Petri Prauda
Seeing the young talented folk musicians Uppiniskan pelimannit on stage in a festival in France in 1993 first aroused my interest in folk music. A couple of years passed while practising the guitar on my own and getting to know a new, diverse field of music. I had years of studies in the Music Institute behind me, the piano as my main instrument, plus intensive rehearsing and gigging with a rock band as their electric guitarist.
In winter 1995, I took part in a course arranged in Haapavesi with my first folk music group. It was there where I met my future teacher Petri Hakala (e.g, Aldargaz, Helsinki Mandoliners,) and Olli Varis (e.g., Aldargaz, Helsinki Mandoliners). Two years later, I passed the entrance examination to the Folk Music Department of the Sibelius Academy, where I have studied guitar, cittern and mandolin with Hakala as my teacher. With the help of the department, I have also been able to receive tuition from my long-time Swedish favourites, Ale Möller (e.g., Frifot, Stockholm Folk Big Band) and Roger Tallroth (e.g., Väsen).
My interest in the bagpipes took off rather unexpectedly in 1998 and I started my second instrument studies with Kurt Lindblad. Gathering a good selection of tunes suitable for the instrument, while maintaining an open mind, has been an issue close to my heart. During Haapavesi Folk Festival in summer 1999, I performed as a soloist in the chamber orchestra in the church concert - the piece was Sibelius' Finlandia.
I play in a number of bands, including Plektronite, Hyperborea and Frigg, whose first album was released in April 2002. In addition, I have re-established my contact with pop music through programming for Meri, a band playing modern electronic music.
Instruments
My guitar is a model 000, built by my teacher in instrument construction, Timo Mustonen in 1988. Spruce top, rosewood body, mahogany neck and ebony fingerboard.
Tonecraft Oy, Soitinverstas
Fiskarsin vanha konepaja
10470 FISKARS
Finland
tel. +358 19 237 366
The cittern is an arched-top made by Jussi Törmä in 1999. Spruce top, flamy maple body and neck with flamy birch beads, ebony fingerboard. The top and back of the instrument are carved. In order to create a couple of micro intervals, additional frets have been fixed between the 3rd and 4th and 5th and 6th frets. The tuning of the string pairs starting from the lowest: D, G, D, G, d. The two lowest pairs of strings are tuned in octaves.
The mandolin is an ordinary Kentucky KM 250 S.
The bagpipes are an Estonian torupill built by Ants Taul. The key note is g' and the scale goes up almost chromatically from d to e in the second octave. Two drones: G and d'. All the pipes have single reeds.
Photographs by Sami Perttilä
Links
- Petri's homepage Hyperborea
- Plektronite -->
- Meri
- Petri Hakala
- The Helsinki Mandoliners
- Roger Tallroth/Bart's Väsen page
- Ale Möller
- Chris Wood & Andy Cutting
- Jean-Francois Vrod
- Liam O'Flynn
Cittern
Mandolin
Bagpipes