All About Ethnic Music

Music has served as a bridge between cultures and societies for centuries and has become an indispensable part of our lives. From past to present, music has been the sound reflection of cultures and the product of different geographies. Ethnic music has also continued to develop in parallel with the development of cultures.

With the effect of technology, ethnic music has become more common today. Thanks to technology, we can easily learn about ethnic elements and ethnic music of any place. In this context, it is undeniable that ethnic music and ethnic instruments have a noticeable impact on today's world music.

What Is Ethnic Music?

Ethnic music is known as a type of music that belongs to the culture of a certain community and a certain region. Unlike the other genres, it contributes to the musical demonstration of a particular ethnic culture through the instruments, rhythms, melodies, and lyrics it contains. In this way, it is a good guide for present and future generations.

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3 Ethnic Music Artists in World

Goran Bregović

Goran Bregović is one of the greatest modern composers of the Balkans. Composer and guitarist Goran Bregović has been a household name in the Balkans for many years. He has composed for various artists such as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora. He became known in the international arena with Emir Kusturica's films Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream, and Underground.

Azam Ali

Azam Ali is considered among the most authentic musicians of our day, with her hard-to-define music embellished with eastern mysticism. After the Islamic revolution in Iran, she migrated to India with her family and discovered the santoor there, and then moved to Los Angeles. Azam Ali, who had the opportunity to work with important ethnic music artists of the period, is seen as one of the most important ethnic voices in the music world.

Deep Forest

Deep Forest is a French group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Éric Mouquet. They are one of the leading representatives of ethnic music. Mixing ethnic melodies and electronic music, this band brought a new style to the music world.

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Ethnic Music Instruments

There are many different ethnic musical instruments. If we talk about some of them;

Daf

The history of the daf is based on ancient times. In archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia and elsewhere, figures with dafs are encountered. They are generally round but angular ones are also available.

Oud

The oud, which has an extremely impressive and beautiful voice, is a stringed and plectrum musical instrument. The oud, which is used with 11 or 12 strings, has a sound of 3 octaves. The name oud is derived from the word "el-oud", which means "oud tree" in Arabic.

Santoor

Santoor is an instrument originating from Iraq, Iran, and India. A classic santoor, usually in the form of a box made of walnut and similar exotic wood, consists of 72 to 160 strings. It has been used in many European and Asian countries for a long time.

Bouzouki

Bouzouki is one of the main instruments of contemporary Greek music. It is a mixture of guitar and baglama. The bouzouki, which looks more like a mandolin with its sharp metallic sound, is played with a pena or plectrum.

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