Nordic folk music includes traditions from the Nordic countries, especially those in Scandinavia. The Nordic countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
The different areas in the Nordic countries have some shared traditions, but many of these traditions have become different over time. It is possible to put together Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and northwest Russia as a group that shares similar cultural traits. This group is different from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Atlantic islands of Iceland and the Faroe Islands. Greenland's Inuit culture has its own musical traditions, which are influenced by Scandinavian culture. Finland shares many cultural similarities with both the Baltic countries and the Scandinavian nations. The Saami people of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia have their own unique culture, but this culture is connected to the traditions of nearby regions.
Scandinavian music
The dulcimer and fiddle are the two most common 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 are old dance songs played with harmonica and accordion. These songs were popular in Sweden and Norway during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Circle dancing while singing ballads has been a 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 again. Iceland has many ancient musical practices 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 been 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 new folk musicians, such as Scea Jansson and Gjallarhorn from Sweden and Finland, and Norrlåtar and JP Nyströms from Finland and Sweden.
Baltic psalteries are a group of related stringed box instruments found in Finland (kantele), the Baltic countries (kannel in Estonia, kanklės in Lithuania, and kokles in Latvia), and northwest Russia (krylovidnye gusli). A bowed lyre, such as the Swedish tagelharpa, Estonian talharpa or hiiurootsi kannel, and Finnish jouhikko or jouhikantele, was once played by Swedes living in Estonia. However, its use decreased until it was recently revived. In the 1800s, the Baltic states saw an increase in foreign instruments and musical styles, leading to mixes like 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. Traditionally, the Sami use drums and flutes as musical instruments, although modern groups often play many different types of instruments. Joiks are a special kind of song that do not have a set structure or rhyme.
Balto-Finnic music
Balto-Finnic music is a type of music created by the Balto-Finnic people. This music shares similarities with both Nordic folk music from Nordic countries and Baltic folk music from Baltic states.
Finland’s musical traditions are closely connected to the Balto-Finnic people in Russia and Estonia, as noted by Cronshaw (91). Runic singing, a style of vocal music, was practiced by these groups across their shared areas. Both Estonia and Finland have national epics that are based on similar forms of runo-songs called Kalevipoeg and Kalevala. According to Cronshaw (16), Estonian runic songs have the same basic structure as Finnish runic songs: each line has eight beats, the melody usually uses only the first five notes of a musical scale, and short phrases often follow patterns where the notes move downward in pitch.
Contemporary applications
Nordic folk music is often used to create the background music for movies, TV shows, and video games. Popular TV shows such as Game of Thrones and video games like God of War use this type of music to help viewers and players feel like they are part of ancient myths.