Editing Kantele (section)

==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 concert kantele.

The oldest forms of kantele have five or six [[horsehair]] strings and a wooden body carved from one piece; more modern instruments have metal strings and a body made from several pieces. The traditional kantele has neither [[Bridge (instrument)|bridge]] nor [[Nut (string instrument)|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 instrument.<ref name="BroughtonEllingham1999">{{cite book|first1=Simon |last1=Broughton |first2=Mark |last2=Ellingham |first3=Richard |last3=Trillo |title=World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo|url-access=registration |access-date=17 June 2012|year=1999|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-85828-635-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo/page/93 93]}}</ref>

The most typical and traditional tuning of the five-string small kantele is [[just intonation]] arrived at via [[Just intonation#Five-limit tuning|five-limit tuning]], often in Dmajor or Dminor. This occurs if a kantele is played as a solo instrument or as a part of a folk music ensemble. The major triad is then formed by D<sup>1</sup>–F{{music|sharp}}<sup>1</sup>–A<sup>1</sup>.<ref>[http://etno.net/soitin/kantele Kantele]. Etno.net. Sibelius-Akatemia. Retrieved 2015-08-28. {{in lang|fi}}</ref> In modern variants of small kantele, there are often semitone levers for some strings. The most typical lever for a five-string kantele is a switch between F{{music|sharp}}<sup>1</sup> and F<sup>1</sup>, which allows most folk music to be played without retuning. Larger versions of the small kantele often have additional semitone levers, allowing a more varied selection of music to be played without retuning.

===Concert kantele===
[[File:Concert kantele.jpg|thumb|300px|Koistinen 38-stringed concert kantele]]
A modern '''concert kantele''' can have up to 40 strings. The playing positions of the concert kantele and the small kantele are reversed: for a small kantele, the longest, low-pitched strings are furthest away from the musician's body, while for a concert kantele, this side of the instrument is nearest, and the short, high-pitched strings are the furthest away. Concert versions have a switch mechanism (similar to semitone levers on a modern [[folk harp]]) for making sharps and flats, an innovation introduced by [[Paul Salminen]] in the 1920s.<ref name="Ramnarine2003">{{cite book|first=Tina K. |last=Ramnarine |title=Ilmatar's Inspirations: Nationalism, Globalization, and the Changing Soundscapes of Finnish Folk Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfeVkGE2hX8C&pg=PA147|access-date=13 June 2012|date=1 August 2003|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-70402-9|page=147}}</ref>