Life of Özay Gönlüm and his contributions to Turkish folk music

Turkish Folk Music (TFM) has a significant role on protecting cultural values that belong to Turkish Nation and passing it on to future generations. Hence, it is crucial to record each component contributing to Turkish Folk Music in terms of being protected and transferred to next generations. In this context, it is possible to say that Özay Gönlüm, who has considerable contributions on both national and universal scales, is one of the most prominent figures in our culture. From this point of view, the life and contributions of Özay Gönlüm, who is a sophisticated Turkish folk singer as a performer, compiler, encomiast, needs to be analysed and recorded with regard to Turkish Folk music and our culture. This study is aimed at determination the state of through qualitative and quantitative data tecniques. Özay Gönlüm‟ s artistic personality and findings on his life with recorded works in TRT repertory form the population of the study and the sample of the study is formed by data which can be obtained and accessed. The study is restricted to his recorded works in the repertory of TFM in TRT. Some of the data obtained in the study process was converted to figures which can be expressed with numbers , percentage and frequency so as to be stated easily. It is concluded that Özay Gönlüm was a successful stringed instrument performer and he contributed considerable contributions to the repertoir of Turkish Folk Music with his compilations and fieldwork studies. He was a role model thanks to his ability to use folk music performing and encomiastic character. He brought a new point of view to the production of Turkish folk music instruments with his contribution to the production of Yaren stringed instrument. Moreover, he contributed to the introduction of Turkish Culture with his domestic and international performances. Key Words: Özay Gönlüm, Turkish Folk Music, Denizli Region,"Yaren Sazı", Encomiastic