2. PART 7 NONWESTERN MUSIC
• Reflects/expresses world’s diversity
• Each culture has its music practice
• Some have all 3—folk, pop, & classical
• These musics influence western music
• Especially true in the 20th Century
• French composer Claude Debussy
• British rocker George Harrison
• Jazz artist John Coltrane
3. MUSIC IN NONWESTERN CULTURE
• Characteristics on Nonwestern Music
• It reflects its supporting culture
• Frequently linked with religion, dance and drama
• Often used to communicate messages & relate traditions
• Oral Tradition
• Frequently transmitted by oral tradition
• Music notation far less important than in western culture
• Many cultures do not have a music notation
• When they do, it serves as a record, not for teaching or performance
4. CHARACTERISTICS OF
NONWESTERN MUSIC
• Improvisation
• Improvisation is frequently basic to the music
• Improvisation usually based on traditional melodic phrases and
rhythmic patterns
• Voices
• Singing usually main way of making music
• Vocal approach, timbre, and techniques vary throughout the
world
• Nasal sound
• Strained tone
• Throat singing
• Many others
5. CHARACTERISTICS OF
NONWESTERN MUSIC
• Instruments
• Four types based upon sound production:
• Membranophones—stretched skin
• Primarily drums
• Chordophones—stretched string
• Harp-types
• Aerophones—performer’s breath
• Flutes, trumpets, etc
• Idiophones—instrument’s body is sound generator
• Bells, gongs, scrapers, rattles, etc.
6. CHARACTERISTICS OF
NONWESTERN MUSIC
• Style and application within culture causes particular types of
instruments to dominate
• Strings allow great flexibility of pitch
• Idiophones/membranophones: rhythmic emphasis
• Aerophones aid in outdoor performance
• Geography & materials availability influences
• Religion also influences instrumentation
7. MELODY, RHYTHM, & TEXTURE
• Most nonwestern music is monophonic
• Sometimes accompanied by a drone
• Some cultures use heterophony
• All perform same melody with different ornamentation
• Scales in nonwestern music are frequently quite different than
western musical scales
• Intervals between tones can be larger or smaller
• Much nonwestern music has very complex rhythms
8. NONWESTERN & WESTERN
• Nonwestern music has been greatly impacted by western
influences due to:
• Increased urbanization
• Spread of technology
• Almost worldwide access to recorded music
• Some governments subsidize traditional music to preserve
cultural heritage
