Skambinimas Vakarų aukštaičių ir žemaičių kanklėmis : mokymo metodinė priemonė

Abstract

Thus there are hardly any space devoted to the personality of the kankles player in their research despite the fact that the kankles players were extraordinary, more educated, literate, sincere, friendly people, of a good and happy manner. They had an artistic spirit, a wider world-outlook and more interests than other people. They were usually not rich, and their joy and misery was expressed by the sounds of the kankles. Even very skilled folk artists - poets, composers, painters and wood-carvers - appeared to be among those that played kankles. According to the opinion of Z. Slaviūnas, both dances and more complex pieces were played on simple as well as on more complex kankles because of the larger number of strings, which made them more suitable for playing in public. Dance music prevails in the repertoire of all musicians in Western Lithuania. Z. Slaviūnas (Slavinskas-Slaviūnas, 1937) and A. Motuzas (Motuzas, 1993) writes that the kankles accompanied church songs in Žemaitija as well. Having surveyed the archived and written sources, and the materials callected from ethnomusical expeditions, we can state that kankles players in the rest of Aukstaitija, Žemaitija and Lithuania Minor, kankles players played popular and folk repertoire. Songs, church songs, love songs, dances, and improvisations had an important part in this repertoire. It can be seen from the facts that Western European culture can be seen in the repertoire of kankles players as well. This is a methodical means on how to learn to play the kankles in the way Western Aukstaiciai and Zemaiciai traditionally play. Kankles and the playing of the kankles and their music, handed down from generation to generation, have reached modern times in sufficiently authentic. In the Western Aukštaitija and in Žemaitija (Lowlands), the purpose of kankles and its music had been different. This instrument was used for playing everywhere and for various occasions: at weddings, funerals, church, harvest festivals, May dances etc. Three types of this instrument are known in entire area where kankles are existing which are situated in the geographic zones stretched from the south to the northeast. According to the classification of the traditional kankles by R.Apanavicius, kankles of Western Aukštaiciai and of Žemaičiai (Lowlanders) are attributed to the second type. They are distinguished from the first type by a much bigger body, having a flat bottom (sometimes six sides), sharper carving of the thick end, and a larger number of strings. The carving of the resonance hole of kankles with a rectangular thin end is usually oval. Their body is made higher and has a rougher appearance. The traditional number of strings is 9 to 12, but can also have 8 to 14 strings. Kankles is painted black, dark grey or brown, and the top flat panel is usually a little bit brighter. Players of West Aukštaitija and Žemaitija used four or five left hand fingers to play 9-or-12-stringed kankles. Fingers were laid on every second chord and moved up and down (to silence the chords). The second finger (with its fingernail) of the right hand or a plectrum (special wooden piece) was used to pluck the strings the outward direction (sometimes inwards). Kankles of the Lithuanians in Lithuania Minor are discussed separately. It can be seen from descriptions and the few pictures that remain that the features of these instruments are similar to the second and even of the third type. However, there is too little information about kankles from Lithuania Minor to speak about them as a separate type of instruments, thus they are attributed to the second type of instruments. There are no examples remaining, so we can only base our assumptions on the descriptions and pictures from historical sources. Western European instruments had the biggest influence in Žemaitija and neighbouring Western Aukštaičiai between the second half of the 19th century - beginning of the 20th century. It is characteristic of the kankles, both of Žemaiciai and Aukštaičiai, that their bodies are fastened or hammered together lightly from several parts, and have a larger number of strings, which are fixed to nails and metal turning holders. At the same time the traditional kankles were prevailing in northwestern Aukštaitija, there were a noticeable number of modifications. Although kankles have preserved typical forms, their construction elements and ways of production were more or less divided from folk traditions. Traditional kankles belongs to the group of chordophones. It is a string instrument, and has its sound generated by the vibrating of a string by a pick or fingers. The quality of the sound depends on the lengh of the strings, their width, their tension, shape of the kankles body, resonance peculiarities and ways of playing. When the strings are vibrated in the middle, a fewer amount of harmonics are generated and the kankles sounds hollower. When strings are vibrated closer towards the ends of the instrument, more harmonics appear and the timbre becomes sharper. This is a usual way for folk players to play kankles. While playing, sometimes the wrist (or the lower palm) of the left hand leans on the string tuners, most of the time the wrist is lifted above the tuners and the fingers cover the strings. The fingers are raised when the nail of the index finger of the right hand is strumming the strings. The most typical direction of strumming is away from oneself. The plucking of the strings by the side of the index finger of the right hand is not so typical. The sound system of the Western Aukštaiciai, Žemaiciai and Lithuanians of Lithuania Minoralso depends on the specific construction of each instrument (C major, D major, F major, G major tones etc.). The twelve-stringed, eleven-stringed and ten-stringed kankles are tuned diatonically beginning with the second string. The first string (bass) is tuned to the sixth string (dominant) which is one octave below it. In this case the fifth string is the main one. There is a pure fifth (sometimes a pure octave) interval between the bass and the second string. The nine-stringed kankles are tuned diatonicaly in two ways: in one case the fourth string is the main one (Gasciauskaite- Baltreniene, 1997), in the other case the second string is the main one (Cesiene, 1995; Daunoraite, 1995; Velicka, 1997) and the interval between it and the bass string is a pure fourth. While playing, the hand is strumming the strings in the direction away from oneself with the nail of the index finger or with a pick that is held between the thumb and index fingers. The pick can be made from wood, plastic, or bird feather. While playng the kankles, one, two or three strings are strummed. While accompanying to the singing of songs, the melody (usualy by thirds), but not the accords, are played. The ornamentation of the melody and shorter sounds are made by the plucking motion towaras oneseir or by the fingers of the left hand. Kankles which have more than 12 strings are played with the fingers as well. In this case, the melody is generated by the soft part of the right hand fingers and the accompanying is generated by the fingers of the left hand. The plucking direction of the index, middle and sometimes ring finger is towards oneself and the thumb away from oneself. In reviewing the achive sources, notes of B. Buračas, the interwar period and the expeditions' data we can state that the kankles players of Western Aukštaičiai, Aukštaičiai and Žemaičiai were tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, agronomists, forestry workers, mechanics, tractor drivers, farmers, and house wives. The facts show that there were even teachers, organ players, priests and monks as well. The biggest number among the professions were teachers, instrument makers (and other makers), carpenters, priests and organ players. Some monks and journalists were also known to have played the kankles. Almost all the kankles players carpenters were makers of instruments, and vice-versa. They had being making kankles for themselves and some of them even made their living this way.