Balkan music is a type of music from the Balkan region in southeastern Europe. It includes many different styles of music from countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and European Turkey. This music is known for having complex rhythms. Well-known groups in Balkan music are Taraf de Haïdouks, Fanfare Ciocărlia, and No Smoking Orchestra. Many of the performers in this music tradition are of Romani heritage.

Historical musical influences

Byzantine music (Greek: Βυζαντινή Μουσική) is connected to the sacred chants used in Christian churches that follow the Constantinopolitan rite. Its musical system is based on models from ancient Greece. Large hymns, called kontakions, began to develop in the fifth century. These are long, detailed songs that reached their highest point in the work of Romanos the Melodist in the sixth century. Heirmoi, which are hymns sung in a simple style, are collected in a large book called the Irmologion. This book first appeared in the middle of the tenth century and includes over a thousand examples of hymns arranged into an octoechos, which is a system of eight musical modes closely linked to ancient Greek music.

Greek folk music includes styles such as Demotika, Cretan, Nisiotika, Pontian, Laiko, and Rebetiko. Greek music developed in the Balkans by combining elements from different regions of the Greek mainland and islands, along with Greek Orthodox church chants and influences from Crete and Byzantine music. Music from the Aegean Islands is known for Nisiótika songs, and Greek music varies greatly in style. Crete has a famous tradition of folk dances, including fast dances like pentozalis. Most Greek folk songs are played with instruments such as the lira, clarinet, guitar, violin, and sometimes the mandolin. Greek folk dances include Kalamatianos, Syrtos, and Sousta.

Dimitrie Cantemir was a composer of Ottoman music. During Ottoman rule, many musical instruments were brought to the Balkans, and some Ottoman instruments were adopted by local people.

The word "Balkan" comes from Turkish and means "sharp mountains." The influence of Mehter and Turkish rhythms and melodies can be seen in Balkan music. In the 19th century, Turkish military bands replaced the Mehterhâne formations of the Janissary Turks starting in 1828. These bands replaced older traditional instruments like the oboe (zurna, zurla, or mizmar) and drum ensembles with double membranes.

Pre-modern Balkan music

Sevdalinka is a traditional type of folk music from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is an important part of Bosniak culture and is also shared by other groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina and across the former Yugoslavia region, including Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Many sevdalinka songs do not have known composers because they are traditional folk songs. In 2024, sevdalinka was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Traditional folk instruments in Bulgarian music include bagpipes (gaida and kaba gaida), drums (tapan), tarambuka, bells, daire, clapper, zilmasha, praportsi, woodwind diple (zurla, kaval, duduk, dvoyanka, ocarina, accordion), and string instruments (gadulka, tambura, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and gusle).

During the Nemanjic dynasty, musicians had an important role in the royal court and were called sviralnici, glumci, and praskavnici. Other rulers who supported music included Stefan Dušan, Stefan Lazarević, and Đurađ Branković. Musical instruments from the medieval period included horns, trumpets, lutes, psalteries, and cymbals.

Derivatives and world music

Fanfare Ciocărlia gained many fans in Europe because of their strong brass music, which attracted fans of rock, rave, and world music. In 1997, Ernst and Neumann brought Fanfare Ciocărlia to Bucharest’s Studio Electrecord to record their first album. The album, Radio Pascani, was released in 1998 by the Berlin record label Piranha Musik and became very popular. Another well-known band in Romania was Taraf de Haïdouks.

Progressive Balkan folk music has become popular in many Western countries, especially the United States. It has been most successful in communities that enjoy new and creative styles. Younger American generations are learning about this music and sharing it at small clubs and festivals across the U.S.

The lively and dramatic sound of progressive Balkan folk has also drawn interest from the Tribal Fusion bellydance community. Tribal Fusion does not copy traditional dances, costumes, or music styles exactly, but it takes ideas from Balkan traditions.

A band from the Bay Area, California, called Inspector Gadje plays traditional and modern Balkan dance music. Because the band members have different musical backgrounds, their music sometimes includes jazz and experimental styles.

Slavic Soul Party!, a group based in Brooklyn, New York, is a group of skilled brass musicians who mix traditional Balkan rhythms with jazz, soul, funk, and dance pop energy.

A British band named Sam and the Womp bases their music on Balkan funk style to create a modern and energetic sound.

An artist from Oakland, California, called Balkan Bump combines Eastern European music with electronic music and hip hop.

Another popular mix is Balkan music with styles from the Mediterranean, such as Flamenco, Jazz, and Middle-Eastern music. A group from Vancouver, Canada, called Ivan Tucakov and Tambura Rasa explores these combinations and more.

Traditional Balkan music mixed with modern electronic beats became a genre that started in Berlin’s underground music scene in the mid-1990s. The term “BalkanBeats” was created by Berlin DJ Robert Soko, who still holds monthly parties with this name today. This genre later spread across Europe and the world, becoming a well-known style now.

Music per country and ethnicity

• Music of Albania
• Aromanian music
• Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Music of Bulgaria
• Music of Greece
• Music of Hungary
• Music of Kosovo
• Music of Moldova
• Music of Montenegro
• Music of North Macedonia
• Romani music
• Music of Romania
• Music of Serbia
• Music of Slovenia
• Music of Turkey