Traditions Around the World
Living traditions with long histories
Hindustani classical performance
- When
- Long evolving history
- Where
- South Asia
North Indian raga-based traditions emphasize improvisation, melodic development and rhythmic cycles.
Carnatic classical performance
- When
- Long evolving history
- Where
- South Asia
South Indian concert practice integrates composition, raga elaboration and intricate tala.
Dhrupad
- When
- 15th century onward
- Where
- South Asia
An influential North Indian vocal genre emphasizing measured melodic exposition.
Khayal
- When
- Prominent from the 18th century onward
- Where
- South Asia
A Hindustani vocal genre with flexible improvisational treatment of raga.
Javanese gamelan
- When
- Long evolving history
- Where
- Southeast Asia
Ensembles of gongs and metallophones organize layered rhythmic and melodic cycles.
West African griot/jeli traditions
- When
- Long evolving history
- Where
- West Africa
Hereditary specialist musicians preserve and reinterpret histories in specific communities.
Afro-Cuban musical exchange
- When
- 19th–20th centuries
- Where
- Caribbean
African diasporic and European-derived practices interacted in genres including son and rumba.
Flamenco
- When
- 19th century onward in its modern forms
- Where
- Europe
Andalusian Gitano (Roma) and other local traditions joined singing, guitar, dance and complex rhythmic cycles.
Arabic maqam performance
- When
- Evolving regional traditions
- Where
- West Asia and North Africa
Modal practice relies on characteristic phrases, intonation and melodic development, not scales alone.
Andean panpipe ensembles
- When
- Long evolving history
- Where
- South America
Communal aerophone performance remains central to varied Andean musical communities.
Other chapters: Early Musical Cultures · Medieval and Renaissance Worlds · Baroque and Classical · The Nineteenth Century · The Twentieth Century · Recording and Technology
Dates mark documented developments or approximate periods, not the beginnings of traditions. Many histories run side by side. Dates are given as the timeline records them. Where a date is approximate, the entry says so.
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