Indians of British Columbia play a "bone game" in which bones are clicked rhythmically together at a rapid pace. There is a spoken melody in the background.
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Cayman Islands
~
no music
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Costa Rica
~
no music
^
Cuba
~
A "son" is a Cuban development of a Spanish folk song. This recording is of a son performed as a rhumba in Afro-Cuban multiplicity of incisive rhythms. African percussion instruments produce five to seven simultaneous rhythms.
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Dominica
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no music
^
Dominican Republic
~
no music
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El Salvador
~
no music
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Greenland
~
no music
^
Grenada
~
no music
^
Guadeloupe
~
no music
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Guatemala
~
no music
^
Haiti
~
Vaccines, bamboo trumpets played with small sticks tapped against the sides, each providing one or two percussion tones. The trick is for each player to come in with a note at precisely the right moment. Dancers follow the orchestra of bamboo trumpets through the villages.
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Honduras
~
A fast instrumental dance with plucked bass and mandolin. The improvised chords and the major tune are in folksy Spanish manner, but the rhythm is ever changing. A fine example of changing and cross-rhythms.
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Jamaica
~
Gordon Town Band plays a quadrille, a square dance popular in Jamaica. Calypso music is best known from Trinidad, but it exists in different forms on other nearby islands. A low saxophone has the main part, and there are fifes, drums and a marimbula, a large plucked-metal instrument.
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Martinique
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no music
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Mexico
~
Music of the Yaqui Indians represents a blend of original Indian and Spanish styles and is played on a small harp made by the players themselves. The harp was introduced to Indians of Latin America by the Spaniards hundreds of years ago.
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Montserrat
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no music
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Netherlands Antilles
~
no music
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Nicaragua
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no music
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Panama
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no music
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Puerto Rico
~
A dance song in an older folk style than is customary in Puerto Rico. Each singer does solo improvisations on the basic tune, sometimes several singers do this simultaneously. The basic rhythm varies, while many adroit syncopations are used.
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St. Christopher-Nevis
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no music
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St. Lucia
~
no music
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St. Pierre and Miquelon
~
no music
^
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
~
no music
^
Trinidad and Tobago
~
Trinidad possesses several authentic folk styles; among the best known is the popular Calypso style. This recording is of an older and lesser-known style of Calypso singing, accompanied with little drums and metallic percussion.
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Turks and Caicos Islands
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no music
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United States
~
Big Bill Broonzy singing "Backwater Blues", with his own very fine guitar accompaniment. Blues music expresses sorrowful feelings and melancholy moods, and it is typically characterized by minor harmonies and a slow tempo.
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Virgin Islands (U.S.)
~
no music
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Virgin Islands, British
~
no music
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Argentina
~
Folk music in Argentina is almost exclusively Spanish in background, with a slight Indian influence. This piece includes hand clapping, shoe stamping and free vocal signs of approval, all of which are typical of music played in the country.
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Bolivia
~
El Cholito. A popular dance in which Indian (pre-Columbian) scales join with Spanish tunes. Two Indian quenas (flutes) lead, with improvised chords played on plucked strings.
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Brazil
~
Two men sing a samba in a fantastically rapid staccato patter greatly prized in Brazil, accompanied with maracas (rattles), guiro (scraped notched gourd), and a guitar. Music of Brazil represents a blend of Indian, African and Portuguese styles.
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Chile
~
A dance in full swing at a fiesta held in the high north Andes Mountains. Indian drummers play together fast and furiously, accompanying a fiddler who plays a simple dance melody in Spanish style and a woman who sings the same tune in repetition.
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Colombia
~
A popular bambuco, one of the most widespread folk dances in Colombia. The rhythm conveys a picture of the short, rapid steps, usually with stamping heels, which are part of this dance. The dance figures depict a flirtation and a conquest.
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Ecuador
~
no music
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Falkland Islands
~
no music
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French Guiana
~
no music
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Guyana
~
no music
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Paraguay
~
no music
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Peru
~
Solo on the quena, a small flute heard all over Peru. Such instruments, made of silver, sometimes even human shinbones, have been found in pre-Columbian Inca graves. Folk music of Peru is mostly in Indian style, with varying Spanish influence.
