Greece Culture: The Greek Mainland: Music and Dance

Since the instrumentation for most Greek dancing is fairly consistent on much of the Greek mainland, including Ipiros, Thessaly, Roumeli, and the Peloponisos, it is best described here. The typical 'kompania' (or band) has the klarino (clarinet) as its lead instrument, with the violin also playing melody (or circling around the melody in Ipirot music), the laouto playing chords (and melody riffs and arpeggios, etc. in Ipirot music), and the defi (tambourine) or, in recent times, the toumbeleki/dumbek (except in Ipirot music, where the defi remains)as the percussion instrument. The santouri is sometimes also present in such groups. It should be noted that non-traditional instruments have entered into music all over Greece, and that modern bands will often be heard with armonio (electric keyboard), drum set (traps), electric bass, etc. Travellers seeking out music venues in Greece who are interested in hearing truly traditional music, must be vigilant in finding out what instruments are to be played beforehand. Even with the traditional instruments, however, the typical cranking up of volume on sound systems to ear splitting levels, the use of poor quality sound systems, and excessive use of reverb, can succeed in ruining what would otherwise be a good listening (and dancing) experience in Greece.