Historical and Traditional Basics of Ankara Folk Music

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to reveal the musical life of the region through identifying all dynamics constituting the traditional music culture of Ankara in the light of historical sources and by means of the relationship of these dynamics. Hence, this study is an objective research concerning the general assessment within the descriptive framework in which information for identifying the situation via the documental screening (document review) method. In the light of obtained findings, Ankara folk music is based on two basic dimensions: central and environmental dimensions. While the central factor is an important determinant of the musical identity of the city due to the strong Seymen tradition within, the environmental factor is the most important obstacle for the standardization of Ankara folk music. Ankara is not all about folk music in the historical process. The music practices of the non-Muslim subjects lived in the beginning of the last century and the "alaturka music" embraced by the civilian and military bureaucracy prior to the Classical Western music together purport to prove the multicultural musical life in Ankara.

Keywords

• Folk music
• Ankara folk music
• Seymen tradition
• Seymen music
• Musical tradition in the vicinity of Ankara