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The music of Finland can be roughly divided into categories of folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.

The folk music of Finland belongs to a broader musical tradition, that has been common amongst Balto-Finnic people, sung in the so-called ''Kalevala'' metre. Though folk songs of the old variety became progressively rarer in western Finland, they remained common in eastern parts of the country, mainly Karelia. After publication of Kalevala, this type of singing started to gain more popularity again. In the west of the country, more mainstream Nordic folk music traditions prevail. The Sami people of northern Finland have their own musical traditions, collectively Sami music. Finnish folk music has undergone a roots revival in the recent decades, and has also become a part of popular music.

In the field of classical and contemporary art music, Finland has produced a proportionally exceptional number of musicians and composers.

Contemporary popular music includes a renowned heavy metal scene like other Nordic countries, as well as a number of prominent rock and pop bands, jazz musicians, hip hop performers and makers of dance music. There is also a Schlager scene with bandstand dancing where the local variety of tango is also popular.

Folk music

There are two major traditions of folk music in Finland, namely, music of the ''Kalevala form,'' and ''Nordic folk music'' or ''pelimanni music'' (North Germanic ''spelman'', "player of music"). The former is considered the older one. Its most important form is called ''runonlaulanta'' ("poem singing", or chanting) which is traditionally performed in a trochaic tetrametre using only the first five notes on a scale. Making use of alliteration, this type of singing was used to tell stories about heroes like Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen, and Kullervo. The songs were memorised, not written down, and performed by a soloist, or by a soloist and a chorus in antiphony (see: ''Kalevala''). The Vantaa Chamber Choir is an example of a choir that sings such poems in modern arrangements.
left, Suomen laulu sung by a choir in 1929.
''Pelimanni'' music is the Finnish version of the Nordic folk dance music, and it is tonal. It came to Finland from Central Europe via Scandinavia, starting in the 17th century, and in the 19th century, it replaced the Kalevalaic tradition. ''Pelimanni'' music was generally played on the fiddle and clarinet. Later, the harmonium and various types of accordions were also used. Common dances in the ''pelimanni'' traditions include: polka, mazurka, schottische, quadrille, waltz, and minuet.

A form of rhyming sleighride singing called ''rekilaulu'' also became popular in the 17th century. Despite opposition from most of the churches in Finland, ''rekilaulu'' remained popular and is today a common element in pop songs. Since the 1920s, several popular Finnish performers have used ''rekilaulu'' as an integral part of their repertoire. Early pioneers in this field of pop rekilaulu included Arthur Kylander, while Erkki Rankaviita, Kuunkuiskaajat, and Pinnin Pojat have kept the tradition alive.

Early in the 20th century, the region of Kaustinen became a center of innovation for ''pelimanni'' music. Friiti Ojala and Antti Järvelä were fiddlers of the period. Konsta Jylhä and the other members of Purpuripelimannit (formed in 1946) became perhaps the most influential group of this classical period. Well-known Finnish folk music groups of today in the Kaustinen tradition include JPP, Frigg (although part Norwegian), and Troka. A group more focused on the earlier ''Kalevala'' singing traditions and the ''kantele'' is Värttinä. Another important folk musician of today is the accordionist Maria Kalaniemi.
Sikerma Laulaunaytelmasta performed in 1929.
Common instruments today also include trumpets, horns and whistle. Important musical virtuosos are Leena Joutsenlahti, Teppo Repo and Virpi Forsberg. More traditional Finnish instruments include the ''kantele'', which is a chordophone, and was used in the ''Kalevala'' by the hero Väinämöinen. More primitive instruments like the ''jouhikko'' (a bowed lyre) and the ''säkkipilli'' (Finnish bagpipe) had fallen into disuse, but are now finding new popularity in a folk revival.

In the 20th century, influences from modern music and dances such as jazz and foxtrot led to distinctively Finnish forms of dance music, such as ''humppa'' and ''jenkka''.

Sami music

The Sami of northern Finland, Sweden, and Norway are known for highly spiritual songs called ''joik'', reminiscent of a few types of Native American singing. The same word sometimes refers to ''lavlu'' or ''vuelie'' songs, though this is technically incorrect. The hip hop artist Amoc is noted for rapping in Inari Sami, a Sami language from the area of Inari.

