SOUTHERN, CENTRAL ASIAN

& WESTERN
Prepared by: ANTONIO A. CHUA-SO JR.
MaSci Music Teacher
sources: Wikipedia.org
Music & Arts Learner’s Material
MUSIC
YouTube.com
SOUTH ASIA : INDIA
India is considered the seventh-largest country by land
area in South East Asia. Indian music is as vast as the size
of its country and music has always been an important
part of their lives. Vocal music is a way to express their
deep devotion to God. It consists of folk music, classical
music (Hindustani and Carnatic) and pop music. It uses
melismatic singing and nasal voice quality. During Vedic
times, singing based on set of pitches was popular.
TWO KINDS OF
INDIAN TRADITIONAL
MUSIC
HINDUSTANI
- Northern and Central regions
- from the Vedic period 1000 BC
- developed further in the 14th
century AD with strong Persian
influences of the Mughal era
- Nasal style of singing called
Khyal which means imagination
CARNATIC
- Music form South India
- Directed to Hindu God
- Temple music
- More unified based on the
same Ragas, solo instruments
and rhythm instruments
- mainly vocal music
- devotional songs are called Krti
Raga Literally means "coloring, tingeing, dyeing" is a melodic
framework for improvisation akin to a melodic mode in
Indian classical music.

Source: wikipedia
CENTRAL ASIA :
PAKISTAN
Central Asian music includes a wide variety of
musical styles with various influences from Turkey,
Persia and Arabia. Pakistan is in South Asia, but its
western part is at the junction and extension of
Central Asia. Known for its unique vocals, their
music includes diverse elements and influences from
a great variety of multi-ethnic population. Its two
vocal styles in singing are Ghazal and Qawwali.
TWO KINDS OF
PAKISTANI VOCAL MUSIC
GHAZAL
- Traditional expressions of love,
separation, pain, loneliness and
beauty of love in spite of its trials
- More strict in form structure as
compared to its English
counterparts
- One of the principal poetic forms
of the Persian civilization
- Gender sensitive, can be sung by
both men and women
QAWWALI
- Devotional music of the Chishti
Order
- Vibrant traditional performance for
more than 700 years
- Temple music
- Originally performed mainly at the
Sufi shrines throughout the
subcontinent and gained mainstream
media popularity
WEST ASIA : ISRAEL
West Asian music is unique and melodic. They primarily use
quarter tones and the drone where harmony is not that
important and ensures focus on melodies. The music of Israel
is a combination of Jewish and non-Jewish music traditions.
They have a distinctive vocal style of singing and is husky and
throaty. The two divisions of the Jewish music are Devotional
Hazan/Shofar and Secular. Arab music is considered to have
an affluent variety of musical styles and genres. Arabic
Maqam, a “technique of improvisation” which is mostly
melodic, is the system of melodic scales used in traditional
Arab music. It has a large and distinct cycles or rhythmic
patterns analyzed by means of rhythmic units called Wazn.