Traditional Greek Music

 Greek music has played a massive role in the formation of Greek culture. From ancient to modern times, even though Greek music has modified, it still is a very unique art. 

Greek music does not only differentiate from other countries' music, but also from region to region in Greece herself. The main categories into which Greek traditional music is divided are the dimotika tragoydia, the nisiotika, the kantades and last but not least, the rebetika. 

The Greek folk songs, otherwise called dimotika, are known and played all across Greece, Cyprus and even some regions of Turkey where a lot of Greeks live, and they are said to derive from Ancient Greek music, where poetry and music were unseparated. 

The nisiotika is the general term that includes the different music by which each Greek island is characterized. Each island has an individual que type of music which they listen to and perform on different ceremonies, especially those of joy, such as marriages or baptisms. 

The kantades are heavily influenced by Italian music and they refer to romantic songs that men wrote or performed to the woman they adored and loved. When somebody listens to the term "kantades", the picture that should pop up in his mind should probably be a man standing outside of a woman's window playing and singing the song that describes his feelings towards her, while the woman is staring at him and admiring. The kantades remind people a lot of balads.

Lastly, the rebetika are the songs that were written and performed by lower class people. Their main concept is social injustice and its forms, like theft, poverty, deaths, struggles and suffering. The rebetes were really proud of their music and they considered it to be a form of expression and a part of their identities. 

Every Greek music category is accompanied by a corresponding special dance or dances. Some of these dances are the sirtaki, the kalamatiano, the zebekiko, the hasapiko and the ikariotikos.