Improvisation and the Boundless Kantele Arja Kastinen Sibelius Academy Folk Music Department

Ancient Instrument Kantele is an inseparable part of the ancient Baltic-Finnish music culture intertwined with creativity, orality, improvisation and variation Kantele is an inseparable part of the ancient Baltic-Finnish music culture intertwined with creativity, orality, improvisation and variation

Contemporary Kantele

Possibilities a concrete link to the culture history a concrete link to the culture history

Simple enough to be played by everyone Simple enough to be played by everyone Unique and pleasant sound Unique and pleasant sound five strings, five tones

Offers also lots of diverse possibilities Offers also lots of diverse possibilities fifth D-Lydian: L5L fifth L7 7 octave D-Mixolydian:

Open enough to give the possibility for different individuals to bring own cultural elements in it Open enough to give the possibility for different individuals to bring own cultural elements in it

Perfect tool for learning improvisation Perfect tool for learning improvisation creating timeless space the equality inside the multiplicity every sound is equal and as important inside the improvisation each moment is unique and can be full of possibilities the variations and differences between each individual choice are richness Musical discussion, improvised phrases Building a vibrating soundscape, inside which the minimal changes happen Same tunes are played on different scales with differing variations The emphasis is put on making own compositions, variations and improvisations Possible with all instruments

Thank you! Arja Kastinen String numbers: 5 tunings, scales and the pitch can vary the key in the notation and the tuning in the instrument are not necessarily the same due to practicality, old tunes are often written in g, although they are not meant to be interpreted from that pitch