Şükrü Güler

Karadeniz türküleri are traditional folk songs from Türkiye’s Black Sea coast, especially the eastern provinces of Trabzon, Rize, Giresun, and Artvin. They are distinguished by driving dance rhythms (notably for the horon), odd meters such as 7/16, 5/8, and 9/8, and a bright, agile vocal style rich in ornamentation. Core timbres come from the Black Sea kemençe (a bowed lyra) and the tulum (a local bagpipe), often joined by bağlama/cura, koltuk davulu or davul–zurna, and frame drums. Melodically they are modal (makam-informed), with drones and microtonal inflections that reflect both Turkish folk and older Pontic/Caucasian layers. Lyrically, songs celebrate seafaring life, mountain villages, love and courtship, migration, teasing humor, and local identity. While most are in Turkish, regional languages such as Lazuri and Hemşince (and historically, Romeika/Pontic Greek) appear in the tradition, underscoring the region’s cultural mosaic.

Turkish Black Sea Region folk music (Karadeniz türküsü) is the lively, dance‑centered folk tradition of Turkey’s eastern and central Black Sea coast. Its hallmark sound features the high‑pitched, agile Karadeniz kemençe (a small bowed fiddle) and the droning tulum (Black Sea bagpipe), often driven by tight, breathless rhythms for the horon dance. Vocals tend toward bright, nasal timbres and quick melismatic turns, with texts in Turkish as well as local minority languages such as Lazuri and Hemşince. Melodically, tunes often follow modal (makam‑influenced) contours and narrow ranges, while rhythmically they favor asymmetrical meters—especially rapid 7/16 (2+2+3) and related subdivisions—producing an urgent, propulsive feel that invites communal dancing.