6. WORLD MUSIC
1. AFRICA
In Africa, we have two main cultural areas: Sub-Saharan and Arabic.
Sub-Saharan music
Characteristics:
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Rhythm is the basic element; it focuses on polyrhythm and ostinato (continuous repetition of a musical unit).
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Dance and body percussion: hand clapping, foot stamping.
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Call and response: conversational style in which a group answers a soloist.
Instruments: 1 algaita (oboe), 2 kora (harp), 3 sanza or kalimba (thumb piano), 4 balafon (xylophone), 5 djembe, 6 talking drum, 7 shekere (shaker).
Arabic music
Characteristics:
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Melody is the basic element; it focuses on ornaments and rarely includes harmony and chords.
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The predominant texture is monophony or heterophony (simultaneous variations of the same melody).
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It's mainly vocal music, due to the connection between music and poetry.
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Arabic musical system divides the octave into 24 quarter tones.
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Maqam: system of rules to create melodies associated with a specific mood or emotion.
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Iqa': system of rules for rhythm based on repeating patterns ranging from 2 to 48 beats.
Instruments: 1 ney (flute), 2 zurna (oboe), 3 rebab (violin), 4 oud (lute), 5 darbuka (drum), 6 riq (tambourine).
2. ASIA
Characteristics of Asian music:
- Melody is the basic element.
- Vocal timbres are often nasal in women and guttural in men, with frequent use of vibrato and glissando.
- The predominant texture is heterophony.
Indonesia
Gamelan ("to hammer"): orchestra from Bali and Java made up of around 40 instruments, mainly metallophones, gongs, drums, which accompanies celebrations and theatre. Debussy and Ravel discovered gamelan at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle and it influenced their music.
India
Indian classical music has two styles Hindustani music (North) and Carnatic music (South), which are similar because they use a raga and a tala in every performance.
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Indian musical system divides the octave into 22 shrutis or microtones.
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Raga: system of rules to create melodies that are associated with a specific mood, time of day or season.
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Tala: system of rules for rhythm based on repeating patterns ranging from 3 to 128 beats.
Instruments: 1 shehnai (oboe), 2 pungi (flute), 3 sitar (lute), 4 santur (zither), 5 tabla, 6 mridangam (drums).
India
Indonesia (gamelan)
China
Chinese traditional music is characterized by its connection with poetry and nature.​​
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Most melodies are based on pentatonic scales.
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Notation indicates pitch but not rhythm.
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Peking Opera: theatre that combines music, dance, mime and acrobatic martial arts. It uses symbolic makeup to show the characters' personalities (red= hero, white= villain).
Instruments: 1 suona (oboe), 2 sheng (mouth organ), 3 erhu (violin), 4 pipa (lute), 5 guzheng (zither), 6 tanggu (drum).
Japan
Japanese traditional music also uses pentatonic scales and similar instruments.
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Gagaku: ancient court music and the orchestra that performs it.
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Kabuki: theatre that combines music, dance and drama with spectacular costumes and colorful makeup.
Instruments: 1 shakuhachi (flute), 2 sho (mouth organ), 3 shamisen, 4 biwa (lutes), 5 koto (zither), 6 taiko (drum).
China
Japan
3. OCEANIA
Oceanic traditional music is characterized by its connection with spirits and magic.
- It is mainly vocal music.
- Texture: originally monophony; polyphony was introduced by Europeans.
Micronesia
Kiribati music: clan competitions ofmusic and dance where performers enter an ecstatic state and spirits work through them.
Melanesia
Vanuatu Women's water music: unique tradition of producing rhythms by pounding water.
Kaluli music (Papua New Guinea): music imitates or uses rainforest sounds (birds, insects, rain).
Instruments: 1 susap: mouth harp used with "love magic" to attract partners.
Polynesia
Haka (New Zealand): Maori dance to intimidate the enemy with shouts, grimaces and tongue protrusions.
Hawaiian music: simple melodies and rhythms, but complex poetry.
Instruments: 2 nose flute, 3 ukulele.
Australia
Aboriginal music: oldest music in Australia; essential for social and sacred life.
Instruments: 4 didgeridoo: aerophone that produces a continuous drone (note) using circular breathing (inhaling through the nose and storing air in the cheeks).
4. AMERICA
American music is a mix of Indigenous, African and European traditions.
North America
Native American music: traditional music used for ceremonies, healing and recreation. It features singing with meaningless syllables and a percussion accompaniment that often starts slow and grows faster and more emphatic. Circle dances such as the Ghost Dance are common to many tribes.
Instruments: 1 Anasazi flute, 2 eagle bone whistle, 3 Apache fiddle, 4 drums.
Appalachian music: traditional music of Appalachia (Eastern USA) that combines English ballads, Irish/Scottish folk (fiddle), hymns and blues.
Instruments: 5 fretted dulcimer, 6 fiddle, 7 banjo.
Cajun music: traditional music of Louisiana derived from French-Canadian ballads that later developed into dance music.
