and their surroundings, and of course between tones. It also enables a dialogue with the self and the subconscious. These layers of interaction, together with the tension between memory and expectation, shape the meaning of music.
In the traditional small kantele plucking technique, the strings are plucked in the air and left to vibrate freely. This creates a sound field shaped by all previously plucked notes and the resonance of the sound box beneath each one. Each note is thus intertwined with those played before and after it. No single note carries meaning on its own; instead, its character emerges through interaction and the cumulative effect of the surrounding sounds.
The sound field is a complex phenomenon, making it impossible for the musician to predict the exact outcome. To some extent, it always comes as a surprise — even to its creator. Therefore, when approaching small kantele music, one should focus not on individual notes, but on the sound field that emerges from their interaction.
In a sound field, everything influences everything else — even small changes can have a significant impact. That is why one of a musician’s most essential skills is the ability to listen attentively. Each person must discover their own experience through sensing and listening. The music of the sound field is a tapestry of perspectives: one listener may notice different details or find meaning in different elements than another — and both are equally valid.
When the music of inner power awakens, time loosens its hold, and the musician moves between memory and possibility — each moment holding past, present, and future.
Kyrö, December 9, 2025
Arja Kastinen