Classical and art music

Classical music

In the 18th century, public concerts were established in Turku and Erik Tulindberg wrote six very famous string quartets. After Russia's 1809 annexation of Finland, the cities of Viipuri and Helsinki became cultural centers and opera became very popular. The first Finnish opera was written by the German composer Fredrik Pacius in 1852. Pacius also wrote ''Maamme/Vårt land'' (Our Land), Finland's national anthem and founded Akademiska Sångföreningen in year 1838, the oldest still active choir in Finland.

In 1874, the Society for Culture and Education ''(Kansanvalistusseura)'' was founded in order to provide opportunities for artistic expression, beginning with the Jyväskylä festival in 1881. The festival, organized on Estonian roots, still exists today. In 1883, the Helsinki University Chorus ''(Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat)'' was founded as one of the few Finnish-language choirs in the mostly Swedish-speaking scene. The same year conductor Robert Kajanus founded what is known as the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Martin Wegelius founded what is now known as the Sibelius Academy.

In the 1890s, Finnish nationalism based on the ''Kalevala'' spread, and Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony Kullervo. He soon received a grant to study poetry singers in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed Finlandia, which played its important role in Finland gaining independence. He remains one of Finland's most popular national figures and is a symbol of the nation.

Alongside Sibelius, the national romanticism sprouted a number of composers who all contributed in the formation of a distinct Finnish style of music. Heino Kaski was a composer of small chamber music pieces, Erkki Melartin's vast output includes six symphonies, Yrjö Kilpinen composed a vast number of solo songs, as well as Leevi Madetoja, Toivo Kuula. The 1930s saw composers like Uuno Klami and Yrjö Kilpinen rise to popularity. Kilpinen's approach was somewhat nationalistic, whereas Klami had Karelian influences while also leaning towards French models.

Finland has a very lively classical music scene. Composers are accompanied by a large number of great conductors such as Mikko Franck, Esa-Pekka Salonen (also a notable composer), Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä, Susanna Mälkki, Leif Segerstam and Sakari Oramo OBE. Many Finnish singers and instrumentalists have also achieved international success. Among them are the opera singers Martti Talvela, Karita Mattila, Matti Salminen, Soile Isokoski and Topi Lehtipuu, the pianists Ralf Gothoni, Olli Mustonen, Risto Lauriala, Janne Mertanen and Paavali Jumppanen, as well as the clarinettist Kari Kriikku and the violinist Pekka Kuusisto. Practically all prominent Finnish musicians perform both classical and contemporary art music, the old and new music are not separated from each other.

The opening of the new Finnish National Opera in 1993 and the new Helsingin Musiikkitalo in 2011 strengthened the position of classical and art music in the national infrastructure. The orchestra network in Finland might be proportionally the densest in the world, with the 30 member orchestras of the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras.

Opera

Aino Ackté and other prominent opera singers founded the Finnish Opera in 1911. Ackté also began a festival in Savonlinna the following year; this was the precursor of the Savonlinna Opera Festival, which was started in the 1960s, shortly before the new Finnish opera became famous in the 1970s. Leevi Madetoja's 1924 '' Pohjalaisia'', an operatic allegory about Russian oppression during the previous decades, became popular during the 1920s. At roughly the same time, Aarre Merikanto composed the opera ''Juha'' to the libretto by Aino Ackté, who rejected it and asked Leevi Madetoja to compose another version instead; Merikanto's Juha was first performed after the composers death in 1958, and is nowadays widely regarded as an underrated masterwork.

Aulis Sallinen started a new wave of Finnish opera in the 1970s with '' The Horseman'' and ''The Red Line''. The Red Line was soon recognized all over the globe with numerous reproductions in a.o. Moscow, London and New York City. Along with Sallinen's stage works, Joonas Kokkonen's opera The Last Temptations contributed heavily to the new rise of the Finnish opera music. More recent major operas by Finnish composers include among others Kaija Saariaho's ''L'Amour de loin'' and ''Adriana mater'' as well as Olli Kortekangas's ''Isän tyttö'' ("Daddy's Girl").

