Among many kinds of the Azerbaijan musical traditions the Ashig performing was always the most popular in Ganja. They use to name it "the art of Saz-n-Word". Just like today guitar or piano at the West, Saz is often the «family instrument» for Ganja inhabitants, even if in the home there are no professional musicians.

Saz is the conventional pinching instrument of the Turkish people. The Ashig performing with Saz accompaniment is the sequence of the extremely emotional singing, poetically rhythmic speech and short phrases of contrasting simplicity. Saz – is a good fellow traveler of Ashig, wherever he is going to: to love date, cheerful holidays, severe fight with an enemy... This factor also determines the variety of the theme range of the Ashig performance.

Frequently young Ashig (literally: "One in love") beats on strings of the Saz and improvises, poetically praising his love. Most successful from these eastern serenades are saved in memory of the nation and are repeated by other Ashigs. This basic element of the Ashig's repertoire makes them related to such characters of western culture as minstrels.

But probably even more popular kind of Ashig performing is a dastan performance – traditional poetry of long ballads, love stories and legends which public performance transforms into multi hour performance and sometimes is carried on for several days. The most known dastans are Ashig Garib, Koroghlu, Asli and Karam, Gachag Nabi, Abbas and Gulgez etc.

Saz is most tradition in Ganja Region. Click to hear the instrument

Ashig music is perfectly perceived both in solo performance, and in performance by ensemble. It can be heard both in male, and in female performance. Ashig art of Ganja has deep historical roots. In the medieval primary sources the names of such Saz foremen as Dada Yadiyar, Karam, Gurbani are mentioned. In 1920 –1930 Ashig Mirza from Tovuz (Bairamov, 1888-1954), Novruz Iman – the nephew of the Ashig Alaskar, Ashig Is'hag from Goranboy and other famous ashigs form Goycha, Tovuz, Gazakh, Shamkir and other regions often performed in Ganja.

It was about 1930 when Ashig Islam from Goycha (Yusifov, 1893-1968) founded the Union of the Ganja Ashigs and the Ashig Ensemble, which has included the most known Ashigs of the time, like Garachioghlu Irvaham, Bala Mazrali, Ashig Gara (Movlayev), Ashig Gara from Shishgaya (Gojayev), «Telli» Mahammad from Gazakh, Ashig Israfil from Inekdaghli and others. The ensemble has acquired popularity throughout the USSR, was appreciated by Stalin, and started to receive the support of Mir–Jafar Bagirov - head of Azerbaijan government and communists. Prior to the beginning of the Second World War the Ashig music performed by Ashig Islam, «Telli» Mahammad and Ashig Gara (Movlaev) was recorded for mass distribution. Of course, then Ashigs started to sing about the party leaders and other heroes of the communism. In many other regions of Azerbaijan the Ashig music started to be identifying with «the new songs», and thus this tradition became less popular. But people of Ganja managed to preserve and carry through generations a true image of the Ashig art. Ganja always remained a place where the foremen of the art of Saz-n-Word competed each to other. This tradition is saved until now.

Since the 1945 the art of Saz-n-Word of Ganja started to be known with new names of professionals, who had contributed to popular national tradition. At the same time with famous Ashigs of Goycha, the best traditions of the Ashig performing were continued by such foremen, as Ashig Zeinal from Ganja (1926-1997), Ashig Garib from Goranboy (has died in 1986), Ashig Siraj from Layechil (1930) and at last Ashig Mayyis from Ganja (1945).

In general, Ganja always was considered to be a symbol of the Ashig unity of all nearby regions. And now Ganja is the main city of the Saz-n-Word foremen. One more indicator of all featured above is great number of Ganja's saz foremen manufacturing best traditional instruments in Azerbaijan.