Čoček

Not to be confused with Köçek.

Macedonian man dancing čoček

Čoček (Albanian: çyçek/qyqek; Serbian and Macedonian: чочек, romanized: čoček; Bulgarian: кючек, romanized: kyuchek; Romanian: sistemul) is a musical genre and dance that emerged in the Balkans during the early 19th century. It features prominently in the repertoire of many Romani brass bands.^[1]

Čoček originated from Ottoman military bands, which at that time were scattered across the region, mostly throughout Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Romania. That led to the eventual segmentation and wide range of ethnic sub-styles in čoček. Čoček was handed down through the generations, preserved mostly by Roma minorities, and was largely practiced at village weddings and banquets.^[2]

Čoček is especially popular among the Muslim Roma and Albanian populations of Kosovo, South Serbia and Macedonia.^[3] When Tanec first came to America in 1956, they performed čoček as a Muslim woman's dance, "Kjupurlika" from Titov Veles.

The kyuchek, as a common musical form in the Balkans (primarily Bulgaria and Macedonia), is typically a dance with a ⁹
₈ time signature; two variant forms have the beats divided 2-2-2-3 and 2-2-3-2. (This latter meter is sometimes referred to as "gypsy 9".) Roma musicians living in areas of the former Yugoslavia have broadened the form to include variations in ⁴
₄ and ⁷
₈.

In the international folk dance community, čoček is danced to many melodies. Dances in the čoček genre include Jeni Jol and Sa Sa.^[4]

Jazz composer and musician Dave Brubeck was influenced by čoček-type tempos. For example, "Blue Rondo à la Turk", from the Time Out album, was written following a ⁹
₈ and ⁴
₄ pattern.^[5]

See also

• Balkan Brass Band

References

1. Laurens Hartong, Jan (2006). Musical Terms World Wide: A Companion for the Musical Explorer. Semar Publishers Srl. p. 100. ISBN 9788877780904.
2. Howard, Karen; Kelley, Jamey (4 May 2018). World Music Pedagogy, Volume III: Secondary School Innovations. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-70446-5.
3. Rechberger, Herman (February 2018). Balkania: Rhythms in songs and dances from Albania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. Fennica Gehrman. ISBN 978-952-5489-27-9.
4. Jeni Jol, Yeni Yol, (1*), Rumelaj (S**)- North Macedonia, Turkey
5. "Rediscovering Dave Brubeck". PBS. Archived from the original on 1 Jun 2023. Retrieved 17 Feb 2024.