Contemporary art music

The first wave of post-classical music in Finland came about in the 1920s with young modernists Aarre Merikanto, Väinö Raitio and Sulho Ranta. However, this movement was tamed by the growing nationalistic tendency in the arts before the Second World War. In the 1940s, Erik Bergman and Joonas Kokkonen gained popularity and added important technical innovations to Finnish music. A new generation of Finnish composers turned into modernism, like Einojuhani Rautavaara and Usko Meriläinen, while the neoclassical style had its voice in the music of Einar Englund. The 1950s saw an increase in international attention on Finnish music and soon helped modernize Finnish composing.

The forming of the ''Ears Open!'' society in 1977 turned out to be the major change in the Finnish art music. From its circles there emerged a few composers and musicians who achieved worldwide success, like the conductor-composer Esa-Pekka Salonen, and the composers Eero Hämeenniemi, Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg and Jouni Kaipainen. The early ''Ears Open!'' society followed keenly the Central European modernism along the lines of Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, but also showed a lot of interest towards the post-war Polish School composers like Witold Lutoslawski. ''Ears Open!'' was followed by the forming of Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in 1983, which offered a fine platform for composers and instrumentalists to introduce new works and stylistic flows in Finland.

In the 21st century, the modernist movement has waned somewhat, but is still represented by composers like Veli-Matti Puumala and Lotta Wennäkoski. Juhani Nuorvala is a rare minimalist, whereas Osmo Tapio Räihälä and Sebastian Fagerlund are leaning more towards post-modernism.

Even performing of contemporary art music blossoms in Finland, with specialized groups like Uusinta Chamber Ensemble and Zagros. The most important stages for contemporary art music are the established festivals Time of Music in Viitasaari, Musica nova Helsinki and Tampere Biennale, as well as the Klang Concert Series in Helsinki.

Experimental

Classical elements and mysterious soundscapes characterize the compositions of Finnish film score composer Diana Ringo. Popular singer Anna Eriksson has transitioned to experimental music and film scores.

Popular music

Iskelmä

Iskelmä (coined directly from the German word '' Schlager'', meaning ''hit'') is a traditional Finnish word for a light popular song. Georg Malmstén started his career in the 1930s. Others, such as Dallapé, incorporated then-novel jazz elements. After World War II but before the introduction of rock music, such names as Olavi Virta or Tapio Rautavaara were among the most popular singing stars, and Toivo Kärki and Reino Helismaa most popular songwriters. Such foreign musical genres as tango would find their domestic audience as their Finnish appropriations. Some of the most acclaimed Finnish chanteuses of this time period included Laila Kinnunen, Carola, Annikki Tähti, Brita Koivunen and Vieno Kekkonen.

From the late 1960s, Irwin Goodman ( Antti Hammarberg), combining ''iskelmä'' and protest songs, would gain popularity with the humorous tunes penned by Vexi Salmi, who would become one of the most laborious writer of lyrics also for other Finnish artists. Juha "Watt" Vainio was another popular songwriter, known not only for Finnish renditions of many international hits but also for his own songs and being a performer in his own right. In the 1970s, hugely successful "Finnhits" compilation records of various artists would continue in the ''iskelmä'' tradition. Also rural-flavoured ''humppa'' would prove to be a successful variation of ''iskelmä'', later on parodied by the band Eläkeläiset. Other popular Finnish ''iskelmä'' singers are among all Katri Helena, Danny (a.k.a. Ilkka Lipsanen), Fredi, Eino Grön, Erkki Junkkarinen, Frederik (a.k.a. Ilkka Sysimetsä), Marion Rung, Tapani Kansa, Kirka (a.k.a. Kirill Babitzin), Matti ja Teppo, Jari Sillanpää, and Kikka Sirén. The annual Eurovision Song Contest has been avidly followed in Finland and eagerly participated by the singers voted to the contest by national juries, and were finally successful in 2006 with the melodic heavy rock band Lordi.

Like Finnish music in general, ''iskelmä'' is written mostly in minor, although to this rule there are many exceptions. The melodies have a distinguishable Finnish "flavour" that is somewhat related to Russian and Italian melodies and harmonies although Scandinavian and Anglo-American influence can also be heard.

''Iskelmä'' music is mostly and essentially dance music, and it is mostly if not solely performed on dancing stages and halls spread around the country. The best known and perhaps most beloved and respected though not most performed or danced genre of dances is the tango. A clear indication of this is, that the annual Finnish contest for iskelmä artists is named as "Tangomarkkinat" meaning "The Tango Marketplace"; many of the superstars of contemporary iskelmä have won this competition and it is major spectacle in Finland, even to some extent comparable with the San Remo festival in Italy.

