June 30, 2008: A revised version of Compleat Chords for the Kantele was released and purchase pages for this book were updated.
April 15, 2008: New links were added to the Performers and Where to Find Kantele Music pages.
March 6, 2008: I've been reviewing sheet music that's posted on this site and have put revised versions of some songs on the Free Stuff/Sheet Music page.
February 19, 2008: A new ebook version of my Fishbone book was posted and it's also possible to buy the printed version of this book now with a CD that includes the ebook version and song files. New files were posted and missing files were restored to illustrate songs being sold as Sheet Music.
February 9, 2008: New mp3 files were posted on the Fishbone music book page to illustrate some of the songs in the book.
July 29, 2007: Corrected lyrics to Tuulan Tei were posted on the Free Stuff/Lyrics to Traditional Finnish Folk Songs page.
July 10, 2007: A new article was added to the articles page.
May 17, 2007: Compleat Chords is now available for purchase as e-book. I posted a sound sample of the five string kantele I made on my Making a Kantele page.
February 5, 2007: I posted my interview with the winners to the 2006 songwriting contest on the Articles page.
January 24, 2007: I updated my Building a Kantele pages.
January 5, 2007: I updated my Building a Kantele pages.
December 31, 2006: I updated my Building a Kantele pages.
December 17, 2006: I updated my Building a Kantele pages.
December 16, 2006: I released Fishbone, my new music book for five string kanteles.
December 10, 2006: I updated my Making a Kantele pages.
November 25, 2006: I updated my Making a Kantele pages.
November 18, 2006: Information on my Making a Kantele page was updated.
November 14, 2006: Winners of the 2006 songwriting competition were announced.
November 4, 2006: I added new material to my Making a Kantele page.
September 4, 2006: Entries to the Children's Song Competition are being judged. I posted some new mp3s.
May 2, 2006: Information about the Children's Song Competition was updated and a picture of the katele kantele crafted by Gerry Henkel was posted.
April 18, 2006: New info was added to my Making a Kantele page. Genealogy information for the Autios and the Himottus was updated and new Ahnentafel reports can be downloaded.
March 27, 2006: I posted some sheet music for sale on my Buy Now/Sheet Music page. A sound file accompanies each song.
February 15, 2006: I added more info to my Building a Kantele page.
February 9, 2006: I added more info to my Building a Kantele page.
January 27, 2006: New information about the Children's Songwriting contest was posted.
January 11, 2006: Information about a new contest for children's songs was posted.
January 7, 2006: I posted an interview with the winners of my Pikebone Songwriting Competition on my Articles page. A new contest for children's songs was announced.
December 16, 2005: New pictures and text were added to my Making a Kantele pages.
December 14, 2005: I posted a link to Michael King's kantele lesson video clips on my Online Lessons page.
December 4, 2005: Information about the ontest winners for the 2005 Pikebone Songwriting Competition was posted.
November 6, 2005: Information was added to my Making a Kantele pages.
October 30, 2005: I posted two new mp3 files on my Free Stuff/Other Songs page. Links to two sites that give online kantele lessons were added to my Online Lessons page.
October 9, 2005: I posted my interview with kantele player and composer, Wilho Saari on my Articles page.
August 25, 2005: I added new info to my kantele building pages. I also posted a free mp3 file to download and it can be found on the Free Stuff/Other Songs page.
June 11, 2005: New links were added to the Teachers, Finn-Am Societies, and Finnish Festivals pages.
May 13, 2005: Lyrics to Herra Petteri Kamarissa, Tuulantei, and Ei Tämä Tyttö were posted on the Free Stuff/Lyrics to Finnish Folk Songs page.
May 10, 2005:I posted an interview I did with Carl Rahkonen (author of The Kantele Traditions of Finland) on my Articles and Reviews page.
April 15, 2005: I announced a kantele song writing contest for five strings. To learn more about it, click on Pikebone Contest in the menu.
March 3, 2005: I added a new article to the Articles page. New Faces, New Friends is about my visit to the Maine Kantele Institute last summer.
January 12, 2005:I've added some more material to "Making a Kantele".
December 11, 2004: I've added some more material and some pictures to "Making a Kantele."
Dec. 9, 2004: I added my interview with kantelemaker Gerry Henkel to my Articles page.
November 28, 2004: A short review of Wilho Saari's new CD Vilhon Vintiltä (From Willie's Attic) has been posted on my "Cool Stuff" page.
November 17, 2004: I've added some more material and some pictures to "Making a Kantele."
