Investigating the Instruments

So we took a look at the "hora" circle dance that party guests partake in, saw a few examples of the songs the "hora" would be danced to, and discussed the text and musical structure. Behind the vocalist's melody are several key instruments that can be found in most songs from the Banat area (and throughout Romania). These instruments don't just play in the "hora" dance songs, but also the partner dance songs and slower performance music. 

The saxophone is a very important instrument in many pieces, often featured in the melody

The trumpet is also an instrument that will be the melodic highlight of a piece

This is a taragot. It is of Hungarian origin actually, but was adopted in the Romanian folklore music culture. As this an instrument that is most unfamiliar to the Western culture, I will be discussing this instrument in more detail in a later post. 

As there aren't percussion instruments typically found in traditional music, the accordion usually serves the purpose of keeping the rhythm and adding body to the melodic instruments.  

The flute and violin are also featured in some pieces, but the instruments shown above are most prominent and widely used. Many of the instruments are also seen in Western classical music and are not native to Romania. As Romania is a European country, there was lots of influence from Western Euro music cultures. Additionally, many Romanian musicians who played the traditional music would be musically trained and also participate in classical orchestras.