Music of Africa Women from the Masai tribe, singing. The music of Africa is as vast and varied as the continent's many regions, nations, and ethnic groups. The African continent comprises approximately 20 percent of the world's land mass and has a population of roughly 934 million. African music is as diverse as its cultures and peoples and has flowered in many indigenous forms as well as been shaped by foreign influences. Although there are many different varieties of music in Africa, there are a number of common elements to the music, especially within regions. Articles: Africa 100: The Indestructible Beat Note: This article was originally published in April 2005. It was created at a time when African music was on the cusp of becoming an increasingly large part of the Western pop culture landscape. Portions of it have been updated to reflect changes in the past five years-- particularly changes in the number of compilations and labels available. Unlike last week's article on contemporary sounds in West Africa, this one is largely devoted to reissue and cratedigging culture, to the great African music of the previous couple of generations. The Africa 100 section, in which author Joe Tangari creates an imagined introduction to Afrobeat, highlife, and a few other large strains of African pop music has not had its selections altered; however, we have added Lala links to many of the entries.
Music of Indonesia The music of Indonesia demonstrates its cultural diversity, the local musical creativity, as well as subsequent foreign musical influences that shaped contemporary music scenes of Indonesia. Nearly thousands of Indonesian islands having its own cultural and artistic history and character. This results in hundreds of different forms of music, which often accompanies dance and theatre. Musical instruments Balinese gamelan performance. SambaSunda music performance, featuring traditional Sundanese music instruments such as kecapi, suling, and kendang. The musical identity of Indonesia as we know it today began as the Bronze Age culture migrated to the Indonesian archipelago in the 2nd-3rd century BC. Traditional musics of Indonesian tribes often uses percussion instruments, especially gendang (drums) and gongs.
Music of Japan The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji 音 "on" (sound) with the kanji 楽 "gaku" (enjoy). Japan is the largest physical music market in the world, with US$2 billion in 2014 and the second largest overall music market, with a total retail value of 2.6 billion dollars in 2014 – dominated by Japanese artists, with 37 of the top 50 best selling albums and 49 of the top 50 best selling singles in 2014. Traditional and folk music Originating as early as the 13th century are honkyoku (本曲 "original pieces"). Traditional Korean musical instruments Traditional Korean musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. String Korean string instruments include those that are plucked, bowed, and struck. Most Korean string instruments use silk strings, except as noted. Plucked Bowed
Indonesian Folk Music Overview Indonesia is home to a wide variety of peoples and cultures that encompasses 17,500 islands, 300 languages, numerous religions, and a wealth of vocal and instrumental styles. Because of this diversity, there is not specific Indonesian folk music that can be said to represent all people in the country. To summarize this vastness here would be impossible, but there are some particularly well-known styles that can highlight the beauty of this immense country's music. Indonesia is an archipelago, or group, of islands found in Southeast Asia that spans from the island of Aceh in the west to Irian Jaya (one half of New Guinea) in the east. The capital, Jakarta, is a city of over 9 million people and is found on the island of Java that lies roughly in the middle of the archipelago.
Klezmer Music 101 - Jewish Traditions By Megan Romer Klezmer Music - The Basics: Originally, the word "klezmer", from the yiddish language, meant simply "musician". However, it has come to characterize the style of secular music played by Ashkenazi Jews for joyful celebrations such as weddings. What Does Klezmer Music Sound Like?:
German Language - German Culture - Learn German - Speak German German is the official language of Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein. In addition, it is one of four official languages in Switzerland, and one of three commonly used in Luxembourg. There are over 120 million native speakers of German, primarily in Europe, though it is spoken regionally by native speaker minorities in 40 countries. As an international language of business, scientific research, publishing and tourism, it's estimated that German is spoken as a foreign language by an additional 80 million people worldwide. Christmas in Germany: How do the Germans celebrate Christmas?
Celtic Radio: Scottish, Irish & Celtic Music - Free Radio! the KlezmerShack German music — Listen free at Last.fm