So, I pondered something just a little bit ago:

Languages tend to evolve in predictable patterns over certain periods of time. For example: P sounds tend to morph into F sounds at a similar rate across all languages throughout history. Similar things examples can be found with various other sounds.

With these predictable sound morphs, alongside shared root words across Europe and parts of Asia, we can reconstruct the ancestor language shared between languages like Sanskrit and Latin, called Proto-Indo European, thought to have existed in a semi-nomadic society around Ukraine, Turkey, and Russia around the year 5000-3000 BCE. No written texts exist from the language, but we can reconstruct the sound within a certain level of theoretical accuracy.

With that being said: does music follow any similar trend across all cultures and systems? And, in theory, could we look at similarities in folk music styles around the world to reconstruct a theoretical ancestors between them, taking into account outside influences? Has anyone ever tried something like that?

It might be hard, since language changes tend to happen very slowly, whereas music innovations can come from a single person or ensemble and take hold in only a few years.

Not too expensive with worldwide shipping

I searched to see if someone has answered something similar to this in this subreddit and could not find anything.

I'm curious to see if people have resources for learning about harmony in Non-Western music. Either homophony or polyphony. I know various cultures often use parallel diads like fifths, fourths, thirds, and sixths. I'm also aware of Bulgarian and Georgian choirs as an example of something resembling polyphony. I really enjoy the sound of the chords used in some Japanese traditional music via the Sho (instrument). There are interesting cluster chords that have this eery suspended sound. I find it striking that I cannot find much mention of the chords used in the Sho in anything I read online about non-western harmony, even though it seems to be readily made available in articles that discuss the Sho itself.

So given my surprise in finding out that this is a thing, I'm curious if there are other less talked about examples of harmony that further complicate the (clearly false) picture created by the common refrain that harmony is something uniquely western. I'm really just looking for good resources to read about more of these kinds of examples so I can explore listening to and understanding them.

I love this tune. I guess it's sort of pentatonic? Does anyone know if this lullaby is influenced by any Western music? It has so many skips in it, compared to a scale having mostly steps. Could there be any Japanese influence? (It was colonized at one point, and I believe there are Japanese scales which have skips in them....). thank you for any input!

https://youtu.be/eGjgLrWbIfQ?si=UiW9JTeug4GgXutO

I need help!! I’m currently trying to research Filipino Visayan pre-colonial music. This can include lullabies, dance music, instruments, it could literally be anything. Does anyone happen to have any resources for this? I’ve currently been trying Smithsonian Folkways and UP Center of Ethnomusicology.

i've been trying to find more information on the music of indigenous cultures (particularly from North America, South America, Central America, and Hawai'i) but can't seem to find any accessible resources. i know the term indigenous encompasses a massive amount of music, but i've been struggling to find anything at all, so even unspecific information would be helpful. i'm really just looking for a point in the right direction.

Hi all! I'm a music enthusiast and composer who's always been fascinated by how music changes depending on its context. I spend a lot of time in the mountains, and every once in a while, I hear about people who like to bring their guitar or a keyboard on a hike somewhere to play music outside, unamplified. For me, the thought of taking contemporary western pop/folk music outside seems to be removing it from its primary context of studio recordings and amplified concert venues. Similarly, I once heard John Luther Adams talk about hearing one of his percussion pieces performed outside, and how it lacked the power of hearing it indoors. This has got me wondering: there are a few instruments and music traditions I know of that have their origins in mountain regions, for example the melting pot of Appalachian folk music or the Swiss Alphorn. Is there any writing, research, or resources that consider the context of mountain regions on a people group's music? A quick Google search has me thinking this may be too wide a net to cast; how the music of Tuva evolved may be pretty separate from the purpose of the Alphorn, for instance. Still, I thought I'd post here and see if anyone has any interesting reading I can look into, or music to listen to. Thanks in advance!

Greetings,

I have this album song here that is or has been inspired by traditional african music:

https://youtu.be/Z3y5LrmG0bI?t=24

Can someone tell me what kind of traditional african music this song might have been based off and if yes do you know some prominent traditional songs with the same rhythmic pattern?

