Gagik Gasparyan

Traditional music is an umbrella term used in the mid–20th century by folklorists and ethnomusicologists to denote community-rooted, orally transmitted repertoires tied to social ritual, work, celebration, and storytelling. Unlike commercial pop or art-music traditions, traditional music is typically learned by ear, varies regionally, and evolves slowly through communal participation. It often features modal melodies, cyclic rhythms, heterophony or unison singing, and indigenous instruments whose timbres are integral to local identity. Lyrics tend to preserve language, history, and collective memory. While the musical practices themselves can be ancient, the phrase “traditional music” emerged to replace earlier, narrower or colonial framings like “folk” or “ethnic” music, foregrounding continuity, locality, and living practice rather than exoticism.

Duduk is the musical tradition centered on the Armenian double‑reed woodwind of the same name, carved from apricot wood and known for its warm, breathy, and mournful tone. In performance, a lead duduk plays the melody while a second duduk sustains a continuous drone (called the dam), creating a floating, modal soundscape. Its repertoire ranges from laments and lyrical songs to dance tunes and free, improvisatory preludes. The sound has become emblematic of Armenian identity, yet it also resonates across West Asia and, in recent decades, global film and ambient music for its evocative, melancholic color.