Greek folk music includes a variety of styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, the United States and elsewhere. Folk Music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the common people. ... This article or section should be merged with Hellenes Greeks in Ancient History In Latin literature, Græci (or Greeks, in English) is the name by which Hellenes are known. ...

Apart from the common music found all-around Greece, there are distinct types of folk music, sometimes related to the history or simply the taste of the specific places.

Ionian Islands

Main article: Music of the Ionian Islands

The Ionian Islands were never under Turkish control, and their kantádhes (traditional songs) are based on the popularItalian style of the early 19th centrury. Kantádhes are performed by three male singers accompanied by mandolin or guitar. These romantic songs developed mainly in Kefallonia in the early 19th century but spread throughout Greece after the liberation of Greece. An Athenian form of kantádhes arose, accompanied by violin, clarinet and laouto. However the style is accepted as uniquely Ionian. The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: Ionia Nisia, Ιόνια Νησιά; Ancient Greek: Ionioi Nesoi, Ιόνιοι Νήσοι) are a group of islands in Greece. ... Carved and round backed mandolins (front) A mandolin is a small, plucked, stringed musical instrument, descended from the mandora. ... The acoustic archtop guitar, used in Jazz music, features steel strings. ... Kefallinia, also known as Kefalonia or Cefalonia (Ancient Greek: Κεφαλλήνια Modern Greek: Κεφαλλονιά), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ...

The island of Zakynthos has a diverse musical history with influences from Venice, Crete and elsewhere. The island's music heritage is celebrated by the Zakynthos School of Music, established in 1815 [1]. Zakynthos (Ζάκυνθος, also known as Zante), the third largest of the Ionian Islands, covers an area of 410 square kilometers and its coastline is roughly 123 kilometers in length. ... Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venexia) , the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice in Italy. ... Crete (Greek Κρήτη Kriti; called Candia in the Venetian period and Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Battle of New Orleans 1815 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Folk dances include the tsirigotikos, ballos, ai yiogis, kerkyraikos and kato sto yialo. The Ballos (Greek: Μπάλος) is one of the best known island dances in Greece. ...

Aegean Islands

Main article: Music of the Aegean Islands

The Aegean islands of Greece are known for nisiótika songs; characteristics vary widely. Although the basis of the sound is characteristically secular-Byzantine, the relative isolation of the islands allowed the separate development of island-specific musics. Most of the Nisiótika songs are accompanied by lira, clarinet, guitar and violin. Modern stars include Effi Sarri and the Konitopoulous clan; Mariza Koch is credited with reviving the field in the 1970s. Folk dances include the chiotikos, stavrotos, ballos syrtos, trata and ikariotikos. Lira is the name of the monetary unit of a number of countries, as well as the former currency of Italy, San Marino and the Vatican City. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The acoustic archtop guitar, used in Jazz music, features steel strings. ... The violin is a bowed stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a perfect fifth apart, the lowest being the G just below middle C. It is the smallest and highest-tuned member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Ikariotikos is a traditional dance and accompanying song originating in the Greek island of Ikaria. ...

Cyclades

Main article: Music of the Cyclades

In the Aegean Cyclades, the violí is more popular than the lýra, and has produced several respected musicians, including Nikos Ikonomidhes, Nikos Hatzopoulos and Stathis Koukoularis. The Aegean Sea. ... The Cyclades, from the Greek Κυκλάδες, (circular, modern Greek Kykládes; see also List of traditional Greek place names) form an island group south-east of the mainland of Greece. ...

Dodecanese Islands

Main article: Music of the Dodecanese Islands

There are prominent elements of Cretan music on the Dodecanese Islands, developing from Cretans that fled there from the Turks. Dodecanese folk dances include the trata, ballos, syrtos, issos and syrtos rodou. The Ballos (Greek: Μπάλος) is one of the best known island dances in Greece. ...

Crete

Main article: Music of Crete Crete is an island that is a part of Greece. ...

The Greek islands of Kárpathos, Khálki, Kássos and Crete form an arc where the lýra is the dominant instrument. It is a three-stringed fiddle similar to the Turkish kemençe. Kosta Moundakis is probably the most widely-respected master of the lýra, which is often accompanied by the laoúto which resembles a mandolin. Bagpipes are often played on Kárpathos. Crete (Greek Κρήτη Kriti; called Candia in the Venetian period and Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings tuned a fifth apart. ... We dont have an article called Kemençe Start this article Search for Kemençe in. ... Carved and round backed mandolins (front) A mandolin is a small, plucked, stringed musical instrument, descended from the mandora. ... A bagpipe performer in Amsterdam. ...

Crete has a well known folk dance tradition, which includes swift dances like syrtos, maleviziotikos, haniotikos, pentozalis and laziotikos. Pentozalis dance takes its name from its five (pente) basic steps, the zala, as they are locally called. ...

Peloponnesos

Main article: Music of Peloponnesos

Folk dances from Peloponnesos include the kariatidon and tsakonikos. Peloponnesos (Greek: Πελοπόννησος, Pelops Island, sometime Latinized as Peloponnesus or Anglicized as The Peloponnese) is a large peninsula in Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Isthmus of Corinth. ...

Epirus

Main article: Music of Epirus

In Epirus, Albanian and Macedonian influences are common, and folk songs are polyphonic and sung by both male and female singers. Distinctive songs include mirolóyia (mournful tunes) vocals with skáros accompaniment and tis távlas (drinking songs). The clarinet is the most prominent folk instrument in Epirus, used to accompany dances, mostly slow and heavy, like the menousis, fisouni, podhia, sta dio, sta tria, zagorisios, kentimeni, koftos, yiatros and tsamikos. Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípiros) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... Koftos is a dance that is danced in the following regions: Thessaly, Epirus and Central Greece. ...

