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Volksmusik (literally translated from the German as "people's music") is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional music
Traditional music

Traditional music is the term now used in the terminology of Grammy Awards, for what used to be called "folk music". Full details of this change can be found in the article World music terminology....
 from the Alpine regions of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
 and the province of Bolzano-Bozen (Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
). It tends to be dialect-heavy and invokes local and regional lifestyles and traditions, particularly those of the Alpine farmers and peasants.

Typical instruments range from Alpenhorns to Zither
Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures....
s and acoustic guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
s, and even violas and harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
s.






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Volksmusik (literally translated from the German as "people's music") is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional music
Traditional music

Traditional music is the term now used in the terminology of Grammy Awards, for what used to be called "folk music". Full details of this change can be found in the article World music terminology....
 from the Alpine regions of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
 and the province of Bolzano-Bozen (Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
). It tends to be dialect-heavy and invokes local and regional lifestyles and traditions, particularly those of the Alpine farmers and peasants.

Typical instruments range from Alpenhorns to Zither
Zither

The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures....
s and acoustic guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
s, and even violas and harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
s. Harmonized singing is frequent, but other pieces may require yodeling
Yodeling

Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto voice, making a high-low-high-low sound....
, while instrumental arrangements are particularly frequent for fast dances or brass pieces.

Volksmusik continues to be performed by many local groups and orchestras throughout the European Alps and should not be confused with volkstümliche Musik
Volkstümliche Musik

Volkst?mliche Musik is a modern variation on the traditional music of German-speaking countries in general and their European Alps regions in particular....
, which is largely to be found in broadcasting
Broadcasting

Broadcasting is distribution of Sound and/or video Signalling s which transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults....
 media
Mass media

Mass media is a term used to denote a section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a mainstream such as the population of a nation state....
 and on ancillary
Ancillary

*Ancillary administration*Ancillary jurisdiction*Ancillary statistic*Ancillary data*Ancillary relief*Ancillary doctrine...
 merchandise.

See also

  • Music of Germany
    Music of Germany

    Forms of German language music include Neue Deutsche Welle , Krautrock, Hamburger Schule, Volksmusik, German hip hop, trance music, Schlager and multiple varieties of folk music....
  • Austrian folk dancing