Folk Music of Jammu and Kashmir :

Music of Jammu and Kashmir reflects the rich musical heritage and cultural legacy of Jammu and Kashmir. Three different regions of Jammu and Kashmir, consists Jammu region, Kashmir region and Ladakh region(now Union Territory), which have their own distinct culture and traditions. Kashmir Valley's music is closer to Central Asian music while music from Jammu region is similar to that of North India and Ladakhi music is similar to the music of Tibet.

Chakri : Chakri is one of the most popular types of traditional music played in Jammu & Kashmir. Chakri is a responsorial song form with instrumental parts, and it is played with instruments like the harmonium, the rubab, the sarangi, the nout, the geger, the tumbaknaer and the chimta. It is performed in folk and religious spheres, by the Muslim and Hindu kashmiris.[3] Chakri was also used to tell stories like fairy tales or famous love stories such as Yousuf-Zulaikha, Laila-Majnun, etc. Chakri ends with the rouf, though rouf is a dance form but few ending notes of Chakri which are played differently and on fast notes is also called Rouf. It is a very important part of the Henna Night (Ma'enzi raat) during weddings.

Henzae : Henzae is a traditional and ancient form of singing which is practiced by Kashmiri Pandits at their festivals. It appears to have archaic features that suggest it is the oldest form of Kashmiri folk singing.

Rouf or Wanwun : Rouf is a traditional dance form usually performed by women on certain important occasions like marriage and other functions and also in cultural activities.

Ladishah : Ladishah is one of the most important parts of the Kashmiri music tradition. Ladishah is a sarcastic form of singing. The songs are sung resonating to the present social and political conditions and are utterly humorous. The singers move from village to village performing generally during the harvesting period. The songs recomposed on the spot on issues relating to that village, be it cultural, social or political. The songs reflect the truth and that sometimes makes the song a bit hard to digest, but they are totally entertaining.

Surma : This song in Dogri, set to dance reveals the anguish of a newly married girl whose husband is away in the Army. The ever increasing yearning of re-union is depicted through this song-dance.

Kashmiri Santoor Music : The Kashmiri Santoor Music displays the rich musical heritage and traditional culture of the state. The classical music of Jammu and Kashmir, the melodious Kashmiri Santoor compositions enchants and enthralls the audience with its captivating songs. Accompanied with the traditional musical instrument of Santoor, the talented classical musicians display their exemplary artistic caliber.

Sufiana Kalam (Kashmiri classical) : Sufiana Kalam is the classical music of Kashmir, which uses its own ragas (known as maqam), and is accompanied by a hundred-stringed instrument called the santoor, along with the Kashmiri saz, the setar, the wasool and the dokra.The dance based on the sofiyiana kalam is the hafiz nagma.

Hindustani classical :

 Music and musical instruments find mention in the earliest texts like the Nilmatapurana and Rajatarangini by Kalhana.The very fact that it was a Kashmiri, Abhinavagupta (the great philosopher), who wrote a commentary called Abhinavabharati on Bharata's Natyashatra shows how much importance was given to music in the ancient times. A favorite traditional instrument is the santoor (Shat-tantri-veena), a hundred string percussion instrument which is played by the goddess Sharada (the goddess of learning and art in ancient Kashmir).

Notable santoor players from Jammu and Kashmir include Shivkumar Sharma, from Jammu, and Bhajan Sopori from the Kashmir Valley.