Circassian music refers to the traditional songs and instruments of the Circassians.
Instruments
Circassian music is characterized by certain instruments, including:
Pshine (), an accordion which is played in a specific way to produce Circassian tunes. Pkhachich (), 2 sets of "wood blocks", each set containing about six pieces of wood held by hand; when a player strikes them together they produce a pure sound of wood to indicate the beat rhythm of the song. Bereban, a drum known as 'Dhol'; in Adyghe it is called "Shontrip". Struck by hand or two short batons. Drummers' hands bleed when they train, or overplay. Pkhetaw, ('Wood-strike') made from wood looks like a small table and it is used for hitting it with sticks for tempo. Apa-pshine (), a three string lute. Qamil (), the Circassian flute. Shik'epshine (Adyghe: ШыкIэпшынэ), a Circassian stringed instrument. (Horse-tail violin.)
Dances
While there is a culture of song-storytelling by travelling 'Woredi'o's or 'Song-tellers', Circassian music used most often today is closely tied to Circassian dance. There are several dances that are performed differently:
Qaashuo (; ) is a piece with (4:4) time signature, and usually this piece demonstrates the relationship between the Sh'ale (boy) and the Pshashe (girl), this relationship which is built out of love, cooperation and strength. Usually 'Qafe' is the main social dance in a 'Djegu' (a Circassian dance gathering, literally meaning 'play') and there are more than 100 qafes written by different Circassian artists, apart from the original traditional dances, and the individualised styles by each self-trained of the Circassian society.
Wygg () is a formal piece with (8:4) time signature, and usually this piece is played before Challas are going to war, but nowadays it is played at the end of the Djegu involving all couples present, and usually it follows this rhythm each eight time intervals a new musical phrase is introduced, and this piece may be repeated several times since more than ten different Wuigs are available. It is said it was also used as a form of worship by circling a great tree that symbolises the forest God, Mez-i-t'ha. This 'rondel' type variant is the ancestor of the populasied dance known as The Circassian Circle danced by the Circassians' distant Celtic cousins after a cultural influx in the 18th century.
Tlleperush is a dance which originates from the Black Sea coastal area. It is a piece with (4:4) time signature, and the word "Tleperush" means "leg kick" and usually this piece is faster than Kafa and Widj, almost equal in tempo to known "Lezginka" but different in style and follows this rhythm (1&2..3&4) and this rhythm is produced by Pshina and Pxachach and Pkhetaw (a wood hitting instrument for tempo). Abkhazians have this dance too, and they call it "Apsua Koshara"
Zefauk' () means "approach to each other". It is a piece with (4:4) time signature, and very similar to Kafa; the word "Zefauk" means (forward and backward) and it defines how it is danced by going 4 steps forward and another four backward exactly as the Kafa but with different musical taste.
Sheshen () means "horse behaving". The dance is a fast piece with (4:4) time signature; this particular piece is played differently by pulling the Bellows of the Pshina in and out rapidly to create an Off Beat Rhythm which produces a Rhythm two times faster than its time signature, and the word shishan is a Circassian word and it is not linked to Chechen.
Tllepech'as is a fast dance and it is an improvisation dance it is considered to be one of the ancient dance of the Circassians, "Tlepechas" means "stick toes in the ground" the dance is based on the Nart sagas legends that used to dance on their toes.
Zighelet () means "be the top". The dance is very energetic and fast, and it considered to be the fastest dance in the Caucasus. It is danced in pairs, in which the male dances fast and strong to show his skills, and the woman dances gentle but moves fast.
Hakull'ash' means "lame man move". At the beginning it was a joke and comedy dance to make the viewers laugh, but with time it became part of the Circassian repertoire; its leg moves look like lame moves but the dance is a fast dance.