Turkish Folk Music

The diversity and complexity of Turkish folk music can be explained with its long and exciting historical background. Influenced from both Europe and Asia, the Turkish centuries-old musical tradition displays similarities with the music of nearby Islamic regions such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and northern India. Ethnic minorities in the country itself, such as the Roma people, have also contributed to the richness of Turkish folk music. Popular music from the West combined with Asian and Arabic elements creates the contemporary appearance of Turkish music.

Typical Turkish musical instruments are the zurna, which is a double-reed oboe; the kemence , a bowed violin; and the kaval, an end-blown flute similar to a Bulgarian instrument of the same name. Other melody instruments are the mey, the kanun, the tanbur, and the rebab, all of which wind instruments. Often when played in emsemble, they are accompanied by a small drum, the def, and kettle drums, together with vocal choruses. In addition, unaccompanied folk singing usually consists of a long and ornamented melody built on songs resembling Islamic chanting sung in free rhythm. Folk rhythms are often irregular, in a kind of limping pattern important to the coordination of group dancing. Other melody instruments include the ney, an end-blown flute; the kanun, a trapezoidal plucked zither; the 'ud, a short-necked lute; the tanbur, a long-necked lute, similar to the folk baglama; and the rebab, a spiked-fiddle.