non-Western sounds

Non-Western music is any music that grew out of a different culture or musical tradition than the European. For someone who grew up listening to Western music, Non-Western music will have a recognizably exotic sound.

Much non-Western music is functional: each piece has a specific purpose and is associated with certain events, actions, or situations, which often determine the musical structure. Important elements of form in non-Western music are melody types and rhythmic patterns.

Studying non-western music can help the musician discover commonalities across ethnic and regional traditions – from instruments to rhythms to vocal styles. Musicians who study global music will deepen their understanding of how different musical traditions from around the world relate to and even influence each other.

Western music, music produced in Europe as well as those musics derived from the European from ancient times to the present day.

adjective. Britannica Dictionary definition of NON–WESTERN. always used before a noun. : of or relating to the part of the world that does not include the countries of western Europe and North America. non-Western countries.

When we speak of the non-Western world we are referring to the areas in which cultures developed essentially apart from the Greco-Judaic-Christian tradition of the Western culture. Thus, it includes East Asia (China, Japan, and Korea), Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

10 Unusual Musical Instruments From Around the World

• Ðàn Tre.
• Tenor cornett.
• Mayuri.
• Chime bells.
• Copper serpent.
• Russian Bassoon.
• Zurna.
• Haegeum.

Characteristics of Western music include specific forms, structures, instruments and modes of music theory that make identifiable the sound of Western music. Genres such as opera, symphony, concerto, and chamber quartet define the most popular forms of Western classical music.

Ethnomusicology includes the study of music from non-Western cultures as well as indigenous cultures. Through his work as a composer, Bartok incorporated many elements of the folk music he studied into his own compositions, which ultimately introduced new musical ideas and concepts to 20th-century music.

Country music emphasized simplified lyric and instrumentation with roots in Appalachian folk music jazz and blues. Western music is a blend of this style plus elements of ranchero and southwestern music of the border states, as well as polka and other folk styles of other cultures.

One way to put it is, that Western music is oriented around written music. It can be written down and repeated in an orderly structure. Eastern music is oriented around oral music. It can't necessarily be captured in notes and is more dynamic and improvisation.

Western classical compositions in music are all formally written and there is almost no scope for improvisation. In contrast, eastern music does not have compositions written down and has been passed down from teachers to students through the process of learning leading to every performance being improvised.