FROM THE NON-WESTERN WORLD

GENERAL BACKGROUND TO NON-WESTERN MUSIC

The Western world has a vast musical heritage that has evolved over many
centuries; however, some Asian, Polynesian, African and Near-Eastern
musical traditions have thrived for THOUSANDS of years. While Japan, China,
India and Indonesia have long-standing art-music traditions (in which music
is performed by a select few well-trained artists), the majority of nonWestern societies do not have art music ("formal concert") traditions
instead, they perceive music-making as afunctional part of everyday
life in which the society as a whole participates. Much of this music is
improvised and survives solely through oral transmission; thus, it cannot be
described in standard Western musical terms, or written down using Western
notational symbols. Such music can only be studied through a painstaking
combination of musicological and anthropological means.
Important Musical Considerations in non-Western Music
Most types of Non-Western music are founded on concepts quite different
from those of the Western tradition:

Rhythm

Non-Western music (especially African) can make greater and more creative
use of rhythm than Western idioms.

Dynamics

Non-Western music rarely uses dynamics as an independent concept.

Changes in loudness/quietness occur by increasing/decreasing the number of
performers.

Melody

Non-Western music often uses microtonal melodic intervals that are smaller
or larger than those of the traditional Western scales

Harmony

In general, harmony is not as important in non-Western idioms as it is in the

West. Non-Western music may have no harmony at all, or it may base its
harmonies on completely different scale systems than Western music.

Tone color

Though non-Western music is primarily vocal in nature, some cultures have

also developed unique independent families of instruments. Colorful
percussion sounds, and unique string and wind instruments are most
commonly employed.

Texture

Since harmony is not an important consideration, non-Western music is often

either monophonic (a single note or melody sounding alone) or
heterophonic (two slightly different versions of the same melody being
performed at the same time).

Form

Non-Western music is more freely-structured than Western music, and most

types are heavily reliant on improvisation (on-the-spot creativity). Such
music is transmitted or ally; thus, it is rarelyif everperformed the same
way twice

SELECTED EXAMPLES OF NON-WESTERN MUSIC

MUSIC OF THE NORTH-AMERICAN INDIAN
The diverse array of American Indian culturesfrom the Arctic Eskimos, to
the Sioux of the Dakotas and the Apaches of the Southwesthave created
instrumental and vocal music that is an integral part of daily tribal lifemost
often associated with religious rituals, dancing or courting . Many American
Indian songs are sung to vocables (syllables of chanted prayers that often
sound like as "hey-ah" or "yu-way"), emphasizing melodic or rhythmic
subtleties. Because of this focus on the chanted text, most traditional
American Indian music is "monophonic", even though it is usually
accompanied by various rattles or drums (which have universal spiritual
significance in American Indian traditions). Simple flutes and whistles can
also serve important functions. Long before the invention of the telegraph
and telephone, American Indians were using instruments to communicate
"secret" alarms or information over vast distances.
EXAMPLE of AMERICAN INDIAN MUSIC
Sioux Indian Love Song
See MUSIC GUIDE 2(page 14)

AFRICAN MUSIC
Musicespecially vocal musicis an integral part of daily life in the African
world. Practically any event of importance to an individual or to the culture
as a whole is celebrated with music. Many African languages are "tonal" (the
meaning of a word depends on the pitch-level at which it is spoken); thus,
African melodies usually follow the pitch contour of their texts. African
melodies are based on scales that are quite different from those found in the
West.
A common feature of African vocal songs is "call and response," in which
the leader of the song will improvise a narrative "call" about a past or current
event, and then the group at-large will sing a repeated "response," that
remains the same throughout the song.
Call and response technique eventually became an important feature of
Black-influenced popular music in the Western world.
Improvisation and intricate polyrhythms (the simultaneous combination
of two or more different rhythmic patterns) are richly abundant in African
music, and African musicians have developed these to a much higher level
than usually encountered in traditional Western musical styles.
EXAMPLE of AFRICAN "Call and Response"
Gangele Song (Song of Angola)
See MUSIC GUIDE2 (page 14)

ART MUSIC FROM INDONESIA

The Republic of Indonesia is comprised of some 13,000 islands in the Pacific
Ocean, of which only 4,000 are named and only 1,000 are inhabited. This
complex society fuses more than 300 ethnic groups and over 250 different
languages. Out of this diversity has arisen a universal variety of distinctly
"Indonesian" musicthe Gamelan of the islands of Java and Bali (especially
Bali, which has a very complex tradition). A Gamelan is a colorful
instrumental ensemble, comprised primarily of unusual percussion
instruments including drums, gongs, and xylophones made of wood (such as
the gender) or bronze (such as the bonang). These percussion instruments
may be supplemented by a small bamboo flute or a simple string instrument,
and can be used as an accompaniment to traditional ritual dances. The
instruments of the gamelan feature pitch that sound "out-of-tune" to Western
ears (microtones). As a result, this music cannot be represented accurately
with Western notation.

EXAMPLE of GAMELAN MUSIC from Bali

Kebjar Hudjan Mas
See MUSIC GUIDE 2(page 14)

ART MUSIC FROM INDIA

The musical traditions of India date back some 3,000 years. Indian classical music is
improvisatory; using sophisticated melodic and rhythmic systems called
ragas (melodic patterns) and talas (rhythmic patterns) that govern the performer's
choice of complex pitches, ornaments, and rhythms. Indian performers consider
their music to be spiritual in natureeach raga is associated with a particular mood,
such as tranquility, love or heroism. Indian music is transferred orally from masterteacher (guru) to the student, who learns by strictly imitating the teachernot from
a written tradition. Only the basic elements of a piece are notatedthe essential
ornaments and elaborations cannot be written down, and must be internalized
through years of intense study. The most important art-music instrument of India is
the Sitar a long-necked lute with a wide fingerboard and moveable frets. During
the 1960s, when rock artists such as the Beatles sought enlightenment through
Indian gurus, the Sitar became popular in the West. The most well-known Indian
guru/Sitar master is Ravi SHANKAR, best-known in the West for his performance at
Woodstock in1969. The Sitar may be accompanied by a percussion instrument
called a Tabla.
EXAMPLE of SITAR MUSIC from India
Mara-Bihag
(Performed by Ravi SHANKAR)
See MUSIC GUIDE2 (page 14)

Sitar
Tabla

THE MUSIC OF MEXICO

Before the Spanish Conquest (1519-21), music was a vital part of Aztec and Mayan
social life on the Mexican peninsula. With the arrival of the Spaniards, European
instruments were quickly blended with native musical traditions. The most
noteworthy outcome of this combination of influences is Mexican
Mariachi
Musica lively song and dance tradition featuring singers, treble and bass acoustic
guitars, violin, trumpet, and sometimes harp. Despite their European genesis, these
instruments render sounds that are uniquely Hispanic.