Ukrainian Music

Formerly a member of the all powerful Soviet Union, Ukraine’s music today is considered to be well connected to the “Cossacks baroque”. To gain a musical education, centers for learning included the Glukhiv singing school and Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. D.Bortnyansky, M.Berezovsky and A.Vedel are just a few names of great artists who spread Ukrainian music. Even though their education meant that they had become knowledgeable in the European styled music, they never stopped emphasizing Ukraine’s melodic traditions and created masterpieces with their compositions and lyrics. In many Slavic churches, spiritual music composed by them is still played. Development in the musical field also lead to the emergence of cappella choir music, made popular by modern day Ukraine.
In the city of Chernihiv in Ukraine, archaeologists found mammoth tusks which were considered to be the first musical instruments made in Ukraine. Ukrainians can also be divided into different regional groups owing to their large ethnic population consisting of Russians, Poles, Slovaks, Hungarians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Armenians, Germans and Jews as well. With so many influences coming up, Ukrainian music has developed its own unique musical traditions borrowing from these ethnic groups.
Ukrainian court musicians used to play and perform in front of Polish kings and leaders from other royal houses. The country’s music stood for national history and culture and was widely depicted in its ballads and performances. Festivals to promote music in Ukraine include: “Perlyny Sezonu”, “Tavrijski Igry”, “Chaika”, “Chervona Ruta”, that give youngsters a chance to showcase their talents. It was because of these festivals that talents such as “Okean Elzy”, “Tanok na Majdani Kongo”, “Green Grey”, “Tartak were discovered and have been performing locally as well as internationally.
The evident characteristic of Ukrainian folk music is its use of minor keys. Being at the main crossroad between Asia and Europe, Ukraine one can say has received the best of both the worlds in terms of musical expressions like rhythm and harmony.  Harmonically because of the use of compound meters, Ukrainian music can be complex. It is also based on medieval modes. There are also different styles such as solo singing sung at wakes, solo singing with an instrument known as kobzari or lirnyky and the a cappella chorus group involving polyphony/heterophony/harmony without any instrument.
Traditional instruments include the the kobza (lute), the sopilka (duct flute), bandura, torban (bass lute), violin, resheto (tambourine) and drymba/varghan (Jaw harp). The trembita was another ritual instrumental music used by the Hutsuls to signify birth and death. Folk choirs also came to be accepted as the norm around the cities. Also popular Traditional Music of non-Ukrainain ethnic minorities is that of Jewish Klezmer music, which is not only rich and artistically creative but its compositions make it stand apart. Even Russian music has got some new improvisations in Ukraine. Classical Ukrainian music is well represented by V.Lukianets, Valentyn Pyvovarov, Roman Mayboroda and Taras Shtonda.
Western pop music has been on Ukraine’s music scene ever since the 60’s. A group named Kobza saw the emergence of folk rock bands in the 70’s. Other groups and artists who grew to prominence were Medikus, Smerichka, Volodymyr Ivasiuk, Iryna Bilyk, Oleksandr Ponomariov, Sofia Rotaru and Nazariy Yaremchuk. A Ukrainian singer by the name of Ruslana took away the coveted “Eurovision – 2004” award.

Swahili music

It is from the eastern coast of Africa where the Swahili civilization sprang up and grew in to what is today Kenya’s offering of a vast variety and diversity of popular music forms. Popular forms of music besides Swahili include Benga, hip hop, reggae, soul, soukous, rock and roll, funk and Europop. The guitar is considered to be the soul of musical instruments across all genres in continental African music; however they also use bass and percussions.
With the emergence of radio and television broadcasters Swahili music artists’ performances began to be aired live. The lyrics of various music artists would vary between Swahili and Lingala, but other tribal languages were not given much importance and hence there was no scope for development. Many night clubs in Nairobi started playing rumba music which was very trendy and was a the rage at that time. By the end of 1977, with the East African community splitting, the continuous flow of Tanzanian Swahili performers entering Kenya to record and perform began to recede.
Even though the Swahili civilization came to a decline, Swahili sound continued to dominate the music scene along with another genre known as the Congolese sound. Both these sounds are centered on the rumba which has come from the Republic of Congo. Swahili music is noted for its slower rhythm although both genres have an affinity towards each other currently. Lyrics to Swahili pop are usually in Swahili or the Taiti language.
With Congolese performers gaining popularity during the 1970s and '80s in Kenya, Swahili musicians emerging mostly from Tanzania had to work hard to gain acceptance in the music field. During their rivalry with each other, a Tanzanian group named Arusha Jazz later known as Simba Wanyika Band became very well known throughout Kenya. However at the peak of their popularity they split with some of the band members forming the Les Wanyika.
Other Kenyan groups such as the Maroon Commandos and Nairobi Matata emerged later on with their own "Swahili" styles, taking a lead from the Simba Wanyika Band.
Swahili rumba continued to remain the rage throughout the mid-nineties and the Maroon Commandos and Les Wanyika continued to perform. Even though other Swahili bands have experimented with various styles, musical instruments and rhythm, they still remain closely rooted to their rumba origins.
Kenyan pop sounds are not only one of the most diverse and well known sounds within Africa but are also one of Africa’s best kept secrets. This is due to the lack of international exposure of Swahili and other genres of music. The core of Swahili society and traditions is their music. Tarabu is the accepted type of music that the Swahilis usually listen to. Since Swahili has everything to do with Rhythm, it incorporates Arabic and even Indian melodies. Another reason why Swahili language is usually in the lyrics of most songs even from people coming from different parts of Kenya is because without one main regional language, Swahili has sort of been singled out by these artists and musicians to present their work to the people. 

