Göksel Baktagir was born in 1966 in Kırklareli. His father, Muzaffer Baktagir, was a cobbler who could play many musical instruments, and his mother was a homemaker. Being born into a family of musicians introduced him to music at an early age.

Under his father’s guidance, the artist began playing the mandolin at age seven, the bağlama at age ten, and the kanun at age fourteen. Baktagir identifies his father as his greatest musical influence and credits him for introducing him to classical Turkish musical instruments.

In 1983, Baktagir enrolled at the Istanbul Technical University State Conservatory of Turkish Music and graduated in 1988, shortly thereafter continuing his postgraduate studies. That same year, he was appointed as a kanun artist with the Ministry of Culture Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble under the direction of Tanbûri Necdet Yaşar, marking the beginning of his professional music career. He performed concerts with the Necdet Yaşar Ensemble in countries including England, France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and the United States.

^{Göksel Baktagir} (AA)

Baktagir began composing during his conservatory years and has produced hundreds of vocal and instrumental works. Many of his compositions have been included in the repertoire of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). His awards include:

• 1990 – TRT Competition: Award for the zâvil saz semai “Sazım”
• 1997 – Milliyet Newspaper Survey: The muhayyerkürdi song “Tek Kelime” named among the ten most popular songs of the year
• 2000 – Turkish Writers Union: Award for the album Doğu Rüzgârı
• 2004 – European Union Foundation: Musician of the Year Award
• 2013 – Itrî Music Awards: Composer of the Year Award
• 2017 – Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards: Award in the field of music

Since 1984, Baktagir has conducted original research on left-hand technique in kanun performance, extending the instrument beyond the boundaries of traditional Turkish music. He has developed applications in genres such as New Age and jazz and collaborated with various Western jazz ensembles. The artist describes the kanun as “the piano of Turkish music” and has designed a project to promote the instrument in music classrooms to introduce makam-based music to elementary school students.

In addition to his role with the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble, Baktagir performed concerts with the Istanbul Sazendeleri group, founded in 1998–1999, in countries including England, France, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Macedonia, Malta, the United States, Canada, Argentina, Malaysia, India, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Japan. He was a member of Mercan Dede’s Secret Tribe ensemble and performed as a soloist with the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra in Türkiye and Japan. In 2016, six of his compositions were arranged as a symphonic suite titled Doğu Rüzgarı and performed by an orchestra in Istanbul and Ankara.

Baktagir has conducted advanced kanun workshops in countries including Türkiye, Iran, Tunisia, Algeria, Germany, France, and Palestine and performed with diverse ensembles in Tunisia, Kuwait, Germany, France, Palestine, and Algeria. In 2016, jazz vocalist Lena Chamamyan released the album Lawnan-Two Colours, featuring Baktagir’s compositions, and they performed together at the 2017 Carthage and Hammamet festivals in Tunisia. That same year, he conducted workshops and concerts at the East Jerusalem Edward Said Conservatory and the Paris Edgar Varèse Conservatory.

He composed the music for the documentary İstiklal Marşı produced by CNN Türk. His composition Azeri, arranged and performed with Yurdal Tokcan, was included in the soundtrack of Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ.

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory and Haliç University Conservatory have both employed him as a faculty member. Two notation books featuring his works have been published, and he has developed a miniature teaching method to facilitate kanun education for children.

His compositions in the sirto and longa forms have been the subject of music pedagogy and academic research. In a 2024 academic study, his sirto and longa works were analyzed in terms of makam, melodic progression, and technical characteristics.

^{Göksel Baktagir} (AA)

Together with his wife Füsun Baktagir, he has organized kanun workshops. Prior to the pandemic, these workshops operated for 16 years on the Greek island of Crete, and since then he has provided training to international participants in Istanbul.

As part of the Ministry of National Education’s Project for Introducing and Supporting Turkish Music-2, he met with students and teachers from fine arts high schools in all 81 provinces of Türkiye. During these gatherings, he presented recitals of his compositions and conducted workshops on music education.

The melody “Yalnız Sen”, originally composed instrumentally by Baktagir in 1998 and later given Turkish lyrics, has generated wide resonance and has been performed by musicians from diverse cultures. In this context, Istanbul-based Armenian singer Sibil rendered the melody in Armenian as Miayn Tun (Yalnız Sen).

His albums include Okyanustaki Sesler (Series 1–2–3), Günlük, Doğu Rüzgarı (Series 1–2), Sezgiyle Seslenişler, Sirtolar ve Longalar, Hayal Gibi (Series 1–2–3), Duygu Pınarı, Furtuna, Kalb-i Coşku, Gönül Bağı, Aşk Senfonisi, Gurbet Türküsü, Geleceğin Şarkıları, Sevda (2018 single), Gecenin Nuru (2018 single), Geleceğin Şarkıları-2 (Sebebi Vardır) (2022 album), and Yunus&Aşk (Yunus Emre Oratoryosu) (2022 album).

Married to Füsun Baktagir, the artist is the father of two children, Buğra Can and Cansu.