The Dengbeas House

The Kurdish men at this teahouse talk and sing. It seemed they were talking as they sang and singing as they talked.

At the Dengbeas House from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

Aww Dengbeas! from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

The Rhythms of the Black Sea

The frenetic and spirited songs of the people on the eastern Black Sea coast. Kemence, Tulum, Horon. Enjoy the rhythms!

The story is what makes this. I was on my way out of Rize, walking down the street, with backpack and violin, ready to catch the bus in a couple hours. I walked past a place that said, "Turkish Kefti"- it was a live music bar. The guy outside, Caglar, saw me and said,"You play?" I was invited inside and in only an hour, we played music, they gave me dinner, a beautiful lady sang Turkish songs to me, and we recorded a couple videos for remembrance sake. Quite an experience, and an hour later I was on a bus, headed out of Rize.

In Rize with Caglar and Murat from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

Turkish Musical Instruments

There are dozens of different instruments in Turkey. This is owing to it's wealth of music, made possible by the influence of the many different cultures that have once been here, been in the Ottoman empire, or are here now. This list is only a start, there are more.


The Saz, seen all around the mediterranean, is called the baglama saz in Turkey. It uses the special Turkish scale- akin to the Arabic scale, but not exactly the same. This is probably the most popular instrument in Turkey. Like the guitar in the U.S.. Here's a sample:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5bk09_ahmet-koc-haber-7-baglama-show-supe_music













The Cura, the balagma saz's little cousin. Check this video out:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=1978849













Yes, you see the bagpipe in Turkey. In the northeast in a place called Rize on the Black Sea coast. Introduced by cultures emigrating from Russia, Georgia, and throughout the Caucasus mountains into Turkey. Check it out:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1017406/amazing_instrument_tulum/











The accordion was also introduced by cultures from the Caucasus mountains into northeastern Turkey. See it here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2857194/akordeon_show/















The Zurna- It has a very nasally, loud sound. And the Davul drum, which is heard during Ramazan to wake people up for the morning prayer, and to remind them to eat before daylight.
Right here: http://www.vidivodo.com/90510/davul-zurna-keyfi















The Kaval. Known as the shepherd's flute. You'll see different sizes. Here's a couple:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=60022774
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=50214509












The tef, a kind of tambourine. Right here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xafar1_riqzilli-tef-improvisation-soft-pos_music






The Tanbur, an instrument used in classical Turkish music. It has a mellower tone and lower range than the balagma, but same tuning. Check it: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-4S4LyJ9msB0/m_zigin_renkleri_tanbur_02_b_lb_l_ussak/



















The Yayli Tanbur. The Tanbur's bowed cousin. Beautiful, cello like tone.
See a sample of the playing here:



The Kabak Kemane. An ancestor of the modern violin, that traces it's origin to the spike fiddles of central asia. Brought with the nomadic Turkish people on their migrations westward. Here:
http://tr.sevenload.com/videolar/EFO0T2p-Muzigin-Renkleri-Kirmizi-Bugday-Kabak-Kemane
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=44219144



















The Kemence Karadeniz. The fiddle of the Black Sea region and the Laz people of that area. Here a couple examples:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2902907/an_l_y_lmaz_kemence/
http://www.karadenizvideo.net/mirzalu-ali-kemence-video.html














The Turkish Rebab. The Ottoman answer to the rebab fiddles of the Arabic people, some of whom were under their rule. It is bowed and played like a spike fiddle, rested on the leg. See an example here:

And this is an older type found at the Mevlani museum in Konya.















The Classical Kemence. The lyrical, violin sounding instrument used in classical Turkish music. It is played by stopping the strings with the nail instead of the tips of the finger. For a sample, go to:
http://theworldofthedervishes.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/03-ussak6.mp3
Or scroll to my previous post of Feliz Bodur playing it live.




















The Violin. Mostly used in the soulful music of the gypsies of Turkey, but also incorporated into traditional Turkish music. See my post on Istanbul music-"good advertisement".















The Kanun. A zither type instrument, plucked with plectrum on the fingers. Also used frequently in the music of the gypsies in Turkey. See the post on Istanbul music again.




















The Ud. Famous all around the middle eastern region, it is also used frequently in Turkish music.




















