World Music: How does oriental music differ from western music?
World Music: How does oriental music differ from western music? Hawaiian? Israeli? Mexican? etc….
The term, “Western Music” includes genres of music originating in the Western world (which includes Europe) that are differentiated from music from the Orient or Middle East. Put simply, Western music, for the most part, is built on major, minor, and pentatonic scales. There is liberal use of octaves, fourths, and fifths. Music from the Orient or the Middle East employs a larger group of scales including those built on five notes (rather than seven) and quarter tones (rather than semitones). These differences, though not understood by the layperson, go a long way in creating music that is noticeably different and unique to each culture.
Music from different countries and ethnicities can be dramatically different. Latin music, for example, is known for its use of a variety of percussion instruments including congas, claves, timbales and hand drums. This music, often used for dances, is lively, very rhythmic, and often dramatic. Mexican music, on the other had, often includes a mariachi band which consists of guitar, bass, violin and horns such as trumpets.
Strikingly different, music from Japan is often played on interesting instruments with intriguing names such as shamisen, taiko drums, and a flute called shakuhachi, which is made of bamboo. The music is very meditative and is often used for ceremonies and marking certain passages in life. Hawaiian music is very simple in rhythm and melody and has a distinct sound played by ukuleles and guitars. “Slack key” guitar, a finger picking style played with unusual tunings, began in Hawaii in the 1960s and is still heard today. Music from Israel is a mix of music from Jewish and non-Jewish traditions. You will also hear a mix of Klezmer and Hebrew folk music.
The United States, being a relatively young country, and one that is made up of virtually all ethnics groups, has a music of its own – jazz — and it’s derivitives. You can hear Dixieland swing in New Orleans and hard-charging blues in the night clubs of Chicago. The U.S. is considered the birthplace of both rock-and-roll and Country music, both sharing their beginnings with folk music (which some insist had its origins in Europe).
The term “world music” is a most often used to describe a wide and eclectic collection of music and musicians. There are many world music festivals throughout the year with musicians and their support staff traveling thousands of miles for a single performance. Music magazines like “Song Lines” are devoted to world music with each copy containing a CD of music from around the globe.
Music from a certain culture (or country) is often affected by what instruments are traditionally played and readily available. For example, Irish music is deeply rooted in the fiddle, where Spanish music depends a lot on the guitar and it’s versatility.