Bahri Karacay: Transcript

Turkish saz player
Close Window

The instrument I play is called saz, S-A-Z. It's a typical Turkish folk instrument. And Turkish people have been playing saz for more than thousand years because they move to Turkey in year 1071. (Music)

My name is Bahri Karacay. I am from Erzurum, which is a city located in northeast part of Turkey. My main, I guess, instrument—I don't know how to call it. My main strength is my voice, and I learn saz along the way, actually. It's like a guitar, you know; if you're a musician, you play one instrument, and over the years I just learned. I'm definitely not one of the best saz players in Turkey, by any means, but I play enough to accompany myself in concerts. (Music)

Turkish people moved to today's Turkey from Central Asia, and they used to play saz even when they were in Asia. So they brought the instrument together with them to today's Turkey. And, since then, it has been a big part of culture, and it became recently very popular. Even the internationally known pop artists who are Turkish also use saz in their music. (Music)

In my home town when I was in sixth grade, I have heard an announcement that they were going to establish a Turkish folk music choir, children's choir. So I was really interested in that one, and that's how everything started. Back then, Turkish Government owned radio stations that also took care of the music. Those stations would have folk choirs, Turkish art music choirs, and classical music choirs. So my teacher was part of the Turkish radio and television organization. He is one of the music authorities in folk music today as well. So this is how everything started. And I started going to that so-called foundation, Erzurum Turkish Folk Music and Dance Organization. (Music)

There are several different types of music in Turkey I can categorize as: Turkish folk music, Turkish art music, religious music, which is also known as Sufi music, and there's also new interpretation type of music. And I don't know what kind of category I should put because they use also saz. And there's also Arabesque music, which is influenced by more Arabic music. Although you know Turkish people are not Arabs by race, but they have been living together for centuries. So there was influence on each other. So the Arabesque music sounds pretty much like Arabic music but with Turkish lyrics. (Music)

My favorite is Turkish folk music, of course, but I also enjoy other type of music. Each one has its own beauty, I think.