Uzun hava (literally “long air”) is a free‑meter vocal style in Turkish folk music characterized by unmeasured phrasing, wide melodic ambitus, and intensely melismatic ornamentation. Unlike the rhythmic, dance‑oriented kırık hava (“broken air”), uzun hava is usûlsüz (without a fixed beat), allowing singers to stretch lines for expressive effect.
The melodies are modal, drawing on Anatolian ayak/modal practice and, regionally, on makam sensibilities with microtonal inflections. Performances are often a cappella or lightly accompanied by bağlama family instruments (bağlama, divan saz, cura) and, in some regions, by reed and wind timbres such as mey, kaval, or zurna providing drones or sustained tones.
Texts typically voice longing, separation, exile (gurbet), grief, or devotional reflection. Regional subtypes include bozlak (Central Anatolia), hoyrat (Southeast/Arab‑Turkic borderlands), maya, and various local “gurbet havası,” each with their own melodic turns and dialectal text styles.
Uzun hava emerged within Anatolian oral tradition as a lament and expressive song form tied to local life‑cycle rituals, pastoral work, and communal storytelling. Its free rhythm and melismatic delivery likely crystallized in Ottoman times, when folk ayak systems and the broader makam culture intermingled across Anatolia.
With the rise of radio and state archives (e.g., TRT collections), uzun hava was codified alongside kırık hava in the modern taxonomy of Turkish folk genres. Field recordings preserved village styles while urban performers brought uzun hava to stages and records, often with refined bağlama accompaniment and studio reverb to emulate natural echo.
In the late 20th century, popular genres such as arabesk and fantezi absorbed uzun hava’s free‑meter preludes, modal color, and emotional rhetoric. Folk revivalists and conservatory‑trained artists continue to perform regional uzun hava, while modern fusions (including Anatolian rock and pop ballads) reference its ornaments and modal cadences for heightened expressivity.
