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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.

Khakas traditional music is the folk and ritual music of the Khakas people of South Siberia (Republic of Khakassia, Russia). It centers on epic storytelling, overtone-rich throat-singing (often called kai/khai), and a distinctive set of indigenous instruments. Core timbres come from the chatkhan (a long zither), jaw harp (temir-khomus), shamanic frame drum (tüngür), and various flutes, with vocals ranging from clear narrative chant to deep, droning overtone techniques. Melodies tend to be pentatonic or modal, with narrow ranges, drones, and flexible, speech-like rhythm in epic recitation. Themes reflect steppe life, hero epics, nature, animist/shamanic cosmology, and communal memory. While ancient in origin, the tradition continues today through ensembles, community bearers, and staged folklore performances.

Altai music is the traditional music of the Altai peoples in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. It is marked by epic storytelling, overtone (throat) singing known locally as kai, and a timbre-first aesthetic that imitates the sounds of wind, rivers, birds, and horses. Core instruments include the topshur (a two‑string plucked lute), the shoor (end‑blown flute), the khomus (Jew’s harp), and frame drums used in ritual and narrative contexts. Melodies often draw on anhemitonic pentatonic modes and flexible, speech‑like rhythms, while textures tend toward solo voice with drone, or sparse heterophony from a small ensemble. Songs commonly praise mountains, taiga, and rivers, recount heroic epics and clan histories, and invoke Tengrist cosmology, blending practical herder life with a spiritual view of nature.