The Music of Macedonia is the music of the Greek geographic and historic region of Macedonia. It forms part of the broader musical tradition of mainland Greece and of the southern Balkans. Compared to other regions of Greece, the music of Macedonia is characterized by a high degree of diversity, due to the numerous influences it has received over the years from neighboring countries and particularly from refugees arriving in the early 20th century. In general terms, Macedonian music can be thought of as the connecting chain between the Western musical tradition of Epirus and Thessaly and the Eastern musical tradition of Thrace and Constantinople. Macedonian music is known for its tradition of patriotic folk songs, including klepht songs and songs that make references to the Macedonian Struggle. It is also notable for the use of brass instruments (called chálkina), trumpets, tympana and koudounia. Other instruments used include clarinet, violin and Macedonian lyra. Folk dances from Macedonia include the Macedonia, Hasapiko and Syrtaki (found allover Greece), Leventikos, Endeka Kozanis, Stankena, Akritikos, Baidouska, Macedonikos antikristos, Kori Eleni, Partalos, Kleftikos Macedonikos, Mpougatsas, Kastorianos, O Nikolos, Antikrystos, Sirtos Macedonias, Zeibekiko and Kapitan Louka. Macedonia and especially its capital, Thessaloniki, maintain a thriving music scene and have been home to many of Greece's most prominent popular musicians of singers, including Marinella, Stavros Kouyioumtzis, Giannis Kalatzis, Paschalis Terzis, Natassa Theodoridou, Antonis Remos, Nikos Papazoglou, Giannis Aggelakas, as well as bands such as Onirama, Xylina Spathia, Trypes and Nightrage. History Excavations in Macedonia have discovered musical instruments similar to the aulos as early as the Neolithic Era and throughout classical antiquity. The Ancient Macedonians enjoyed similar music to the rest of the Ancient Greeks and Alexander the Great and his successors built odea for musical performances in every city they built, from Alexandria in Egypt to cities as distant as Ai-Khanoum in what is now modern-day Afghanistan. Macedonian songs are in particular influenced by the Acritic Byzantine tradition, while instruments such as the tambourine, the Macedonian lyra and the Macedonian bagpipe are directly descended from medieval Greek equivalents. Many local dances such as Syrtos have also been danced to similar music for hundreds of years. Modern Macedonian music is an admixture of the music of pre-20th century Greek Macedonians, which has some similarities to the music of neighboring Epirus and Thessaly, such as the music of Greek refugees from Asia Minor, who arrived following the Asia