Sioux music

Indigenous music of North America: Topics
Native American/First Nations
Chicken scratch	Ghost Dance
Hip hop	Native American flute
Peyote song	Pow wow
Tribal music articles
Arapaho	Blackfoot
Dene	Innu
Inuit	Iroquois
Kiowa	Kwakwaka'wakw
Navajo	Pueblo (Hopi, Zuni)
Seminole	Sioux (Lakota, Dakota)
Yaqui music	Yuman
Related topics
Music of the United States - Music of Canada

The Sioux are a diverse group of Native Americans generally divided into three subgroups: Lakota, Dakota and Nakota.

Among the Dakota, traditional dance songs generally begin in a high pitch, led by a single vocalist (solo) who sings a phrase that is then repeated by a group. This phrase then cascades to a lower pitch until there is a brief pause. Then, the song's second half, which echoes the first, is sung (incomplete repetition). The second part of the song often includes "honor beats", usually in the form of four beats representing cannon fire in battle. The entire song may be repeated several times, at the discretion of the lead singer.

Many songs use only vocables, syllabic utterances with no lexical meaning. Sometimes, only the second half of the song has any lyrics.

In some traditional songs, women sing one octave above the men, though they do not sing the first time the song is sung or the lead line at any time.

Percussion among the Dakota use drums, sometimes with syncopation. In competition songs, beats start off as an irregular ruffle and are then followed by a swift regular beat.

The Dakota Flag Song begins special events, such as powwows, and is not accompanied by a dance. Other kinds of songs honor veterans, warriors or others.

Non-Powwow types of Dakota songs include Sundance, Yuwipi, Inipi, courtship, flute, lullaby, Peyote, and Christian hymns.