Musical analysis of story folk songs from Elazığ region

Folk songs not only signify the most important musical and folkloric asset of a region but also serve as a subject of study for the cultural and social history of the area in which they were created. The melodies and rhythms, the themes and emotions expressed, and the narrative styles in folk songs encapsulate all the contradictions of the region and period from which they emerge. In this respect, folk songs are a rich source of oral history concerning power relations, traditions, lifestyles, and ways of thinking within a society (Thompson, 1996: 1-64; Caunce, 2001: 6-30). Some researchers emphasize the societal impact of music as much as its aesthetic capacity (Radocy and Boyle, 2012). In other words, folk songs are both products of a society's cultural and economic life and influential in shaping that society's perception of events. The Elazığ region, an ancient and multicultural area, holds a notable place in Turkey for its musical heritage and folk song performances. A significant indication of this is the substantial representation of Elazığ-Harput folk songs in the TRT Turkish folk music repertoire. Folk songs from the Elazığ region have been classified according to various criteria. Some researchers and collectors have categorized the region's folk songs based on their melodies and rhythms (Memişoğlu, 1966), while others have classified them based on their connection to specific events (Sunguroğlu, 2013). Still, other researchers have organized these songs according to their themes (Yücesu, 1997). This study will not examine all the folk songs of the Elazığ region; instead, it will focus on those with accompanying stories. Additionally, the narrative folk songs selected for this study will be subjected to musical analysis. Keywords: Elazığ, Harput region, songs of Harput, Harput's music, storied folk songs, musical analysis, folk music.