Persian Music

Persia has a refined musical culture known to have been widely influenced by many cultures such as the Greeks, Arabs, Spain and even Japan. With an elaborate musical history, the early Persian Empire started by King Herodotus had great court musicians such as Barbod, Nakissa and Ramtin. Barbod has been credited with devising the first Persian musical system known as the Khosravaani or Royal Modes. Around the 7th century when Persia was invaded by the Arab dynasty, the Arabs discovered a culturally rich musical heritage. During the Abbasid dynasty, Persian musicians living in a secular environment away from Islamist religious leaders opposed to the onslaught of Persian music, and began to perform in different corners of the Islamic Empire. However after the decline of the Abbasid dynasty, and with the rise of Shi'ite clerics there was a gradual decline in musical theory and lack of creative growth.
Becoming a mere decorative piece of art, Persian music was reduced to court musicians’ performances during the Safavid dynasty and the Qajar dynasty. It was around this era that the twelve dastagh system was presented. Soon the West’s musical influence reached the shores of Persia. It is from here onwards that Persian music slowly started gaining momentum again with schools coming up and where French instructors would teach them Western musical theory and various wind instruments. Soon musical institutions began emerging giving rise to talented artists such as Ali Naqi Vaziri.
Persian music also comprises of folk and popular music as well as classical music. Folk and popular music is interlinked with classical music. However they are separated by what folk music is characteristic of namely melodic and rhythmic variations. Classical instruments are somewhat difficult for folk musicians to handle. Their aesthetic requirements usually consist of love songs, wedding appearances, lullabies, street performances and such. Also instruments vary among the rural people with each village having their own unusual instrument. Their music also largely comprises of Persian-Western music which is slowly getting a huge fan following. Even though the music has large western components included, the musical theory and harmony of these compositions remains true to the essence of Persian music.
Persian classical music has a whole set of melodies known as the Radif, seven larger connotations known as the Dastagh and five smaller sub-sets known as avaz or maqam. The term "Khonyâ-ye Bâstâni Irâni" is better known today as Persian Classical Music. The elaborate and often difficult to play classical musical instruments would include the goblet drum tombak, dohol, the end-blown flute ney, the frame drum daf, sorna, neyanban, gheichak , Kamancheh, Dayereh, the long-necked lutes tar, setar, tanbur, dotar, and others. Most of these instruments also brought about an inspiration and a large market in Middle Eastern countries. The Tar instrument however is considered to be most popular among musicians. Even though some of these instruments which were popular as early as the Sassanid era, they are no longer considered part of classical musical history but have still maintained their place is Persian musical tradition.

