This kind of music is the official music of the Greek Orthodox Church and until one point and of the rest of the Orthodox churches too. It has been called Byzantine because originates from Byzantine era. It contains the ecclesiastic music of the Byzantine period and also all the hymns created from the period soon after Constantinopole's capture until today (in condition that all of them are based on the musical elements of the ancient compositions).

This ecclesiastic music has been distinguished for its simplicity, prudence and mystic character. As about its external style is vocal, mono vocal. The totality of these musical compositions (hymns) is based on rhythmical scales, which originate from the fourth - sign rhythm. This king of music is quite various but differs from secular music for its character and from the fact that this music fulfils all the conditions of the liturgical music. The main purpose of this music is to adore God, and contribute to the spiritual arising of the human being and his perfection. The musical scales on which this kind of music is based on are very different from the European musical system. Because these scales are particulate in eight based sounds which are: the first, the second, the third, the forth and then cant of first, cant of second, cant of the third, cant of the fourth. Among these eight sounds many other interfere (which are based on the consequence of half tones or of small half tones spaces).

The notes of this ecclesiastic music are composed from the seven first letters of the Greek alphabet. Their names are

PA VOU GA DI KE ZO NI

These scales are based on the three issues:

• The Diatonic issue, which contains the following sounds, first, fourth the cant of the first and the cant of the fourth.

• The Color issue, which contains the sounds second, the cant of the second.

• The harmonic issue, which contains the third sound and the cant of the third.

The special musical notation that exists in the Hellenic music originates from the tones of the Greek scripture and appears the seventh century as vocal signs in many liturgical books of music.

Two of the best-known composers are Ioannis Damaskinos and Ioannis Koukouzelis.

The secular music is a folk creation, which contains poetry, melody and orchestra. This king of music has a main composer but is also perfected and recreated from the whole people. That's why they reflect his fights, his desires, his habits and his customs and also his pains and his everyday efforts. In this popular songs the ancient tradition remains alive in whom the composer known or not is also the singer and the dancer. The same thing happens also in the ecclesiastic poetry were the poet is also the composer. So it has to be mentioned that the ancient tradition survives in these both branches of the Greek music, and they come from ancient times directly through the past centuries.

We notice that the whole system of the ancient rhythms survives in the Modern Greek folk music. Dances, in an ancient way danced and composed, in the Modern Greek folk dances like circular dance are found.