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Suriname
~
no music
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Uruguay
~
no music
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Venezuela
~
Lively folk dance. An orchestra of musicians improvises on marimbula, guitar and mandolin, accompanied by the rhythmic harmonic singing of a mixed chorus. The running bass is played on the marimbula, a large plucked-metal instrument, in an African style.
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Albania
~
A lively dance in southern style played on a homemade clarinet and rebab, a bowed Persian instrument, with a trio of male singers.
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Andorra
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no music
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Austria
~
A laendler, an Austrian dance. In the mountains and valleys of Austria, groups of villagers often gather together to play and sing. The men often play an improvised wind band, and the rest of the village joins in on the chorus.
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Belgium
~
no music
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Bulgaria
~
One of the favorite instruments to have come to Europe from the East is the bagpipe, and this recording is of a typical shepherd piper. Bulgarian folk music is a mixture of Occidental scales and chords with Oriental modes and rhythms.
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Channel Islands
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no music
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Czechoslovakia
~
no music
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Denmark
~
no music
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Faeroe Islands
~
no music
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Finland
~
The Edward Ballad, a famous European ballad. A mother questions her son about the death of his brother. She asks when she will see him again, and her son replies "when the rocks turn to water". Accompaniment on the kantele, similar to a zither.
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France
~
Woman sings in folk style. The cadence of this typical Bretagne melody probably dates it to a period after the sixteenth century. Sung without accompaniment, it proves to be a tune sung better without chords.
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Germany
~
Ernst Wolff sings a German Lied titled "Sah ein Knab ein Roeslein steh'n", composed by Heinrich Werner, text by Johann Wolfgang Goethe. A boy breaks a beautiful rose in the meadow, and the rose pricks him, "so that (he) will forever think of me".
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Gibraltar
~
no music
^
Greece
~
Some consider this dance, the Kalamatianos, to be the national dance of Greece. It is performed at many social functions. A circle of dancers, hands joined and held at shoulder height, are led by a dance leader.
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Hungary
~
A group of Gypsies plays a typical "czardas", a Hungarian dance, in the characteristic Gypsy style of playing, with dashing, strongly accented violin, and accompaniment on the cembulam, a hammered string instrument that is a predecessor of the piano.
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Iceland
~
Folk singing is very popular in Iceland. The older people often sing in a style reminiscent of medieval European religious forms. This song is a Rymur, a song of greeting for guests.
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Ireland
~
Jackson's Morning Brush and the Claire Jig, played on Uileann (Elbow) Pipes, the traditional Irish lilting dance pipes. They are fed by a bellows operated by pumping air with the upper arm. Drone tones turned on or off create chord changes.
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Isle of Man
~
no music
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Italy
~
A tarantella from the island of Capri, recorded on New Year's morning. A group of men and women dance around a laurel branch to the accompaniment of a band composed of castanets, clackers and scrapers, accordion, guitar and a chorus.
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Liechtenstein
~
no music
^
Luxembourg
~
no music
^
Malta
~
no music
^
Monaco
~
no music
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Netherlands
~
no music
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Norway (incl. Svalbard and Jan Mayen)
~
In Norway and western Sweden, a special sort of violin known as a Hardinger fiddle is made and played, and has become a popular old folk instrument. Hardinger fiddlers like to play together in groups, usually in unison, and sometimes while marching.
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Poland
~
Music of the mountainous south. High, typically Slavic women's voices sing a lively and rhythmical melody in improvised harmony. A small orchestra plays along.
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Portugal
~
In Portugal, as in Italy and Spain, Christmas music is apt to come from an old tradition, and to be less changed than some other folk forms. The melody is medieval in quality and cadence.
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Romania
~
A typical village orchestra plays together by ear. While the harmony is Western, the rhythm and style of playing shows much Oriental influence. This song is an example of the coming together of Oriental and Occidental musical practices.
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San Marino
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no music
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Spain
~
La Malaguena. Flamenco music sung by Chinin de Triana with guitar accompaniment by Emilio Bonet. The Flamenco is the folk music of the Spanish Gypsy. It is presented in a variety of very strict and complex musical forms, some of which are centuries old.
