World Music
Click image to go to interactive website:
Music Endangerment Map of the World
Free Sheet Music from around the world
Arabic Music Archives - Database of Classical, Traditional, Regional Arabic Music
World Fest Online (Japan, Brazil and Israeli Music)
Music of South Korea
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Use of Castanets in Flamenco Music
World music - Structure
Below are examples of two World music styles that demonstrate how different music from different parts of the world are from Western Classical music.
Indian raga
Indian ragas are based on the rag - an Indian scale - and are quite different from Western styles. A typical raga has the following structure:
Alap - slow and unmetred. An unaccompanied sitar explores and improvises on the notes of the raga.
Gat 1 - a fixed composition that is heavily ornamented.
Gat 2 - the tempo becomes faster with more improvisation.
Samba
Samba is one of many world music styles that is based on ostinatos. Each instrument in the band has its own ostinato within each section. There can be as many as six ostinatos per piece. Each of the sections is called a groove. Between these grooves are breaks and mid-sections.
Rhythmic characteristics of dance forms
Many dance forms are recognisable by their tempo, metre and characteristic rhythms. These rhythms also have an impact on the dance steps for each form.
Salsa
Salsa is lively dance music with many different styles. It originated in Cuba and has African and Spanish influences. It is very popular in Cuba, Puerto Rico and New York.
Salsa music:
has a time signature of 4/4
uses clave rhythms - usually played by claves - which provide the rhythmic foundation
has melodic and rhythmic syncopation
uses simple harmony based on repeated chord patterns, often in the minor key
uses call and response vocals in which the leader sings a line - the call and is answered by a chorus - the response
usually has a structure of simple melodies followed by coro, or improvised sections
uses lyrics of love and everyday life
The clave rhythm is a syncopated rhythm grouped in 3 + 2 or 2 + 3:
Tango
Tango is a sensuous paired dance that originated in the 1880s in the slums and bars of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tango can be identified by its rhythmic characteristics. It has:
four beats in a bar
a syncopated ostinato (repeated) rhythm
accented notes
Here are the two main rhythms found in a tango:
Habenara
Habanera is a variation on the tango that comes from Cuba. It is based on a dotted rhythm, which also appears in some other tango influenced dances. The most well-known habanera is from George Bizet’s Carmen.
Merengue
Merengue was originally the national dance of the Dominican Republic and has African and Spanish influences. Its rhythmic characteristics include:
a fast 2/4 beat
catchy melodies and rhythms
syncopated rhythms played on a tambura (a double-headed drum)
Bossa nova
Bossa nova means ‘new trend’. It is a fusion of samba and jazz. Its rhythmic characteristics include:
a fast 4/4 or 2/4 beat
a rhythm with a ‘swaying’ feel
Here is a typical bossa nova rhythm:
Rumba
The rumba is a slow dance in 4/4 time. This rhythm is the foundation of the rumba and can be heard in accompaniments and melodies:
World music Sonority - strings
As well as western instruments, other stringed instruments are found around the world.
Music of India
North Indian instruments
North Indian classical music ensembles have only a handful of players. Mostly, they play their instruments sitting on the floor. There are usually three elements in the ensemble:
soloist - either a singer or an instrumentalist playing the melody
percussion - usually tabla
drone - usually a tanpura, harmonium or electronic box
Woman playing the sitar
Here are more details about some of the solo instruments.
The sitar
Is a long-necked plucked string instrument with movable frets and a gourd resonator.
Is played by plucking the strings with a metal plectrum.
Has six or seven main strings and twelve or more sympathetic strings running underneath them, which resonate in sympathy
Has a characteristic shimmering sound.
Listen to the sitar played by Anoushka Shankar in the extract from Rag Desh.
The sarod
Is a plucked string instrument.
Is shorter than the sitar and has no frets.
Is played by plucking the strings with a large wooden plectrum.
Has main strings and sympathetic strings.
Can be played by sliding up and down the strings, producing ornaments.
Sliding effects distinguish the sarod from the sitar.
The sarangi
Sarangi player
Is a fretless bowed instrument.
Is held in the lap.
Has three main strings and as many as 36 sympathetic strings.
The esraj
Is a bowed string instrument.
Is played sitting on the floor, like the sarangi, but has frets, like a sitar.
Has a number of sympathetic and drone strings.
World music - Percussion
Musical styles from around the world feature percussion instruments.
African drumming
African instruments – hand drum, don-don and djembe
They are usually made from wood, metal, earthenware, or large gourds - fruit with a hard rind.
African drums have different shapes - tubular, bowl-shaped and friction drums. Some have one head, others have two.
They come in different sizes. The bigger the drum - the lower the note. The moretension in the drum head - the higher the note produced.
They sometimes have rattling metal and jingles attached to the outside, or seeds and beads placed inside the drum.
They are sometimes held under the armpit or with a sling.
One of the best-known African drums is the West African djembe(pronounced zhem-bay). It is shaped like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body of the djembe is carved from a hollowed trunk and is covered in goatskin.
Talking drums imitate the rhythms and intonations of speech.
They are double-headed and belong to the family of hourglass-shaped pressure drums. They are played with a beater. The drums can be used to imitate speech patterns or as signals to make announcements or warnings. The pitch of the note is changed by squeezing or releasing the drum's strings with the arm.
Samba drumming
Samba drumming involves percussion instruments such as the surdo, tamborim, agogo bells and ganza.
Indian classical music
Tabla are important in Indian classical music. Tabla are a pair of small drums placed side by side on the floor in front of the player. They are used mainly to keep the time, but tabla players sometimes interact with the soloist and may have short solos themselves. The tabla heads are made out of goatskin with a central area which has a coating made from iron filings and rice flour.
The smaller drum is known as the dayan , or ‘right’. It is:
tuned to Sa
played with the fingertips of the right hand
quite high in pitch
The larger drum is known as the bayan, or 'left'. It is:
played with the left hand
played with the heel of the hand, which is pressed into the drum to change the pitch, providing a distinctive sound
deeper in pitch, providing a bass sound
Tabla playing is very difficult and it can take years to master the different strokes, or bols. Some strokes are open (allowed to ring) and others are closed (dampened).
Bhangra
Bhangra originated in the Punjab region of India. Traditionally, a good harvest was celebrated by dancing and singing songs to the sound of the dhol drum.
In Bhangra music the dhol provides a bass part. Tabla or dholak add a decorative part above the bass.
The dhol is a large traditional North Indian drum played with cane sticks. The tension of the dhol is adjusted to produce a bass and treble sound. It is extremely loud.
The dholak is a double-headed hand-drum often slung from the shoulder.
Bhangra is now used to describe a high-energy style of dance music developed by young Asians and performed at weddings, parties and clubs.