The kokle is a Latvia

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

n plucked string musical instrument (chordophone), related to the zither

Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...

. It is similar in construction and origin to the Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n kanklės

Kankles

The Kanklės is a Lithuanian plucked string musical instrument , related to the zither. It is roughly in the shape of a trapezium or trapezoid . The instrument is fitted with several wire or gut strings under tension which produce tones when plucked...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n gusli, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

n kannel and Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 kantele

Kantele

A kantele or kannel is a traditional plucked string instrument of the zither family native to Finland, Estonia, and Karelia. It is related to the Russian gusli, the Latvian kokle and the Lithuanian kanklės. Together these instruments make up the family known as Baltic psalteries...

.

Origin

Based on earlier written histories, the kokle is a type of Baltic lute

Lute

Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....

. The first written information about kokle players is from the 15th century. The Baltic tribes developed the kokle based on similar instruments played by the Finnic (Liv kāndla

Kandla

Kandla is a seaport in Kutch District of Gujarat state in western India. Located on the Gulf of Kutch, it is one of major ports on west coast. Kandla was constructed in the 1950s as the chief seaport serving western India, after the partition of India from Pakistan left the port of Karachi in...

, Estonian kannel, Finnish kantele, etc.) and the Slavic peoples (Russian gusli).

The player generally plays the instrument sitting at a table, strumming with his right hand to create vibrations and hence the volume, while using the left hand to mute unwanted strings. The kokle's sounds have generally been mixed, mostly diatonic. The bottom is usually under the bourdon

Bourdon

Bourdon, bordun, or bordone normally denotes a stopped flute/flue type of pipe in an organ characterized by a very dark, heavy tone, strong in fundamental, with a quint transient but relatively little overtone development...

 function, and sounds all the time.

The kokle has a hollow trapezoidal hull, covered with a tin or wooden board. A string pin made of wood is incorporated into the hull parallel to the widest edge. The thin edge consists of a built-in metal rod around which are wound the strings, of gut, plant fiber, brass or steel. Traditionally, there were 6-9 strings which later increased to 10.

Kurzemes kokle

In the Latvian historical region of Kurzeme

Courland

Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...

, kokles are constructed without a "wing", but with ornate carving and ornaments.

Latgales kokle

In the largely Catholic Latgale

Latgale

Latgale is one of the four historical and cultural regions of Latvia recognised in the Constitution of the Latvian Republic. It is the easternmost region north of the Daugava River...

 region of Latvia, the kokle has a wing, which reinforces the sound and is used as an arm support. Compared with Kurzemes kokles, the finish is less thorough; the instruments are bigger, and heavier, with more sober decoration.

The Augšzeme and Vidzeme

Vidzeme

Vidzeme is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. Literally meaning "the Middle Land" it is situated in north-central Latvia north of the Daugava River...

 districts of Latvia played both types of kokle, as well as mixed forms, for example kokles with beak-shaped wings.

At the end of the nineteenth century kokle traditions were influenced by the construction of the Western zither. Thus arose the so-called zither kokles: kokles with larger, zither-type cases, steel plugging and an increased number of strings.

The Kokle in Contemporary Music

Alliage III by the Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

composer Niels Rosing-Schow uses two kokles tuned a quarter-tone apart along with vl, vc, and accordion. It is published by Edition Wilhelm Hansen (WH21231).