Näppärit

In December 2021, Kaustinen fiddle playing was included on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Kaustinen fiddling tradition has remained unbroken ever since the instrument first made its way to Finland some three hundred years ago. How does a living tradition pass from one generation to another, and what does the everyday music scene in Kaustinen look like?

Folklore narratives, binaural recording techniques, free improvisation and electronics are some of violinist Meriheini Luoto’s tools.

When violins first reached the shores of Finland via Sweden sometime during the 17th and 18th centuries, it seems that they jumped straight into the Perho River and swam upstream to the Central Ostrobothnian village of Kaustinen. The local playing tradition has remained unbroken ever since, with each village boasting its own unique playing style. Now the Kaustinen fiddle tradition has been nominated for inclusion in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

What if the aim of music education was not to focus on producing masters, but to create a lifelong, enthusiastic connection with music, where an essential part is making music together? This is exactly what the Kaustinen-based Näppäri method strives for.

"Rather than focusing exclusively on musical skills, Finnish music education aims to consider students holistically as human beings, from their very first steps. (-) Music education is not about the subject; it is about the people," writes Petri Aarnio in his column.