Traditional Instrumental Music

Traditional instrumental music in its broader sense covers sounds created by all kinds of tools whereas the sound of such tools, its beauty or regularity, at least, is considered important. Traditional instrumental music in its more narrow meaning stands for playing techniques or tunes widely used among people, and performed on instruments specifically made for that purpose, e.g. bagpipes, kannel, violin, etc.
Thus, traditional instrumental music covers nicely diatonic accordion tunes and kannel sounds that Estonians know so well, however, in some theoretical approach also signals given by clappers or scaring wild animals away with rattles.

Traditional music has evolved in oral transmission, it is characterised by continuity between past and present, by variation based on the creative impulse of an individual or a group, and by social choice defining the musical form. It is the living communicative tradition of a community.