Music of Mongolia

Among the unique contributions of Mongolia to the world's musical culture are the long songs, overtone singing, and morin khuur, the horse-headed fiddle.

The music of Mongolia is also rich with varieties related to the various ethnic groups of the country: Oirats, Hotogoid, Tuvans, Darhad, Buryats, Tsaatan, Dariganga, Uzemchins, Barga, Kazakhs and Khalha.

Eastern Mongols typically use a morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) as accompaniment, sometimes with a type of indigenous flute named limbe.

In neighboring China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, 15 notated chapters of the court music of the last Mongolian Great Khan Ligdan (1588–1634) was found in a temple near the ruins of his palace Chagan Haote (Ochirt Tsagan Khot).

It was already known that the Qing Dynasty of China greatly valued Mongol court music and made it an integral part of its royal ceremonies, especially at feasts.

The pop scene includes solo artists, such as the renowned Ariunaa, also Altaa, Bayartsetseg, Bold, BX, Delgermörön, Erdenetsetseg, Jargalsaikhan.D, Onon, Sarantuya and Serchmaa, boy bands like Camerton, Nomin Talst and Motive, and girl groups like Kiwi, Gala, 3 ohin, Lipstick, SweetYmotion, Anemone and The Wasabies.

From the early 1990s, Mongolian teenagers and youngsters formed dancing groups with anywhere between three and thirty members that started to compete in national tournaments.

Although, the Mongolian-Swedish rapper Battulga Munkhbayar, also known as The yellow Eminem and 50 öre, has made it to the big stages in Sweden because of his unique rap style.

A later generation consisted of bands and solo artists like Dain ba Enkh, 2 Khüü, Erkh-Chölöö, Lumino, Mon-Ta-Rap, Ice Top, Odko, Big Gee, Quiza, B.A.T, URMC, and female rappers Gennie with Hulan.

They continued with similar messages as their predecessors but also came to include “soft” touches in their songs, which faced strong resistance from hardcore rap fans but were welcomed by the general public.

Some of the repeatedly heard lyrical themes are very distinctive for Mongolia: heartfelt tributes to the songwriter's mother, for example, or paeans to great horses.