Macedonia

Main article: Music of Macedonia The Republic of Macedonia, formally known by international organizations and foreign states as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), is a diverse country, with a Slav Macedonian majority (65%) and a large Albanian minority (25%), and Turks, Cincars, Gypsies, Greeks and Serbs. ...

Folk dances in Macedonia include samarinas, akritikos, baidouska, gaida, macedonikos antikristos, leventikos, mikri eleni, partalos, kastorianos and sirtos macedonias. Note: The term "macedonia(n)" is also claimed by the Slavic population of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Ottoman province of Macedonia, ecompassing regions of the ancient Macedonia, Paeonia, and Thrace was divided between Greece, Serbia(Yugoslavia), and Bulgaria respectively in 1918. The gaida (also spelled gajda) or cimpoi or tulum, is a bagpipe from South Eastern Europe (The Balkans). ... Levendikos Is a dance from Macedonia in Greece - mainly danced in the western side of Macedonia in the town of Florina. ...

Thessaly

Main article: Music of Thessaly

There is a long-standing tradition of a cappella music in Thessaly, including in dance music. Folk dance from Thessaly is slow and stately, and includes dances like the klistos, tai-tai, pilioritikos, svarniara, sta tria and karagouna. A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Dance music is music composed, played, or both, specifically to accompany social dancing. ...

Thrace

Main article: Music of Thrace Thrace is a historical region of Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. ...

Instruments used in ancient Thracian music such as Bagpipes (gaida) and lyra are still the ordinary instruments of folk music in Thrace. Folk dances include the tripati, sfarlis, souflioutouda, zonaradikos, kastrinos, syngathistos, baintouska and apadiasteite sto xoro. Thrace (Greek Θράκη, Thrákē, Bulgarian Тракия, Trakija, Turkish Trakya; Latin: Thracia or Threcia) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... The gaida (also spelled gajda) or cimpoi or tulum, is a bagpipe from South Eastern Europe (The Balkans). ... Lyra (Latin for Lyre) is one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and is one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. ... Thrace (Greek Θράκη, Thrákē, Bulgarian Тракия, Trakija, Turkish Trakya; Latin: Thracia or Threcia) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ...

In Thrace there is also a Muslim, mainly Turkish and Gypsy, minority. The dominant music of Turkey, Arabesk, had been banned in Turkey because of its Arabic origins in the past. Thus the traditional music of the minority in Greece is usually seen as more genuine Turkish (Arabesk) than the folk music found in Turkey itself. Thrace (Greek Θράκη, Thrákē, Bulgarian Тракия, Trakija, Turkish Trakya; Latin: Thracia or Threcia) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ...

Cyprus

Main article: Music of Cyprus The music of Cyprus includes a variety of classical, folk and popular genres. ...

Cyprus is an independent country, currently contested between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Cyprus' folk traditions include dances like the sousta, syrtos, zeimbekikos, dachas, and the kartsilamdhes. Political status de facto: Independent de jure: Recognized only by Turkey Official language Turkish Capital LefkoÅŸa (Nicosia) , Founder Rauf DenktaÅŸ President Mehmet Ali Talat Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer House Speaker Fatma EkenoÄŸlu Area  - Total  - % water 3,355 km² 2. ...

Izmir/Smyrna

Main article: Music of Izmir

Izmir, formerly known by the Greek name Smyrna, is a city in modern Turkey, in Izmir Province. The city was ethnically Greek until the 1920s, when the Greek population was expelled. The city's musical heritage include the songs of these people, similar in style to rebetiko; they are sad tales of burning and loss, and are called Smyrnaiika. Shows the Location of the Province İzmir Izmir from space, June 1996 Izmir (Turkish spelling İzmir, contraction of its former name Smyrna), the second-largest port (after İstanbul) and the third most populous city (2,409,000 in 2000) of Turkey, is located on the Aegean Sea near the Gulf... Shows the Location of the Province İzmir İzmir is a province of Turkey in the western Anatolia on the Aegean coast. ... Rebetiko, plural rebetika, (Greek ρεμπέτικο and ρεμπέτικα respectively) is the name for a type of urban Greek music. ...

Laz Music(Pontos)

Main article: Music of Pontos(Music of Laz)

Pontos is a region in Turkey on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. It was inhabited by ethnic Greeks until 1924, and elements of Greek music remain. The region's dance style uses unique techniques like odd shoulder tremors and knee bends. Folk dances include the gerasari, trgona, kots, omal, serra, kotsari and tik. Pontus was a name applied in ancient times to extensive tracts of country in the northeast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) bordering on the Euxine (Black Sea), which was often called simply Pontos (the Main), by the Greeks. ... Map of the Black Sea. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Omal was one of the first dances to be developed from the region of Pontos. ... There are places that have the name Serra (Portuguese meaning a mountain range): // In Brazil, South America Serra (Brazil) , Espírito Santo, Brazil Related Amparo do Serra, Minas Gerais Araçoiaba da Serra, São Paulo Bom Jardim da Serra, Santa Catarina Bom Jesus da Serra, Bahia Campestre da Serra... This dance comes from the Kars region of Pontos, an ancient kingdom in the area of Turkey. ... Tik, is the street name of methamphetamine used by a sharply increasing number of addicts in the Western Cape province of South Africa. ...