Nordic folk music includes traditions from the Nordic countries, especially the Scandinavian countries. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. These countries have many regions that share some traditions. These traditions have become different over time in some areas. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and parts of northwest Russia share cultural similarities. These areas are different from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Atlantic islands of Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Greenland's Inuit culture has its own music, which is influenced by Scandinavian culture. Finland also shares cultural similarities with the Baltic countries and Scandinavian nations. The Saami people in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia have their own unique culture that is connected to nearby cultures.
Scandinavian music
The dulcimer and fiddle are the two most common musical instruments found in Scandinavia. In Norway, a special type of fiddle called the hardanger fiddle, which has eight or nine strings, is also used. Gammaldans is a type of dance song played with a harmonica or accordion. This style was popular in Sweden and Norway during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Circle dancing while singing ballads has been an important part of folk traditions in northern Europe for many years. Only the Faroe Islands still practice this tradition today, although some other areas have recently started to bring it back. Iceland has many old musical traditions that are no longer found in other parts of the Nordic region, such as the use of parallel fifths and organum.
The Inuit people of Greenland have their own musical traditions, which have combined with elements of Nordic music, such as the kalattuut style of Greenlandic polka. Finland was ruled by Sweden for a long time, so much of Finnish culture is influenced by Swedish traditions. Many Swedes live in Finland, and many Finns live in Sweden. These communities have created traditional and modern folk musicians, such as the Swedish-Finn Scea Jansson and Gjallarhorn, and the Finnish-Swedish Norrlåtar and JP Nyströms.
Baltic psalteries are a group of related plucked box zithers found in Finland (called kantele), the Baltic states (kannel in Estonia, kanklės in Lithuania, and kokles in Latvia), and northwest Russia (krylovidnye gusli). A bowed lyre (known as the Swedish tagelharpa, Estonian talharpa or hiiurootsi kannel, Finnish jouhikko or jouhikantele) was once played by Swedes living in Estonia, but its use decreased until it was recently revived. In the 19th century, the Baltic states received many foreign instruments and musical styles, leading to new combinations such as the zither kokles and the German-influenced ziņģe singing style in Latvia.
Sami music
The Sami people live in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the northwest part of Russia. The traditional instruments used by the Sami are drums and flutes. However, modern Sami bands often use many different types of instruments. Joiks are a special type of song. They do not have rhymes and do not follow a clear pattern. These songs are very important in Sami culture.
Balto-Finnic music
Balto-Finnic music is a type of music from the Balto-Finnic people. It shares features with both Nordic folk music from Nordic countries and Baltic folk music from the Baltic states.
Finland’s musical traditions are closely connected to the Balto-Finnic peoples of Russia and Estonia (Cronshaw, 91). Runic singing was common in the regions where these people lived. Estonia and Finland each have national epics that are connected to runo-songs: Kalevipoeg in Estonia and Kalevala in Finland. "Estonian runic song has the same basic form as the Finnish variety to which it is related: the line has eight beats, the melody rarely spans more than the first five notes of a diatonic scale, and its short phrases tend to use descending patterns" (Cronshaw, 16).
Contemporary applications
Nordic folk music is often used to create the background music for movies, TV shows, and video games. Well-known TV series such as Game of Thrones and video games like God of War include Nordic folk music to help viewers and players feel the atmosphere of ancient legends and myths.