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Sweden
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no music
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Switzerland
~
Swiss folk music is famous for embracing the yodel, a way of singing from the "natural" voice to the falsetto and back again. Such singing rings beautifully from one mountainside to another, and is known to many mountain peoples.
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United Kingdom
~
English ballad sung without accompaniment in the clipped, rhythmical fashion of the English tradition. English, Irish, and Scottish folk singing lies behind most folk music in the United States; more of it has been found there than is still preserved by folk singers themselves in England.
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Vatican City
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no music
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Yugoslavia
~
The vocal rhythm of ecstasy without beats is preserved from medieval times on this tenor solo from Serbia. The style seems Middle Eastern but is actually an adaptation of Early Christian modes as used in the Serbian Orthodox Church.
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Afghanistan
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no music
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Bahrain
~
no music
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Bangladesh
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no music
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Bhutan
~
no music
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Brunei
~
no music
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Burma (Myanmar)
~
An excerpt from a comic opera, said to be uproariously funny. Burmese music has one of the very fine classical traditions of the cultivated East, and is unmistakably different from that of any other music.
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China
~
Northern Shaanxi Province. Selling Vegetables, a song in five tone Gong mode, deals with a vegetable peddler's daily life. Bai Binguqan, female soloist, accompanied by the Chinese Orchestra of the Xian People's Song and Dance Theater Troupe.
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Cyprus
~
Music performed for the Karotseres dance, a Greek dance from the island of Cyprus. A circle of dancers with hands on adjoining dancers' shoulders are led by a dance leader, who chooses the patterns and sequence of steps performed.
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Cyprus, North
~
no music
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Hong Kong
~
no music
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India
~
Raga Kaphi. A highly cultivated classical piece played on the shahnai (Indian oboe). Diverse rhythms are delicately drummed on tabla and baya drums. A raga is a pattern of five to seven tones that expresses a definite feeling or philosophical concept.
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Indonesia
~
Music in excellent old traditional Javanese style. A male soloist performs in a smooth and well-decorated manner, and the gamelon, a tuned percussion orchestra, is very refined indeed.
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Iran
~
A rhapsodic love song. Interludes played on a violin used to imitate the rebab, a Persian bowed instrument. The singer uses the old Persian art of the glottal trill. The old Iranian scale defies description in western terms.
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Iraq
~
In Kurdistan, nomads often amuse themselves by playing the drums and the zorna, a reed instrument of extreme intensity designed to play sliding pitches. The players pride themselves in finding a new set of pitches for each repeat of the melody.
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Israel
~
The Kol Nidre, a Hebrew call to prayer, in what is called the Turco-Sephardic version. This version is sung in the manner thought to have originated in the temples of about the 2nd century of the Christian calendar.
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Japan
~
Sado Okesa. A favorite folk song, long widely known in Japan, and originated on the island of Sado in the Sea of Japan. The lyrics, sung by an urban geisha with samisen accompaniment, express the longing of a girl for her lover.
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Jordan (excl. West Bank)
~
no music
^
Kampuchea (Cambodia)
~
no music
^
Korea, North
~
In dignified old classical Korean music, represented by this musical chant, a male singer often reads serious old classical words of religious or philosophical import.
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Korea, South
~
no music
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Kuwait
~
no music
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Laos
~
no music
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Lebanon
~
no music
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Macao
~
no music
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Malaysia
~
"Dream" music of the Temiar aboriginal tribe. The dance is led by a Temiar shaman, or hala, who summons spirit guides. A revelation is given to the dreaming hala, under possession by the spirit. It may be a verse of poetry or song music. A few spirits give the power of healing.
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Maldives
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no music
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Mongolia
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no music
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Nepal
~
A male singing group performs a folk dance, accompanied by two pipes and drums.
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Oman
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no music
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Pakistan (incl. part of Jammu and Kashmir)
~
Love duet from the remote mountainous region of Kashmir. Living closely with nature, the people of Kashmir are very artistic. The folk music, heard across lakes and waters at night as it echoes over the mountainsides, has a haunting romantic appeal.
