The invention of tradition in Turkish music in the Republican period

The 20th century, an age of nations, also witnessed the emergence of the Turkish nation-state. The nation-state building that emerged with the modernization movement is important in terms of its relationship with tradition. One of the cultural elements that nation-states resort to in the process of national identity construction is music. The complex relationship of republican modernization with music tradition shows itself in this process. On the way to national music, which is the product of the national identity imagination of the Republic, traditional music has been marginalized and excluded by the official discourse. Ottoman/Turkish music resorted to new practices that would provide legitimacy in order to survive despite this attitude it was exposed to. In this study, it is aimed to read the invention of tradition through Turkish music in connection with the historical process in order to understand the effect of music policies applied in the early Republican period on traditional music. Here, both the folk music tradition invented by the official political discourse and the traditions invented by Turkish music circles in response to the discursive and practical attacks will be discussed.