The influence of Western Historical Tradition on Music Development
Whereas music has developed through contributions of different parts of the world, western countries have arguably played the greatest role in the development. Numerous factors led to the emergence of the western historical traditions as an influential part in the growth of music. The development of music in different cultures is rich in history and alludes to the roles of different aspects of society, such as culture and tradition. Depending on the origins of the music, listeners can identify salient features of the composition and that range from the bets to the rhymes in each of the musical lines. The music of countries situated in the western region and countries trended towards some elements of similarity that differed significantly from that of other areas and regions classified as the non-western. A perfect example of such non-western countries is the music drawn from the African continent, where different countries composed musical beats and rhymes that had some semblance. Countries in the Asian continent also valued music associated with traditional events and helped espoused the cultures and traditions. While the functions of music in both the western and the non-western countries remained largely similar, notable differences existed in the composition and other aspects of the music.
A key difference between western and non-western music originates from the environment that characterized the composition. Many non-western pieces came from the cultural environments implying that the traditions and cultures played a significant role in the composition. In such cultural production of music, standards of tuning were unheard of while the music developed in the western culture hinged on the harmony of the tunes. In the expression of western music, the emphasis was on the downbeat, which is significantly different from most of the music drawn from the African countries that emphasized the rhythm of the upbeat. Many Western countries’ songs were noted, whereas African countries relied on oral traditions to ensure that the music passed from one generation to the next. Understanding non-western music such as those drawn from the African continent initially proved difficult because of the lack of literature on such music. The fact that the non-western music was passed orally from one generation to the next made it difficult for studies to analyze the contributions of such music to the music industry. It was easier for western music to be understood because many of the songs were recorded in written form.
While composing and actually singing to the African songs as part of the non-western cultures, one could be deceived that the songs were easy to produce, but a keen observation reveals that the rhythms consisted of other deep layers. The rhythm in many of the African songs and those drawn from other non-western countries were majorly complicated. Further, non-western music depends on other factors such as instruments, including drums and clapping of hands, which all contribute to the composition. That is unlike the western songs that are usually simple and, in many cases, stick to the script.