Instruments: 8 Cajun accordion, 9 fiddle, 10 triangle.
Tejano music: traditional music of Texas that combines pop, rock, polka, R&B and Latin music.
Instruments: 11 accordion, 12 bajo sexto.
Central America and Caribbean
Mexico
Ranchera: rural genre with loud vocals and lyrics about love and patriotism. E.g. "Cielito lindo".
Corrido: rural genre in 3/4 derived from the Spanish "romance"; with narrative lyrics about historical events, heroes or bandits. E.g. "La cucaracha".
Son jarocho: rural genre with alternating 3/4 and 6/8 rhythms and percussive footwork (zapateado). E.g. "La bamba".
Instruments: 1 guitarrón, 2 guitarra de golpe, 3 vihuela, 4 violin, 5 trumpet. Performers: mariachis.
Cuba
Guajira: rural genre with guitar or piano arpeggios. E.g. "Guantanamera".
Mambo: genre in 4/4 influenced by jazz and big bands, with syncopated rhythms and brass sections. E.g. Pérez Prado "Mambo n. 5".
Salsa: genre with a steady clave rhythm (2-3 or 3-2) that mixes jazz and Cuban music. It emerged in New York in the 70s. E.g. Celia Cruz.
Instruments: 6 bongos, 7 congas, 8 cowbell, 9 timbales, 10 maracas, 11 claves, 12 güiro.
Dominican Republic
Merengue: genre in fast 2/4, danced with a sideways "two-step". E.g. Elvis Crespo.
Bachata: rural genre in 4/4 with high-pitched guitar arpeggios and romantic lyrics. It derived from bolero, now closer to pop. E.g. Juan Luis Guerra, Romeo Santos.
Instruments: 13 güira and other Latin percussion instruments.
Trinidad & Tobago
Calypso: carnival genre in highly rhythmic 2/4 or 4/4 with satirical lyrics, performed by steel bands with steel drums and percussion. E.g. Harry Belafonte.
Instruments: 14 steel drum.
Jamaica
Reggae: genre in slow 4/4 with skank offbeat rhythm, strong bass and lyrics about social problems, politics and cannabis. It emerged in Jamaica, along with the Rastafari movement. E.g. Bob Marley.
South America
Colombia
Cumbia: rural genre from the Caribbean coast with a 2/4 gallop rhythm; that derives from an African courtship dance. E.g. "La pollera colorá".
Vallenato ("born in the valley"): rural genre from the Caribbean coast with narrative lyrics and the accordion sound. E.g. Carlos Vives.
Instruments: 15 accordion, 16 caja vallenata, 17 guacharaca.
Andean music is a mix of Quechua, Aimara and Spanish traditions.
Carnavalito: rural carnival genre from the Andes with a 2/4 trot rhythm and pentatonic melodies, danced in groups forming circles.
Instruments: 1 quena, 2 siku, 3 ocarina (flutes), 4 charango (guitar), 5 harp, 6 bombo legüero (drum).
Brazil: mixes Indigenous, African and Portuguese traditions.
Samba: carnival dance in 2/4 with a sung chorus and a strong percussion section.
Instruments: 8 cuíca, 9 surdo, 10 tamborim, 11 chocalho, 12 agogô.
Bossa nova ("new trend"): sophisticated genre that mixes samba and jazz, with soft vocals and syncopated rhythms.
E.g. "Garota de Ipanema".
Capoeira: martial art that combines music, dance and acrobatics.
Instruments: 13 berimbau, 14 atabaque.
Argentina & Uruguay
Tango: dance with a strong first beat, staccato notes and sudden tempo changes. It emerged in the 19th century in the lower-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. E.g. "Por una cabeza".
Instruments: 7 bandoneon.
5. EUROPE
Western Europe
Celtic music: tradition of the Celts used in social gatherings or work songs (sea shanties) typically with strophic form and heterophonic texture.
Instruments: 1 tin whistle, 2 fiddle, 3 clàrsach (harp), 4 bagpipes, 5 accordion, 6 bodhrán (drum).
Northern Europe
Yoik: a cappella song of the Sami people (Norway, Sweden, Finland) without rhyme or fixed structure dedicated to a person, animal or landscape.
Instruments: 7 kantele (zither), 8 Sami drum.
Eastern Europe
Russian folk music: It is primarily vocal music that accompanies dances with the "squatting step" (prisiadka).
Instruments: 9 balalaika (triangular guitar), 10 gusli (zither), 11 spoons.
Klezmer: Ashkenazi Jewish tradition for celebrations with melodies originally based on synagogue chants.
Southeastern Europe
Bulgarian women's choirs: choral tradition with asymmetrical rhythms, a unique timbre and dissonant harmonies (major/minor second).
Central Europe
Yodel: Alpine singing with rapid changes between low chest voice and high falsetto. Originally used by shepherds to communicate.
Instruments: 12 accordion, 13 alphorn.
Southern Europe
Fado ("fate"): Portuguese genre with melancholic melodies and lyrics about longing (saudade).
Peking opera
Kabuki