November 13, 2004: I'm starting to write some music specifically for five string kanteles and I've posted two of them under Free Stuff/Free Sheetmusic. I added info to "Making a Kantele"; look under "Tools" and "Making the Kantele". I also added a link to Gerry Henkel's "odd kanteles" on my Cool Stuff page.
October 21, 2004: New info was added to my "Making a Kantele" - Choosing the Wood page.
October 13, 2004: A review of Michael J. King's book, Construction Manual for the 5 String Kantele was added to the Articles and Reviews page.
September 18, 2004: New information was added to "Making a Kantele".
September 10, 2004: I've added pictures of the Maine Kantele Institute to my Articles page.
September 9, 2004: My instruction book, My Kantele Is My Teacher, is now available as an e-book. It contains six videos to illustrate some of the techniques, and sound files for 13 songs so that you can hear the separate parts, and also how the song sounds when all the parts are played together. Visit the "Buy Now" page for more info.
August 25, 2004: I'm getting ready to make my own five string kantele and I've decided to chronicle the experience on my website. You can see how I progress by visiting the "Making A Kantele" page.
August 3, 2004: Information on how you can learn to play the 5 string kantele in the Haapavesi style was added to the Links/teachers page and to the Online Lessons page. This is an online course!
July 30, 2004: Important Customs info was added to the Purchasing/Order pages. A new article on the Baltic Psaltery Conference held in Canada this summer was added to the Articles page.
July 27, 2004: Four new song lyrics were added to the Free Stuff/Lyrics to Traditional Finnish Folk Songs page.
July 15, 2004: Contact info for kantele teachers was added to the Links/Teachers page.
July 8, 2004: I've added a new page to my site. It's called "Cool Stuff". You'll be able to find information and short reviews of other kantele players, along with information on how you can order their music. Some new teachers were added to the Links/Teachers page.
June 27, 2004: I've added two new FREE pieces of sheet music to the "Free Stuff" page and replaced all zip files of sheet music with pdf files.
June 8, 2004: Want to look inside my book, My Kantele Is My Teacher? I've added a few sample pages to the Purchase page so you can do just that.
May 21, 2004: I've posted the lyrics to three more traditional Finnish songs including Kalliolla Kukkulalle, Kesäilta, and Syntymistään Sureva. You can find them under "Free Stuff/Lyrics".
May 12, 2004: I've posted a new online lesson on Standard Finger Positions. You can also read my article Why We Should Write Our Family's Folk Tales which appears in the spring, 2004 issue of New World Finn along with my folk tale "The Four Brothers".
March 18, 2004: I've added the lyrics to three songs to my Free Stuff/Lyrics page. These include: Ootkos Kuulu Meidän Pässiä, Keitä Te Ootte, and Hyvää Iltaa Nytkullalleis.
March 8, 2004: My Kantele is My Teacher -- my new English language instruction book for 5-10 string kanteles is out. More Info
February 15, 2004: I posted a new mp3. Kulkurin Waltz can be downloaded from the Free Stuff/Other Songs page...oh yes, you may see several other new mp3s when you go to that page. I forgot to note when I posted them earlier this winter.
February 7, 2004: Lyrics to three more traditional Finnish folksongs were added to the "Free Stuff/Lyrics" page. These include Jos Meidän Kaivosta Vesi Loppuun, Maa Oli Musta, and Olin Minä Muinoin Paimenpoika.
For those of you who have written to ask...My Kantele is My Teacher (my new kantele instruction book) should be out sometime during the first two weeks of March. If you'd like to be notified, send me an email. This book will include basic instruction for 5-10 strings as well as some more advanced techniques such as how to use a pick and a bow. 36 tradtional Finnish folksongs are included...just over 1/2 of them can be played by 5 string kanteles. Techniques are illustrated with color photos.
January 18, 2004: I've posted lyrics to three more traditional Finnish folk songs on the Free Stuff/Lyrics page. These include Honkain Keskellä, Vaka Vanha Väinämöinen and Velisurmaaja.
November 13, 2003: I've spent the past five months revising my book, Compleat Chords for the Kantele. My new book is 20 pages longer than the first edition and includes 21 new songs. In addition, I transposed a lot of the old songs so that kantele players won't have to change keys as much while playing. Also, I re-designed my chord charts to make them easier to read. More Info.
New mp3s can be found here. You can download new sheetmusic here and, if you're looking for the words to a Finnish song, you might want to check my new lyrics page.
I've updated my chord charts and added a new lesson on caring for your kantele to the Online Lessons page.
My genealogy pages have been updated, too. If you have any info to add to them, or if you think we might be related, I'd love to hear from you!