Thanks!

I maintain a daily music blog where I write about a different genre every day out of a list of 2,000, and it's gotten me very interested in maybe pursuing musicology. I get a lot of far-flung, fascinating genres and it's given me an unparalleled chance to explore the world musically. I'm just an amateur college student blogging, but I'd appreciate your support and thought it would resonate here. https://reidht.substack.com/

I'm looking for a Ukranian traditional song someone taught me a while ago. I specifically know that the line "a ja je prodala" is very repetarive in this song. The main melody is very simple and it's in 4/4.

In modern Western music theory, Locrian mode is considered largely unusable for harmonies and melodies. Few (if any) composers have written pieces entirely in Locrian.

However, the mode dates back Ancient Greece. It was one of the seven modes of Ancient Greek music theory.

I was wondering if any musicals traditions make use Locrian or something more-or-less equivalent tuning-wise. If so, what are some songs from these cultures that use this mode? And how is the sound of the "Locrian mode" perceived in these cultures, if there is any association?

Also, has anyone heard any reconstructed Ancient Greek music in Locrian?

I'm writing a piece for choir and two oboes that's a setting of a Greek theatre chorus (from The Frogs). I think I might want some aspects of Locrian in it to add tension, so hence why I'm curious for examples. There will be no harmony in my piece (it's meant to air more on the side of reconstructed music), so the tritones aren't such a concern.

...but not necessarily working on a traditional genre. Something like what John Zorn does for Jewish music would be a good reference point I guess. My best bets are Anouar Brahem (jazz) or Muslimgauze (electronic). I know very little of it (Arab music) so feel free to recommend anything that remotely fits.

Hello everyone,

There are some works in the Western classical music repertoire that are widely considered as masterpieces, such as Beethoven's 9th Symphony or Mozart's Requiem, for example.

Could you tell me of analogous cases outside of the Western tradition?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKGTVFNOGPA

I have read a bit of "the great theory of music" by "chrysanthos of madytos" and a few papers by Markos Skoulios but I want to know more about Octoechos and understand their structures better. any help is appreciated.

Hi all,

Forgive me if this isn't the correct community to be asking this question, but I am wondering if anyone knows of a dataset that has a regional history of the names of songs that were popular on radios during that time frame. For example, if in some specific zipcode, such and such song was the most listened to, during a specific year. Anything that ranges back from the 70s to now.

If anyone has any suggestions or pointers, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

What are some ongoing debates in ethnomusicology? I am curious about what the common disagreements and unsolved questions are. If I'm not mistaken, the origins of bluegrass is one such question, but what else is there? I'm especially curious about controversies related to Asian music but anything goes

We have aerophones, idiophones, membranophones, chordophones, and electrophones. Are there any classifications that could exist in theory, but seemingly don't exist on Earth?

Maybe liquiphones (sound from liquids) or plasmaphones (sound from plasmas)? If so, could they be combined with aerophones to create "fluidophones"? What about magnetophones (sound from magnetic fields)?

Heya folks!

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I'm a sophomore in high school, and I'm just considering my options for what I want to do in college. I know that I've always wanted to teach, especially in music or history/anthropology. Ethnomusicology is a wonderful blend of these subjects that has fascinated me to no end for years. I'm a theater kid and play in my school's bands, leading to a lot of performances, but performance isn't something I feel would be my preferred end goal. Of course, if I end up a music teacher, especially at a high school, I would need to perform for school concerts and the like, which I am more than alright with, but performance just feels more like a hobby to me. So i'm curious on what everyone's opinions would be. Would it be better to go into a music related major and go into an ethnomusicology graduate program seeing how hard to come by undergraduate programs are, or could I go into something like Anthropology with a music background / take music classes? Is that even a possibility for most programs? If you want or need to know more, I am fully willing to provide. I'm just curious about my possible options. Thanks!

I have like 3000 cool books. Would be nice to completely devote to african drumming and knowledgr/books/research