Greece

1. Greek Traditional Music
 Representative Genres / Styles / Instruments
1. Greek music is a very diverse subject this is mainly due to the fact it has
been influenced by many other cultures primarily Eastern and Western
Europe and Asia.
2. The Greeks used music in almost every aspect of their life and were
influenced by the feelings of love, hate, joy, sadness, Life and death and
many others.
3. Although there are many different styles and genres of music found within
Greece and their islands to name a few of the most popular and
representative of them would be:

2. Dimotiko Tragoudi (Folk Music)
 Dimotiko Tragoudi is the most prevalent in Greece and is very similar if not based on
ancient Greek music and poetry, it is separated into two musical styles the first being
akritic and the second klephtic.
 When Greece was controlled by the Byzantine Empire it is said that the first style of
folk songs was established to express the life and hardships of being a frontier guard
for the Byzantine empire.
 The second style rose after the Byzantine period and the beginning of the Greek
Revolution that was taking place at the time. This style is a little less sorrowful and
more alive than the previous as it was mainly used in celebrations of weddings, love
and freedom. It still expressed death and sorrow as all of it encompasses the history of
Greece.
 The most common instruments used in Greek folk songs are the lira, or laouto both of

3. Kantada
 Is a style of music in Greece that comes from the Kefalonia island. It is a more
romanticized type of music often sung by three males who’s voices are in chorus, It
has also been greatly influenced by Italian music.
 The instruments most associated with this style are the guitar, mandolin, or sometimes
a violin, clarinet, and laouto depending on the area.

4. Nisiotika
 A popular music genre among the greek islands in which each island created their own
style of it along with a unique dance that accompanied.
 Usually a violin, lira clarinet and guitar are played while either a woman with a high
pitched voice sings or a man with a low voice does.
 This type of music is played at almost every festival or event that takes place on the
Greek islands.
 While those are but a few of the many different types of genres and styles known
within Greece they are also some of the most popular.

5. Famous Greek Musicians
 There are many famous Greek musicians but to name a few of the most influential and
representative I shall.
 Chronis Aidonidis is a Greek singer who was born in a small village in Greece named
Karoti he is recognized for producing a bunch of older traditional Greek music mainly
focused around the Byzantine period. Throughout his life he has made tons of CDs for
Greek folk music and now he teaches traditional singing in Athens.
 Manolis kalomiris Is a very well known composer born in Smyrna Greece. He is the
founder of the Greek National School of Music in Athens. He was considered a very
passionate composer who used strong harmonies , orchestrations and many Greek folk
rhythms. He was a great model of the ideal Greek musician and was always looking
for ways to improve the future of traditional Greek music.
 Mikis Theodorakis is considered the most famous Greek composer who was born in

6. Greek impact on the history
of music
 Greeks have encompassed music into so much of their life that it is hard to assume
their culture has had no influence to the overall history of music.
 One major contribution to the understanding of music and its history Greece has made
is the argument of how music can actually effect your emotions, moral, mental and
physical capabilities. The fact that Greek philosophers were able to study and
recognize this occurrence is what makes a big influence to how music is made today.
Artists have now been known to use certain instruments and singing to make specific
tones and melodies that our bodies and minds can actually feel.