My kantle with turquoise and coral markers for harmonics
I was working on preparing materials for my workshop at Flute Haven 2015 on playing the Native American style flute with the kantele. There are several ways to play flutes with the kantele — all of them beautiful.
When I took my lunch break, I decided to see what was on YouTube and discovered a very beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace on the kantele. As you watch the video below, do appreciate that it is not easy to get such a wonderful tone from the harmonics (also called overtones). The player in the video has done some serious practicing.
After viewing the video, I promptly marked my kantele to show the correct place on the strings for the harmonics. Practice began. It will take a few weeks to get a consistently clear harmonic, but the goal is set.
Amazing Grace on the Kantele