Pashto Music

It is important to understand who and what are the Pashtuns and how their music originated and grew. Pashtuns also well known as Pathans in Urdu and ethnic Afghans in Persian have populations which hail from southern Afghanistan and in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and from provinces in Pakistan. Pakistan is another country which has developed a large array of sounds from traditional Pashtun music. With the penetration of western music in various pockets of these countries, it’s not surprising to find two important genres – traditional eastern music meeting the west.
The Pashtuns are characterized by their language, namely Pashto. From the 1980’s, Afghanistan has been facing constant violence with the rise and fall of the Taliban regime, in which the Pashtun community played a large role. During the Taliban regime, music was largely suppressed and condemned, with the banning of instrumental music and destruction of musical instruments. Kabul however being the regional cultural capital, continued to have a few musicians plying their trade in the market where traditional music largely prevailed.
Pashto music has been largely linked to Iranian music; this can strongly be seen in most lyrics which largely comprise of Persian and Pashto. After the fall of the Taliban, modern Pashto music mostly had lyrics about the wars and sufferings in Afghanistan. An infusion of Indian filmy music from Bollywood and techniques and sounds from Persian music slowly started gaining momentum.
Another important facet of Pashto music is Pashto poetry. Pashto singers and poets would work hard to write beautiful poetry and songs and keep on traveling through different provinces performing and singing. Today, many of these traditional Pashto singers reside in Par Hoti. They have traveled from far off places like Marghuz and Baja Bam Khel in Swabi. Due to constant hardships in their small villages and Mardans close proximity to Peshawar, most of them migrated to Par Hoti. With the Peshawar Broadcasting Station close by, they would record their songs and hear it being played over the radio.
With traditional Pashto music moving along the same lines and imitating the west, a revival has been brought about to the once decadent Pashto music catering to the younger generation. Afghan or rather Pashto music largely comprises of scales, note intervals and rhythms which vary from Western music, but are still more closely connected to Western Music than Asian.
Well known Pashto singers who have emerged are Bachazareen Jan, Qamro Jan, Kishwar Sultan, Mashuk Sultan, Nigar Sultan, Muhammad Anwar Master and Wali Dad Tibla Nawaz. Khial Muhammad is a well known Pashto singer who has been singing since childhood.  Other famous singers include Farrukh Seir Shama, Rahdat Hussain, Laloon, Fazal Wahab Dard, Zar Nosh, Khatoon, Shakila Naz and Neelam.
Traditional Pashtun music has close links to Klasik which is Afghan Music inspired by Indian sounds and rhythm and Iranian music. Most lyrics usually comprise of love, religion, suffering and wars. Popular genres include ghazals, Tappa, Charbeta, Neemkai, Loba, Shaan and Sufi qawwali music. The Tappa consists of two unequal meters and is considered to be the oldest form of Pashto poetry emerging from Afghanistan. A kind of lute instrument known as the Rubab plays an important role in Pashto folk songs.

Turkish Music

Turkish music includes diverse elements. This is because Turkey was dominated by various civilizations and hence their art forms have been influenced by the Persians, the Byzantine Empire and even the Balkans. Besides these there is documented evidence of folk music being recorded according to the styles of the Armenians, Jews, Greeks and other communities. People settling in from different parts of the country, gave rise to regional folklore, with each region having its own distinct tradition. Turkey’s music has been broadly segregated into classical art music and folk music.
Turkish classical music was brought forth by the Ottoman Empire as they patronized royal court music and its compositions. It is also known as saray music or royal court music. The Hamparsum notation was used till the prologue of Western notation. Their modes and scales were called makam. Some of the major artists who popularized this genre include Dede Efendi, Münir Nurettin Selçuk, Prince Cantemir, Zeki Müren, Efendi, Sultan Selim III, Sultan Suleyman, Bülent Ersoy, Baba Hamparsum, Müzeyyen Senar and Zekai Tunca. The instruments popular for classical music also included the oud, tanbur, ney, kanun, and darbuka.
Folk music was known as the music of the masses. Better known as Türkü, it spoke about the life of the rural people and their surroundings. The songs and the words behind them usually recount stories about people’s journey through life and are usually played at weddings, gatherings, folk dances, funerals and even festivals. Well known folk patrons were Aşik Veysel and Mahsuni, Zülfü Livaneli and Nazim Hikmet's. Folk instruments cover the bağlama, kemenche (a type of stave fiddle), the zurna, ney, darbuka, kemenche.
Romani influence bought about food and alcohol being served during performances which would be played in meyhanes or tavernas. The clarinet and violin are most popular. The term of a military marching band was said to be first coined by the Turks, the earliest one was known as The Janissary bands or Mehter Takımı whose emphasis was more on brass and percussion instruments. There has also been considerable influence of Turkish music on the west and vise versa. But at the end of the day even though Western influence was large, they continued with their emphasis on Turkish music as well.  Some of the well known Turkish composers include Cemal Reşit Rey, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, Ahmet Adnan Saygun, Necil Kazım Akses.
Sufism has also influenced the religious music in Turkey by the Sufi sect known as the Mevlevi Order. Fused with modern music artists began experimenting with Turkish rhythm, beats and notes and remixed it to Western tunes. Pop stars from Turkey include well known artists Sezen Aksu, Tarkan and Mustafa Sandal. A large market has been created for hip hop music due to the younger Turkish generation unhappy with Germany’s treatment of its people. As an outlet they found solace in rap and hip hop lyrics.
Arabesque music was a disparaging term given by musicologists to the new type of music brought in by the new urban class, which sounded like someone wailing. Anatolian rock meant the mixture of rock and folk music. Cam Karaca and Barış Manço are two icons from this genre. Mercan Dede and Mert Yucel are some DJ’s credited for giving recognition to the underground clubbing scene in Turkey and also coming up with chart topping albums. Mixing sounds from the past with new electronics has brought in a psychedelic feel into the underground clubbing scene.

