Take a journey from the past to the future in Turkey’s music culture
You can experience the magnificence of diversity and the fusion of different cultures in fascinating richness of Turkey’s music culture. It is possible to find all genres of music from folk music, which reflects historical richness of Anatolia, to the experimental styles practiced among youth. Turkey’s society is very fond of music; in addition to dance music played at the special events such as marriage and engagement ceremonies, music plays an important role in daily life and music instruments like bağlama and guitar are commonly played. Hundreds of national and local music radios playing from local tunes to the world music are a vivid testimony to this diversity. During your trip to Turkey, you can both listen to these different genres live or if you are planning to stay longer, you can learn how to play a music instrument by joining a music course.
Among the commonly listened and played music genres in Turkey are Turkish Classical Music, Turkish Folk Music, Arabesque, and countless local music genres. Turkish Classical Music is a traditional genre the roots of which span back to the Ottoman era and which have gradually been modernized in the republican era especially by Münir Nurettin Selçuk. In general, Turkish Classical Music is listened by middle age and older generations, mainly during dinner or while drinking and it is regularly played every evening on state television and radio channels, TRT. In this genre, people particularly love songs of Müzeyyen Senar, Zeki Müren, Emel Sayın ve Münir Nurettin Selçuk. Turkish Classical Music is played by authentic music instruments, such as ud, kanun and tambur.
Turkish Folk Music, on the other hand, comprises local tunes of Anatolia and Thrace and it is one of the music genres that demonstrate the vibrant and warm culture of the country. Songs of folk singers like Aşık Mahsuni Şerif, Neşet Ertaş, Aşık Veysel, Ruhi Su are loved by millions and are still commonly played and listened to. Bağlama is the main music instrument of Turkish Folk Music, which is rooted in the rural areas but is commonly listened in big cities too. In addition to bağlama, kaval, zurna, davul and tef are other instruments played in Turkish Folk Music. Bağlama courses are one of the most widespread music courses in the country and in many homes it is not uncommon to see bağlama is played at family night entertainments.
In terms of western music genres, in addition to pop music, local rock, alternative rock and jazz genres are gaining popularity in recent years. Singers and groups, such as Teoman, Mor ve Ötesi, Duman, Şebnem Ferah, Yasemin Mori and Ceylan Ertem, are popular especially among young generations. Such singers and music groups frequently appear in concerts and at the same time take the stage at popular rock bars in the city centers. Jazz singers, Bülent Ortaçgil, Jülide Özçelik, Jehan Barbur and Senem Diyici have a considerable fan base and take stage in various venues.