Mey in Turkish music culture and detections on the performance characteristics of the mey

Mey is one of the wind instruments in Turkish music culture, which is widespread in certain regions of Anatolia and has a long history. In the research, it is aimed to reveal the historical process of mey, which has survived to the present day through the filter of various civilisations, to examine its organological structure, to determine its regional belonging in Turkish folk music, to determine its performance techniques, to determine its traditional performance characteristics and to create an instructive melody/motif for these characteristics. In this respect, the research is considered to be important in terms of transferring mey, which is not as well known as folk instruments such as baglama, kaval, kabak kemane etc. and about which not enough research has been done, to future generations, recognising it and contributing to its performers. The research was conducted using the general survey model, one of the qualitative research methods. The data collected by document analysis technique were analysed and interpreted descriptively. As a result of the research, it is concluded that the bases, which are constantly repeated in some sources about mey's reaching to the present day in the historical process and whose accuracy has not been sufficiently researched, have been eliminated and that it has a history dating back to ancient Greece; In terms of organological terms, mey consists of five parts such as reed (reed mouth, throat and throat part forming the reed parts) clamp, mouthpiece, reed attachment and body, in the context of mey's cultural and regional belonging; It has been concluded that mey is performed in the Eastern Anatolia region, especially in Erzurum, Bayburt, Gümüşhane, Kars, Erzincan regions and Sivas, Malatya, Elâzığ, Tunceli regions, that the music culture of these regions directs the performance style and performance attitudes of the instrument, and that the performance techniques are classified as techniques performed with the help of breath, jaw and lips and with the help of hand. In addition, Turkish expressions were used in the naming of the identified techniques, special symbols and signs were developed for their representation on the note, and exercises and sample works were prepared for each technique in order to increase its applicability. Keywords: Mey, Organology, Region, Music Performance, Music Performance Techniques.