Iskelmä is typically non-urban music and its greatest popularity is situated to the countryside and smaller cities.

Traditionally accordion has been the major instrument in iskelmä music and it is still played, but has in most cases been replaced by guitar, electric piano and synthesizer. These, with drums, electric bass and occasional use of saxophone form the basic instrumentation of iskelmä.

Rock music

Rock arrived in Finland in the 1950s. Founded in the 1960s, Love Records was one of the first domestic record labels dedicated to Finnish rock music, even though the label's roster also included jazz and political songs. During the late 1960s, Blues Section, a group inspired by Jimi Hendrix and The Who gained the reputation of being "the first Finnish band of international quality". Another band that gained some reputation was Apollo that had the later great jazz-drummer Edward Vesala as a band member. During these early days of Finnish rock the music didn't have much typical Finnish "flavour" and in the case of most bands, the activity was restricted in performing music made by international superstars. The aforementioned Blues Section later developed into internationally acknowledged "superband" Wigwam, had an English singer Jim Pembroke, who also wrote the lyrics and many of the melodies/harmonies of their songs. In the early days of the band there however were also songs with Finnish lyrics written by Jukka Gustafsson such as the classical Luulosairas.

During the 1970s, progressive rock groups Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti received critical acclaim in the United Kingdom, but fame evaded them. Pekka Streng was one of the great early pioneers of Finnish rock music with his very personal progressive folkrock and Finnish lyrics with a spiritual content. In the 2000s, there was a Streng-renaissance and one of his songs even became an international club hit. A hard-rock group called Hurriganes was popular in Sweden as well as in Finland, but not further afield. Hector, Juice Leskinen, Dave Lindholm and many other successful artists of the 1970s sang their lyrics in Finnish, a trend that has continued to this day. During the 1970s the genre of " suomirock" were born through the pioneering work of artists such as mentioned above.

Suomirock is a word that literally means Finnish rock music. However, its true meaning is a more specific one, meaning rock/pop music with Finnish lyrics. As a genre and a name it really started its life in the 1980s following the punk movement. It means rock/pop music, that is not only imitating international trends or otherwise having international sound and English lyrics, but a form of rock-music, that is recognizably Finnish and have Finnish lyrics. A more and more general and recent term is "suomipop". The boundaries between what is considered "rock" and "pop" have become quite blurred and arbitrary, and largely dependent upon personal preference. As it is also to some extent with rock / pop and iskelmä. Traditionally in iskelmä-music the artists themselves with few exceptions did not write their songs or lyrics, but in the rock scene the singer/songwriter aspect of the artist was considered important. It still is, but in the 2000s it is more and more typical that new performers such as '' Idols'' songcontest winner Ari Koivunen perform even heavy rock in the manner, that used to be typical only in iskelmä-scene.

The punk movement arrived in Finland in 1977 and had a great influence on the Finnish youth culture, Pelle Miljoona being the most famous Finnish punk singer. Terveet Kädet also started the hardcore punk-wave in Finland. Another popular band, Eppu Normaali, also started during this time period, (later to change its style from punk to rock / pop). At the same time, Finland also had a massive Ted movement of Elvis and rockabilly fans, later parodied by Finnish lo-fi punk band Liimanarina.

In the 1980s, most favoured artists were punkish Dingo and heavy-hearted Yö, both singing their lyrics in Finnish. In the underground, Ismo Alanko, considered by many as the foremost Finnish rock lyricist, gained a legendary status with his punkish groups Hassisen Kone and Sielun Veljet. Kauko Röyhkä was another literate underground icon, leaning musically towards Velvet Underground. The 1980s showed short international fame for punk style glam rock band Hanoi Rocks. Hanoi Rocks have been cited as an influence by major bands such as Guns N' Roses. Smack and Peer Günt were other successful Finnish bands of same style. Heavy metal was very popular in Finland during the 1980s, producing groups like Stone, the latter being a fondly remembered speed metal act. Hardcore punk is also popular in Finland, including bands such as Endstand, Abduktio, I Walk the Line, and Lighthouse Project.

