Metaphorical perceptions of generation Z about the concept of mehter

In the conceptual framework of the research, information about the Mehter tradition and its instruments has been conveyed. The aim of the research is to analyze the perceptions of Z generation students regarding the concepts of Mehter and Mehter music through metaphors, to categorize the created metaphors in terms of their common features, and to determine the level of awareness of the Z generation about these concepts. The research was carried out with the phenomenology design, which is a qualitative research method. The population of the research consists of high school students in Turkey, and the sample consists of eight hundred high school Z generation students in Adana in the 2022-2023 academic year. A semi-structured interview form about Mehter and Mehter music was applied to the sample group. After the application, both metaphor groups were numbered, starting from the first school, in parallel with the appointment order in which the semi-structured interview form was applied. It was checked whether the metaphors were clearly expressed by the participants. None of the semi-structured interview forms including metaphors regarding the concepts of Mehter and Mehter music were invalid. For the correlation between the concepts of Mehter and Mehter music, a content analysis study was conducted on 800 metaphors for Mehter and 800 for Mehter music. The metaphors created for the concept of Mehter were divided into 6 conceptual categories in terms of their common features, and the metaphors created for the concept of Mehter music were divided into 5 categories in terms of their common features and grouped according to the number of metaphors they contain. In addition, it was determined that most of the participants had positive perceptions about the concepts of Mehter (99.79%) and Mehter Music (99.27%). Suggestions were developed in line with the results obtained. Key Words: Generation z, Mehter, Mehter music, Metaphor, Musicology