People all over the world they write and perform music. Some types of music are popular in many countries, others only in certain regions. But no matter what music is, it helps people reflect their inner world, preserve culture and beliefs, and express their feelings.
Music is like language: sounds of different pitches and durations make up musical phrases, these phrases form plays. Sometimes music is called a common language, understood all over the world, because it makes the same impression on people regardless of where they come from.
Features of music of different countries
In Europe there are many varieties of folk music. The most famous of them are:
- Irish songs;
- Spanish flamenco;
- Russian round dance.
In North America you can to hear the music of the indigenous people of this country — Native Americans, as well as the music of the peoples of many other countries of the world and music created in the USA, including jazz, rap, barbershop, rock and country and western.
The music of the inhabitants of the Caribbean islands, Central and South America is no less diverse than that of North America.In it the influence of European, African and Asian musical traditions is felt. There are also musical styles peculiar to the native inhabitants of South America, such as the music performed on the pan flutes of the Andean peoples, and more recently invented styles, such as the music of the noise bands of the inhabitants of the Caribbean islands.
Unique musical traditions live on all the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Aborigines of Australia sing, preserving and developing their religion and culture. For them the singer is an important figure, he conveys messages from nature spirits to people.
Solomon Islanders have been playing bamboo flutes since time immemorial. Musicians perform both individually and in large orchestras. In the 19th century Christian missionaries forbade such music but the aborigines were able to preserve it.
In Southeast Asia, as before, traditional percussion instruments are popular. The Indonesian gamelan orchestra includes gongs, xylophones, drums and other instruments. Gamelan accompanies dances and songs, and also takes part in shadow theater performances based on legends and myths.
In East Asia many theatrical traditions have been preserved. Peking Opera performances in China are speech, singing, acting and acrobatics, which together form an extremely impressive spectacle. And in the Korean pansora theater, all parts are performed by the same singer, who also narrates the story.
In Asian countries, music was heard not only in theatrical performances. Over the past three centuries, Japanese composers have been writing works for bamboo flutes - shakuhachi. The musical notation here was nothing like the European one with its notation of several lines. Composers wrote special symbols in a vertical column, which explain to the performer how he should play.
In most East Asian countries in general there were no musical notation systems. For example, in Mongolian singing, one performer simultaneously whistles the melody and makes low sounds.
Music of the countries of the Middle East
The music of the countries of the Middle East is noticeable influenced by the culture of Islam. For example, the professional musical styles of African countries are impressive in their diversity. Music is often inextricably linked with speech language and dance Only in some cases is it recorded, and songs and performance samples are passed down orally from generation to generation.
One of the features of African music is peculiar dialogues, when one musician sings or plays a phrase and the others respond to it. In many pieces, voices or instruments come into play gradually, one after the other. Plays may consist of short themes that are repeated with variations. The most common instruments are drums, xylophones and mbiras, on which the keys (metal strips) are pressed with different fingers.
