[2] Dene folk music uses melodies similar to European scales with the coloration of blue notes.
According to scholar Michael Asch, Dene music includes "a melodic scale, melody, and metric rhythm".
Many songs, especially Drum Dances, ended with a vocal glissando and percussion break, along with a spoken thank you (mahsi).
In the contemporary era, Johnny Landry has become one of the best-known songwriters in this tradition, having penned "Hina Na Ho Hine", the "de facto Dene anthem", in 1980.
[1] A version of the song, recorded with Dene drummers, appears on Susan Aglukark's 1995 album This Child.