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Philippines
~
Original Philippine music, such as is still preserved in the very remote districts. Male singer with a half-spoken quality in the voice. A small amount of Spanish influence is heard in the melody and the plucked string accompaniment.
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Qatar
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no music
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Saudi Arabia
~
Singing with an intense nasal tone and many tiny tonal ornamentations is characteristic of a Near Eastern Islamic style having had its roots in Arabia since the time of Mohammed, and having drawn to itself elements from many nearby ancient cultures.
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Singapore
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no music
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Sri Lanka
~
In Sri Lanka, there are a variety of cultures and musical styles, and in this record a man sings in a quite simple style, accompanied by drums and rattles.
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Syria
~
An exquisitely cultivated tenor of old Syrian tradition sings a highly ornamented melody with long sustained tones, changing from no vibrato through the faintest of shakes to glottal trills. Oud (lute), strings and kanun (a hammered string instrument) accompaniment.
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Taiwan
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no music
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Thailand
~
Classical music drama of Thailand is performed in sections: a solo singer, a choral portion, and an orchestral interlude. The orchestra contains a renet (xylophone), bowed instruments, and metallic percussion.
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Turkey
~
Turkey has been for centuries a great crossroads of the Near Eastern world, its music encompassing singing styles of surrounding peoples. A cultivated tenor sings accompanied by a rebab (bowed instrument) and kanun (hammered string instrument).
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Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
~
In Estonia, as in Russia and Finland, men like to get together and sing by ear. Each man sings his own part in the chord with great firmness. Often, one sings a solo and the chorus joins in. A homemade reed instrument is heard between verses.
^
United Arab Emirates
~
no music
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Vietnam
~
Virtuoso soloist on the "butterfly harp", an instrument of many tiny strings played upon by tiny hammers of thin bamboo, one in each hand. Vietnamese folk music is in the Malayan manner, which pervades the Southeast Asian peninsula.
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Yemen
~
no music
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Algeria
~
Song from South Oran. A baritone sings a rhythmical tune. Two small drums and a pipe with many trills and ornaments provide accompaniment.
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Angola
~
no music
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Ascension
~
no music
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Benin
~
In this part of Africa, a "singing band" is the most important musical body. It consists of a small group of singing men with accompaniment on drums and a piece of metal or glass. A phrase by the solo singer is answered by the rest of the group.
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Botswana
~
no music
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British Indian Ocean Territory
~
no music
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Burkina Faso
~
no music
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Burundi
~
no music
^
Cameroon
~
no music
^
Cape Verde
~
no music
^
Central African Republic
~
no music
^
Chad
~
no music
^
Comoros
~
Love song with gabus, a small lute. The gabus is entertainment music for men, occasionally performed as part of a harusi, or wedding celebration, after dancing and ceremonies have been completed. Sung in Shinzwani, a Bantu language of Nzwani Island.
^
Congo
~
Congo xylophones. Some musicologists believe that this instrument originated here. Larger Congo instruments are resonated by holes of just the right width and depth dug in the ground under each tuned stick, practical only in the dry season.
^
Djibouti
~
no music
^
Egypt
~
Egypt is the seat of a distinctive North African popular folk style of music, with mostly Arabic, and some European (Greek) and Sudanese influence. This rapid dance song is accompanied by nose flute, blown through a nostril instead of the mouth.
^
Equatorial Guinea
~
no music
^
Ethiopia
~
Man's solo accompanied by the begenna, a bass plucked string instrument. The words: "I beg you heart, get accustomed to it. I have no family, I beg you heart, I have no family, So be you my family...I have no refuge, So be you my cavern to live in."
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Gabon
~
no music
^
Gambia
~
no music
^
Ghana
~
no music
^
Guinea
~
no music
^
Guinea-Bissau
~
no music
^
Ivory Coast
~
no music
^
Kenya
~
no music
^
Lesotho
~
no music
^
Liberia
~
no music
^
Libya
~
no music
^
Madagascar
~
Young girls sing a tune which seems African in style and form, but is sung in parts, a procedure picked up by ear from the French. The plucked accompaniment is on an African harp, which is held against the body for resonation.
