Hungarian folk music

Hungarian folk music is a rich tradition with many different styles. These include the recruitment dance verbunkos, the lively csárdás, and the romantic nóta. It is known for its complex melodic patterns, diverse rhythms, ornamentalisation, and special instruments. Some of these instruments are the citera, cimbalom, cobza, doromb, duda, mandolin, tárogató, tambourine, tambura, tekero, and ütőgardon.

This music comes from the people of Hungary and Hungarian communities in places like modern-day Slovakia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania (Transylvania), Croatia, and Serbia. It began in the early 1800s among farmers. It became well-known because of the famous composer Franz Liszt. In 1846, Liszt wrote 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies for piano, which were later played with an orchestra. These pieces were among the first by a famous composer to use music from everyday people. They inspired other great musicians like Johannes Brahms, Zoltán Kodály, and Béla Bartók.

In the 1900s, Hungarian composers were inspired by their nation’s traditional music. They wanted to move away from strict classical styles. Béla Bartók used Hungarian music as a base for his symphonic works. Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók studied many melodies and found that newer dance tunes often used five-note scales with jumps of four notes.

Notable Hungarian folk bands and artists

• Dankó, Pista, a famous musician from the Romani community, made many folk-like songs
• Fonó Folk Band, a group that plays real folk music
• Gyurity, István, a singer who performed operetta and folk music
• Juhász Miczura, Mónika, a singer from the Romani community
• Kaláka, a band that plays real folk music
• Muzsikás, a band known for its real folk music
• Lovász, Irén, a performer of real folk songs
• Nox, a band that mixes folk music with pop
• Palya, Bea, a performer of folk and world music
• Sebestyén, Márta, a well-known performer of real folk music
• Dalriada, a band that combines folk music with metal
• Tükrös Ensemble, a group that plays real folk music
• Dűvő, traditional folk musicians