Vietnamese Music

An upsurge in the growth of Vietnamese music is not because of a sudden show of creativity but rather because of it being under the thumb of the Chinese and the Japanese respectively. Large amounts of musical influences came not only from these countries but also from India in the form of chamber music as well as Mongolia and Champa. The Vietnamese Music theory is founded upon the Chinese theory as most instruments used by the Vietnamese share a similarity with Chinese instruments. With its large cultural heritage, musical diversity was phenomenal as it also had foreign influences. Located in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has a large number of ethnic minorities which in turn has given rise to a number of musical expressions.
Even though musical instruments had Chinese markings, the Vietnamese soon introduced some of their own musical instruments such as the đàn bầu and đàn đáy. Modifications were done to these instruments as well as musical connotations began to diversify from Chinese and moved onto the country side’s folk music which gained popularity even in the imperial court. Folk music was such that it could be merged from one kind of traditional folk music to another genre.
Folk music also contains quan họ - which is used for courtship rituals, hát chầu văn – is a form of religious expression and is deeply spiritual, incorporating Chinese and Buddhist traditions and consist of chants popular throughout North Vietnam, ca trù – where females sing, similar to a geisha encompassing a female singing while entertaining rich men and hò – is commonly used as a courting ritual or to profess ones love.
Modern music comprises of Western instruments and Western influences which is starkly different from the traditional beats. Modern music songwriters include Diệp Minh Tuyền, Thanh Tùng, Pham Duy, Trịnh Công Sơn and Văn Cao. ‘Tân nhạc’ meaning new or modern music, largely incorporates Western pop. With a slow and steady economic boom, Vietnamese music is now engulfed with leading international Chinese and Korean pop artists.
Besides pop music, other Western influenced genres include, pop rock, hip hop, R&B and Western classical music as well. Western classical music however has slowly started blending in with Vietnamese sounds and instruments producing a whole new range of artistic impressions. Vietnamese music consists of instruments such as Đàn gáo, Đàn nguyệt, Đàn nhị, Đàn sến, Đàn tam, Đàn tam thập lục, Đàn tranh, Đàn tỳ bà, Kèn bầu and T'rưng.
With traditional classic songs continuously being amalgamated and remixed it isn’t surprising to see modern hybrids or nhạc quê hương as they are popularly known in Vietnam getting a steady fan following. Chamber music or ensemble music, delves into poetry recitation with few percussionists performing largely for the royal family, people from tea houses and the upper class. Theatre music comprises of genres like chèo which consists of powerful vocalists and percussions, cải lương introduced in the early 20th century is heavily influenced by Southern Vietnamese music and lastly hát bội was the re-creation of the Chinese Peking Opera which was pushed forward by the Royal household.

Portuguese Music

Portugal is known all over the world for its music. It has the best musicians and singers along with instruments that are indigenous to Portugal.
Among the native styles, Fado is a well-known name. It was born in Lisbon among the urban poor. Lyrics included that of sadness, poverty and loneliness, but they were not languidly told as there was a sense of controlled music. These songs were created as husbands of many women sailed to never seen lands while most of them never came back. Fado means fate in Portuguese. Some claim that the Arabic imprints are seen in the use of instruments although the Arabs are known to have left in the 13th century.
Fado gained momentum in the 19th century in Coimbra city; it had been refined and sounds majestic. They had been known as songs of those to cherish their illusions not for those who seem to have lost them.
Amalia Rodrigues the actress and singer took fado to new heights in 1939. It became an international sensation with her various styles that she added to it. Jose Afonso was the rival of that time, he was a performing artist with music that had roots deeper in Portugal. Hence he has been known for the revival of the olden Portuguese music.
Classical music, native to the country takes a cake as it stands original to Portugal inspite of the many influences from the neighbouring countries. Artists that have made important contributions to creating originality go to Duarte Lobo, Frei Manuel Cardoso, Carlos Seixas, Filipe de Magalhaes, Freitas Branco. Famous singers include Luisa Todi and the renowned pianists of the time was Maria Joao Pires.
Regional music consists of Tras-os-Montes that are known as the music from Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria. Bagpipes and capella vocals have kept traditions alive. Mirandes is the most popular archaic language that the songs are sung in.
The region Baixo Alentejo is renowned for the polyphonic singing that sweeps one off his feet due to the rhythmic gala that the music brings along.
The political music that is known in the history of Portugal came to life during the fascist regime where songs were song for words that could not be said. There were a lot of metaphors used for democracy, freedom, equality etc. Many singers were even persecuted for this style of music.
Reggae and ska is another underground but popular style of music. It is more youth oriented especially in Lisbon. There are rock bands like Xutos e Pontapes that have been playing for the past 25 years. Moonspell is a well-known metal band that has found world success. Madredeus is among the best selling band that are indigenous with their roots. Other hip hop artists include Boss AC, Da Weasel and David Fonseca is known for pop rock.
There are some ethnic musicians who imbibe contemporary trends. Nelly Furtado is one such singer that has gained huge popularity in America and India. Her songs include new trends and a dash of her roots. Nuno Betterncourt is another singer that has gained similar popularity.