José Ignacio Ansorena maintains that formerly the melody of the zortziko played before each set of steps was freely chosen, and that it is because of this that many towns and villages now use different zortziko melodies to accompany the same dance. However he also asserts that as a result of the compilation by Isidro Ansorena of the collection of sheet music entitled Gipuzkoako Dantzak (Dances of Gipuzkoa) some of these zortzikos have in practice become standards in the repertoire.

Resurrección María de Azkue states that the melody played for the moves of the stick dance itself is a French song entitled “Il pleut, il pleut, bergère”.

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