In the early 1990s Finnish rock parody group the Leningrad Cowboys, a re-grouped international rock comedy band that grew out of the Finnish comedy band Sleepy Sleepers, whose members were used as actors in Aki Kaurismäki's comedy film ''Leningrad Cowboys Go America'', achieved Central European touring success and performed live at the MTV Music Awards in New York City in 1994, together with the full Red Army Choir, performing "Sweet Home Alabama". This was the biggest TV audience of any Finnish music artist ever. Leningrad Cowboys were famous for outrageous outfits including ridiculous rock-a-billy hairdos and ultra-pointed shoes. The band was not able to develop that visibility into more U.S. success but remained popular in parts of Europe.

Though Finnish bands tend to write their lyrics in English as to leave their music open to countries outside of native Finnish boundaries, in the 1990s bands such as Apulanta, Miljoonasade, Ultra Bra and the shamanic art-punk group CMX had found their share of success with Finnish lyrics. The hard-to-define electronic country garage rock group 22 Pistepirkko got excellent reviews in the Finnish rock press and has reached some kind of a cult status in Central Europe. Some other notable Finnish cult rock groups of this era are the psychedelic, Hendrixian Kingston Wall that went in their late period far into psychedelia taking influence from shamanism and some of some genres of electronic dance music, and equally psychedelic but gothic, gloomy, and heavy Mana Mana.

A band which enjoyed critical and commercial success in the 2000s is The Rasmus. After eleven years and several domestic releases, the band gained major attention in Europe. Their ''Dead Letters'' (2003) album sold 1.5 million units worldwide and garnered them eight gold and five platinum album designations. The single " In the Shadows" placed on Top 10 charts in eleven countries and was the most played video on MTV Europe for 2005. The Helsinki natives released their follow up album, '' Hide From The Sun'', domestically in 2005. The album has a U.S. release date of 10.10.2006. To promote the album's U.S. release, the band has toured with the Welsh band Lostprophets, a band that has gained a great deal of success in both Europe and the United States. The album '' Black Roses'' was released worldwide on September 29 2008. It was produced by Desmond Child and the first single was called ''Livin' in a World Without You''. The band is still going strong in the 2020s and have competed in Eurovision Song Contest 2022.

Heavy metal

Finland is known for its many heavy metal acts, including many from the death metal, black metal, doom metal, folk metal, power metal, and symphonic metal subgenres.

Finland hosts a strong underground doom metal scene more focused on the depressive mood of the genre, evoking an intense grieving feeling. The bands play with very slow tempos and melodic tones, creating an atmosphere of darkness and melancholia. This scene was kick-started by the band Rigor Mortis (which, due to an older US band with the same name, changed their name to Spiritus Mortis), which originated in 1987. Notable bands include Reverend Bizarre, Minotauri, Dolorian, Shape of Despair, Thergothon, Skepticism and Unholy.

In the later 1990s the symphonic metal group Apocalyptica played Metallica cover songs as cello quartettos and sold half a million records worldwide. The recently retired Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus were one of Finland's most popular metal acts in the early 2000s, having risen from the ashes of late 1980s – early 1990s cult band Lyijykomppania. Children's power metal band Hevisaurus have also become popular, mostly in their native country.

Several Finnish metal bands have attained considerable worldwide success within the underground metal scene. Some remarkable examples of such bands are Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica, highly renowned as one of the top power metal bands of the world, and Children of Bodom, with their creative combination of power metal and melodic death metal.

Nightwish is considered a pioneer of symphonic metal that incorporates power metal as well as gothic metal in its music and had Tarja Turunen, a classical singing soprano, as its vocalist until 2005. The band has received platinum and gold certifications for its albums sales in many countries and is the third best selling Finnish artist. The band has also been nominated for several awards and amongst the ones it has won 11 Emma-gala awards, the Echo award, the Mtv Europe music award, the World music award and the Metal Storm award. In 2000 the band participated in the Finnish qualification for the Eurovision Song Contest and ended in the second place.

Kotiteollisuus is undoubtedly one of the most popular bands in Finland, having produced one platinum and several gold-selling albums and winning Emma-awards in 2003 and 2005 for best metal record (Helvetistä itään) and best DVD (Kotiteollisuus DVD) respectively.

Most recently, the Finnish hard rock band Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with a record 292 points, giving Finland its first ever victory. The song they used was "Hard Rock Hallelujah" and they celebrated this with a free concert in Market Square

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