Kyrgyz music is nomadic and rural, and is closely related to Turkmen and Kazakh folk forms. Kyrgyz folk music is characterized by the use of long, sustained pitches, with Russian elements also prominent.
The morin khuur, also known as the horsehead fiddle, is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered a symbol of the nation of Mongolia. The morin khuur is one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity identified by UNESCO.
The igil is a two-stringed Tuvan musical instrument, played by bowing the strings. The neck and lute-shaped sound box are usually made of a solid piece of pine or larch. The top of the sound box may be covered with skin or a thin wooden plate. The strings, and those of the bow, are traditionally made of hair from a horse's tail, but may also be made of nylon. Like the morin khuur of Mongolia, the igil typically features a carved horse's head at the top of the neck above the tuning pegs, and both instruments are known as the horsehead fiddle.
Buryatia is a part of the Russian Federation. One of the country's main instruments is a two-stringed horse-head fiddle called a morin khuur. This is an instrument closely linked to the all-important cult of the horse, belonging to the intangible heritage of all Mongolic peoples. Other elements of Buryat music, such as the use of fourths both in tuning instruments and in songs, and pentatonic scales, reveal similarities to music from Siberia and Eastern Asia. There traditionally was no polyphony, instead voices and instruments performed the same melody in unison but varied in timing and ornamentation.
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of China, with traditions related to Tuvan music and Mongolian music. Popular musicians including the yangqin player Urna Chahar-Tugchi, formerly of Robert Zollitsch’s Gaoshan Liushui, a world music ensemble. The singer-songwriter Tengger has been well known throughout China since his 1986 hit "I am a Mongolian" ; he has since formed a band called Blue Wolf.
The musical traditions of Central Asia mirror the immense diversity found in the cultures and populations residing in the region. Principal instrument types are two- or three-stringed lutes, the necks either fretted or fretless; fiddles made of horsehair; flutes, mostly sige at both ends and either end-blown or side-blown; and jew harps, mostly metal. Percussion instruments include frame drums, [[Tam origin of the bowed string== Use of the bowed string is thought to originate with nomads who mainly used the snake-skin, covered horsetail-bowed lute. In Mongolia instruments like the morin khuur or horse-head fiddle survive today.
The music of Kalmykia, a national republic within Russia, has roots in the musical culture of the Oirats. Traditional instruments include the dombra, which is used to accompany dance music. The state folk ensemble Tulpan was formed in 1937 to promote traditional Kalmyk music.
The long song is one of the central elements of the traditional music of Mongolia. This genre is called "Long song" not only because the songs are long, but also because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration. A four-minute song may only consist of ten words. Certain long songs such as Uvgin shuvuu khoyor, also known as Jargaltain delger take up to three hours to sing at full length, with all thirty-two stanzas. Lyrical themes vary depending on context; they can be philosophical, religious, romantic, or celebratory, and often use horses as a symbol or theme repeated throughout the song. Eastern Mongols typically use a Morin khuur as accompaniment, sometimes with a type of indigenous flute, called limbe. Oirat groups of the Western Mongols traditionally sing long songs unaccompanied or accompanied with the Igil.
Mongol-Tuvan throat singing, the main technique of which is known as khoomei, is a style of singing practiced by people in Tuva and Mongolia. It is noted for including overtone singing. In 2009, it was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO. The term hömey / kömey means throat and larynx in different Turkic languages. That could be borrowed from Mongolian khooloi, which means throat as well, driven from Proto-Mongolian word *koɣul-aj.
Egschiglen are a Mongolian folk band, formed in Ulan Bator in 1991. In English, Egschiglen means "Beautiful Melody", and they are one of very few traditional Mongolian bands to have become internationally popular.
Hanggai is an Inner Mongolian folk music group based in Beijing who specialize in a blend of Mongolian folk music and more modern styles such as punk rock. Their songs incorporate traditional folk lyrics as well as original compositions, and are sung in Mongolian and Mandarin.
Altan Urag is a Mongolian folk rock band. Formed in 2002, the band's musical style combines traditional Mongolian and contemporary influences. They're considered to be the pioneers of mongolian folk-rock.
This is a discography of the Mongolian heavy metal band Hurd.
Altai Khairkhan is an overtone singing ensemble from Mongolia founded in 2002 by Childeegiin Palamjav, Sambuugiin Pürevjav and Ejeegiin Toivgoo.
Biyelgee or Bii, is a unique form of dance, originated from the nomadic way of life.
Tengger Cavalry was a heavy metal band originated from Inner Mongolia and Beijing and formerly based in New York state and Texas. They combine elements of the traditional music of Central Asia and music of Mongolia with heavy metal into a kind of folk metal that Billboard and CNN refer to as nomadic folk metal.
Myagmarsürengiin Dorjdagva ; 1986) is a long-song singer from Mongolia and an independent long-song researcher. In 2007-2021, he served as a researcher at the International Institute for the Study of Nomadic Civilizations (IISNC), an international institution established upon the initiative and support of UNESCO in 1998.
Bukhchuluun Ganburged, also known as Bukhu, is a Mongolian Australian virtuoso throat-singer and Morin Khuur player.
Blue Mongol is an album by trombonist Roswell Rudd and the Mongolian Buryat Band, a five-member ensemble led by Mongolian vocalist Badma Khanda, featuring horse-head fiddle and bass, instruments resembling zither, dulcimer, and flute, and a throat singer. It was recorded in 2005 at Nevessa Production in Saugerties, New York, and was released by Sunnyside Records later that year. The album is a continuation of the cross-cultural experiments that Rudd began pursuing with 2002's Malicool.
