Sakarya Folk Songs
Due to the immigration the province has received from different regions, its folk music and traditional dances exhibit great diversity. Communities arriving from the Eastern Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia, and Aegean regions, as well as the Northern Caucasus, strive to maintain their musical and dance traditions. In addition to the influences brought by immigration, the folk music of Sakarya also bears traces of the music from neighboring provinces such as Bolu, Kocaeli, and Bilecik.
No uzun hava (unmetered folk song) has been detected in the region; however, it has been determined that the kırık hava (metered folk song) tunes bear the melodic characteristics of zeybek, horon, and Caucasian music. It has been observed that melodies in 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9-time meters are predominant in the area.
During weddings, religious holidays, and special occasions, communities arriving from various regions perform their own local dances in Sakarya, which is both an agricultural and industrial zone.
Various folk music instruments coexist in the region; among the folk instruments of this area are the divan, bağlama, cura, and tambura (types of long-necked lutes), the zurna (double-reed wind instrument), tongued and tongueless woodwind flutes (dilli ve dilsiz kaval), the bellows accordion (körüklü armonika), the Black Sea kemençe, the davul (bass drum), tambourine (tef), goblet drum (darbuka), wooden spoons (kaşık), and cymbals (zil).