The Conceptual Meaning of a “Türkü Bar”

Abstract

In our country, traditionally, the “Türkü” holds an indisputably important position both in terms of literature and music. For this reason, it is still the subject of various studies conducted by social science experts from all over the world. Türkü is one of the most effective cultural transmission tools in the geography we live in. Folk songs are performed with different styles and attitudes throughout the country. In compilation studies conducted during the Republican era, it was observed that the same lyrics were performed differently in various regions according to the local traditions of playing and singing, and these diverse styles reflect one of the greatest riches of Anatolian peoples—its diversity. Nowadays, in the cosmopolitan urban environment of Istanbul, türküs are most frequently performed in türkü bars. Türkü bars are the quickest way for people to access folk songs. However, it would be incorrect to say that performance spaces are limited to türkü bars only. Besides türkü bars, folk songs also find significant spaces in certain concerts and performance venues, cemevis (Alevi worship places), associations, private courses, and even in the recently popular street music scene. Therefore, türküs are a music genre with a wide range of performance areas. This breadth is due to the fact that the population living in Istanbul mostly consists of communities who migrated from Anatolia and find their cultural values reflected in türküs. This study was prepared to identify the social and economic reasons behind the transfer of türküs—a musical genre belonging to the Anatolian music tradition—to the bar environment, to determine the meanings attributed to the concept of türkü in türkü bars, and to collect certain data about musicians and listeners as a result of fieldwork. The research aims to conclude what kind of meaning world türküs create in the bar environment and what meanings this world holds in terms of space, spatial dynamics, and musical dimensions.