The Ney. If there was one instrument to rival the baglama for popularity, it would be the ney. The voice-like tone of the ney is synonymous with the Sufi music of Turkey.












The Cumbus. Resembling the American banjo but with no frets. In fact, both the cumbus and banjo can trace their history back to northwestern and western Africa.




















The Darbuka. The most frequently used drum in group playing in Turkey, and seen all throughout the middle east. The sound is distinctive, and you're able to get a deep tone from the middle, and tight high sound from the edge.

Unusual Timing

The idea of unusual time signatures in Turkish popular song is not unusual at all. The time signatures of 5/4 and 9/8 are used frequently. Some others are also used, but these are the most common. Before I came here, and partly the reason I am here, was because I heard an old, popular song called Yemen Turkusu. It sparked my interest in Turkish music. It is slow, beautiful and sad, (even when you don’t know what they’re saying), and it’s story is told in 5/4 time. It’s easy for common Turkish people to hear this rhythm and sing songs such as this one. A few have wistfully sung this melody to me before I try to play it to them.
On tv programs, even network shows, they’ll have guest singers on and they will sing a song in 9/8. Everybody in the crowd is singing along easily.
When I was in a music shop, a young man was showing me how to play the balagma, a very popular Turkish lute type instrument. The song he chose to play was in 5/4.
I know this so far: songs in the 5/4 and 9/8 signatures are sometimes referred to as karsilama- a dance done with a group of people. This term refers more to the dance than the rhythm, and this dance has different expressions in different parts of the country. As every region in Turkey has it’s unique set of influences (something I hope to explain later), there are many different expressions.
So far, I’ve heard musicians play songs in a number of time signatures, often changing within the song. And while the 5/4 signature is used in varied song types, the 9/8 signature is usually used in fast songs made for dancing.
Where I’m from, the understanding of these time signatures is usually reserved for musicians, and not all of them can really hear or play in these measures. So it is impressive that pretty much as a whole, a culture has integrated these time signatures into their classical, popular and folk songs. I hope to be able to better understand the origins and meaning of these time signatures in Turkish music in the future, and I will add to this post when I do.

The Muezzin Calls

The song of the muezzin, calling people to prayer 5 times a day, is part of life here. It doesn't matter what you're doing or where you are. It is music and religion, one inspiring the other.

In The Park, Canakkale- Muezzin Call from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

Mardin Muezzin Mesopotamian from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

Classical Kemence- Filiz Bodur

I had the great opportunity to meet Filiz Bodur, a kemencevi (kemence player) from Canakkale, Turkey. She played and sang beautiful traditional Turkish songs for me, allowing me to see the technique used for this demanding instrument first hand. It's played by stopping the strings with your nails, unlike any instrument I've seen. Check it out:

Feliz Bodur- Classical Kemence from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

Musicians of Istanbul

Spiritual music for the Blue Mosque Ramazan festival.










A busker playing the Karadeniz Kemence, or Black Sea Kemence. The Turkish Laz culture's way of fiddlin'.










These guys were also busking. Playing the Ney flute, Kanun (struck zither type instrument), and Darbuka drum.

Zaragune from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

This band was actually an advertisement for a restaurant, but they were good.
Playing the Darbuka, Violin and Kanun.

Turkish Music-Istanbul from Jason Williams on Vimeo.

Tambur, Classical Kemence, and singer playing the Tef drum. Playing old, Ottoman era classical Turkish music.





They also know the other classics, so.......

The Music of Istanbul

The music of Istanbul is played by the 13 or so million people there. Boat horns blow and echo throughout town, announcing the coming and going of the ferries. Cars yell and quip at each other with their piercing horns, and rumble past with their exhaust pipes.

They are discussing, yelling, hammering, laughing, all in chorus with the city. It’s the musical pleading of the store or stall worker, each one answering the next in a chaotic marketplace call and answer; or the animated discussion of friends at the café in the alley over a glass of tea. The loving teasing and chiding of a parent to a child. Or the alluring, exotic sounds of music played by the lone musician, telling a story sad and old.

And then a seagull cries as it flies into town from over the waters of the Bosphorus, reminding all that they are there because of the water.