Folk music, namely polyphonic choir performance traditions have a special place among the cultural values of the Georgian people. The Georgian folk music can be considered unique without any exaggeration in the world music culture. If we imagine the world music map, we shall see that Georgia is a polyphony oasis in the desert of monody, one part musical traditions. The tradition of polyphony has been preserved from ancient times until today.

Every region of Georgia has its own tradition of specific musical dialect and the manner of performance, nonetheless, all of them share the same intonation and harmony characteristics. Here the parallel can be made with the diverse nature of the country. It is the style that occurs in three specific forms from: the complex polyphony found in Svanetia, whereby all the voices follow the same rhythmic pattern, producing choral progression; the polyphonic dialogue typical of Eastern Georgia with two high voices over a drone bass; and the contrastive polyphony widespread in Western Georgia and characterized by predominantly three-part writing.

Georgian folk songs are generally written in three-part polyphony, though four-part writing is also found, as is clear from Gurian and Adzharian work songs. Unison singing has survived in a few mountainous regions such as those inhabited by the Khevsur and Tushetians, and individual examples of monophonic songs are occasionally found in both Western and Eastern Georgia. They include work, cradle, burial and mourning songs and are sometimes accompanied by native instruments.