^
Malawi
~
no music
^
Mali
~
no music
^
Mauritania
~
no music
^
Mauritius (incl. Dependencies)
~
no music
^
Mayotte
~
no music
^
Morocco (excl. Western Sahara)
~
The North African countries have a music especially their own, made from an admixture of Arabic and African influences. There is an individual style of singing, well displayed by the baritone in this recording.
^
Mozambique
~
no music
^
Namibia (excl. Walvis Bay)
~
In a fast rhythm and accompanied with drums, a small group of high voices sings in intervals of harmonic thirds. Three of the singers descend, in a manner often noted in Central Africa, and containing features of harmony.
^
Niger
~
no music
^
Nigeria
~
Yoruba tribe. Bata drums played for Orishlana, the Deity of Whiteness, believed to fashion children in the womb. Bata drums, played only by professional drummers in religious music, are among the most difficult to learn. They are unique to the Yoruba.
^
Reunion
~
no music
^
Rwanda
~
Drums are a symbol of authority and royalty among the Watutsi of Rwanda. Only by permission of the Mwami, or king, may batteries of drums be played together. The drums are played with sticks, never with the naked hands.
^
Sao Tome and Principe
~
no music
^
Senegal
~
no music
^
Seychelles
~
no music
^
Sierra Leone
~
no music
^
Somalia
~
no music
^
South Africa (incl. Walvis Bay)
~
Edwin Mkize and Group. A chorus of Zulu men and boys sings rhythmically together in a rather fast meter.
^
St. Helena (incl. Dependencies)
~
no music
^
Sudan
~
no music
^
Swaziland
~
no music
^
Tanzania
~
no music
^
Togo
~
no music
^
Tunisia
~
no music
^
Uganda
~
no music
^
Western Sahara
~
no music
^
Zaire
~
Pygmies of the Ituri Forest are especially musical. Nearly every member of every group sings, and many play instruments they have made themselves. The music shows little or no influence from outside of Africa.
^
Zambia
~
no music
^
Zimbabwe
~
no music
^
American Samoa
~
no music
^
Australia
~
Australian Aborigines. Rhythmically punctuated ceremonial chant devoted to making friends with animal spirits. Hisses show that the animal being courted is a snake.
^
Christmas Island
~
no music
^
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
~
no music
^
Cook Islands
~
no music
^
Fiji
~
Wooden Slit Gong and Vakambolo, a Hand Dance. A single drum beat becomes faster and faster until it breaks into rhythm. Next, a chorus is sung in a style characteristic of the South Sea islands.
^
French Polynesia
~
Vocals with coconut drums accompaniment from the island of Tahiti. With its glottal stops, the Tahitian language lends itself to a breathless rhythm, sometimes spoken, sometimes sung, enhanced by tiny beats on the coconut drums.
^
Guam
~
no music
^
Kiribati
~
no music
^
Marshall Islands
~
no music
^
Micronesia, Federated States of
~
no music
^
Midway Islands
~
no music
^
Nauru
~
no music
^
New Caledonia
~
no music
^
New Zealand
~
Maori tribe. A karakia, or incantation, supplicating the god of the forests, Tanemahuta, to give up one of his "children," a tree, for human use. This chant especially is used if the tree is to become a canoe or a ridge pole for a building.
^
Niue
~
no music
^
Norfolk Island
~
no music
^
Northern Mariana Islands
~
no music
^
Palau (Belau)
~
no music
^
Papua New Guinea
~
no music
^
Pitcairn (incl. Dependencies)
~
no music
^
Solomon Islands
~
Introductory pati, ancient Polynesian music from Bellona. The mu'aabaka is held in honor of a lineage elder's wife, who leads the slow, dignified dancing. The women wear ha'u, wreaths of leaves, in their hair. The pati are dances begun after the manga'e, a harvest distribution ceremony.
^
Tokelau
~
no music
^
Tonga
~
no music
^
Tuvalu
~
no music
^
Vanuatu
~
no music
^
Wake Island
~
no music
^
Wallis and Futuna
~
no music
^
Western Samoa
~
The song is an old one about a volcano, sung in harmony in a clear and lovely style. The simple harmonic intervals native to the South Sea islands are combined with the sort of chords taught by missionaries in hymn singing and later adapted by ear.
