Play it all!: String ensembles in the Turkish music industry

Abstract

The thesis entitled "Play It All!: String Ensembles in the Turkish Music Industry" issues certain topics related with the phenomenon of string ensembles which have been one of significant elements in the Turkish music industry since the late 1960s. The research is a product of an ethnographic inquiry. Apart from participant observations and interviews, ethnomusicological literature and commercial recordings from the recording history of Turkish music sourced the investigation. The string ensemble in Turkish Music Industry is a product of modernization trials performed by significant actors from diverse backgrounds during the foundation of the musical genre called arabesk music. The works and efforts of significant actors of arabesk music were examined to set a ground for the foundation of the string ensembles. One of the findings of the thesis is the fact that arabesk music and string ensemble as its trademark were cultivated by diverse backgrounded musicians from the musical scene. However, some of them, such as Suat Sayın, Orhan Gencebay, Vedat Yıldırımbora, and Mustafa Sayan came forward as the most influential modernizers who impacted the music industry and followed by others. The very existence of the string ensemble shifted the musical style of the popular makam musics in terms of sonic range, timbre, melodic structures, form, and polyphony; which were elaborated in several sections of the text. Certain issues related with local and global styles, Arab influence, and social organization of arabesk musicians were addressed in the thesis. String ensembles have been dominated with Romani musicians since their foundation. The issues focusing on the social organization of the string ensembles with a special attention on the flexibility and networking of the string musicians in the marketplace promises a sublime data for the reader. In chapter 3, the findings from the field about performer profiles and cultivation processes of the Romani families and individuals as well as institutionalization processes which led to competition among the string ensembles were narrated. Performers of the string ensembles developed their musical tradition throughout history. As they provide service for the music industry, they adapted to changes in stylistic and aesthetic tendencies, economic fluctuations, and technological developments. In order to sustain their status in the marketplace they cultivated a musicianship which enabled them to perform any musical demand of actors who shape the musical scene. Meanwhile, their active participation in the productions transcend their significance towards active individuals and communities who shape the music.