Bavarian music: musicians from Munich for hire

Bavarian music, played by Bavarian musicians. Are you looking for Bavarian music for your event? With live music from Bavaria an Oktoberfest-themed event works, and without it, it does not. Send me an e-mail with your date and you will get a quote.

Traditional Bavarian instruments: accordion, brass and zither

Bavarian music is more varied than its reputation

Alongside singular artists such as Willy Michl from Munich: whose “Bobfahrerlied” is part of our repertoire: there were the Biermösl Blosn, who set themselves apart with politically critical lyrics, and there is the still-active Spider Murphy Gang, whose rock’n’roll number “Mir san a bayerische Band” we also play.

The traditional styles

Traditional musicians usually play Bavarian folk music, and the terms are worth knowing:

Traditional Bavarian styles
Style	What it is
Stubenmusi	Quieter chamber pieces, often with zither or harp
Zwiefacher	Fast pieces that alternate between 2/2 and 3/4 time
Ländler	A dance in 3/4 time
Tanzlmusi	Music written to be danced to
Oberkrain	Polkas and waltzes originally from Slovenia, hugely popular in the Alps

The Bergvagabunden deliberately concentrate on the best-known and most beautiful songs from Bavaria: among them “Heit gibt’s a Rehragout” and “In München steht ein Hofbräuhaus”, the ones that are actually suited to celebrating, exactly as at the Oktoberfest in Munich.

The instruments

The most typical instruments, even if not all of them originate in Bavaria, are accordion, Styrian harmonica (“Ziach”), guitar, zither, harp and brass: especially trumpet, clarinet in B flat and E flat, horn, baritone and tuba, plus Goaßlschnalzer (whip-cracking), cowbells and the alphorn. A Schuhplattler can be danced to all of it.

German folk and brass music

German folk music from Bavaria evokes cosiness, heartiness and a rustic atmosphere. Bavarian brass music, also called brass band music, comes in many instrumentations: with or without percussion, with or without accordion or Styrian harmonica. One of the best-known ensembles in the genre is Ernst Hutter and Die Egerländer Musikanten. In English this genre is often called oompah music: covered in more depth on oompah-band.com.

Book Bavarian musicians

Our band combines Bavarian music, brass band music and German folk music into one working mixture, and adds polkas and waltzes from Oberkrain. Would you like to book Bavarian musicians, or perhaps Bavarian dancers as well? I look forward to your enquiry.