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Kırşehir Local Folk Music

Kırşehir is has a strong tradition of folk music and instruments. In the region, instruments such as the baglama, violin, and darbuka, which are also called ince saz, are common. Drums and clarions are also called rough instruments (kaba çalgı).

The source of most folk songs is from artists of the Abdal tradition who lived in Kırşehir and the surrounding region. The Minstrel tradition is mainly an oral tradition; Kırşehir folk songs are performed in a variety of dialects and interpretations, without providing reference, in many regions.

Kırşehir's minstrels carried the past to the present and beyond, with their musical instruments and words, expressing the thoughts, feelings and perspectives of the people living in that era, as well as events of the time.  

Artists such as Şemsi Yastıman, Muharrem Ertaş, Neşet Ertaş, Ekrem Çelebi and Çekiç Ali are among the most important poets of Kırşehir.

The Neşet Ertaş Gönül Sultanları Culture House (Neşet Ertaş Gönül Sultanları Kültür Evi) was used as the Governor’s Residence in previous years and restored to commemorate Neşet Ertaş, known as ‘the plectrum of the moor’. Ertaş, who performed as ‘Garip’, was a prominent poet and musician who died in 2012. He had been named a UNESCO Living Human Treasure.

In 2019, Kırşehir was included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of music. In this aspect, it has the distinction of being the first and only music city in Türkiye.

Kırşehir is the first place that comes to mind in Türkiye with regard to drum-clarion music and games. Drum Master Adam Göçer was selected as a UNESCO Living Human Treasure in 2017.