I Kurdish music belongs to the same family as Persian music, but its main characteristic, as in Indian music, is the exploration of the octave. In the musical construction the improvisation at the outset is balanced by means of a measured concluding part.
Kurdish music is neither learned music nor folk music, but all in one.
Like Persian music, it is passionate, sensuous music, very often tinged with a profound melancholy. Although close to each other, these two words are very different and cannot be confused when heard, Persian music being more refined and that of the Kurds being more instinctive and more impulsive. At first sight, the way Kurdish musician considers his art may appear disconcerting to a westerner, for there exists no terminology indispensable in defining the phenomenon of sound. When Kurdish musician talks about music he never refers to concept with which we are familiar on account of the formal or expressive connotations. A musician gifted with great inspiration is spoken of as one who knows what he has to do, a difficulty in execution is interpreted in terms of a mountain that has to be crossed.