World

Resources in this category:

Africa Focus: The Sights and Sounds of a Continent
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/AfricaFocus/

"This online collection is maintained on the website of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries. It contains digitized visual images and sounds of Africa contributed over the years to the African Studies Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These digital files are stored in an accessible database and provided for personal use or educational presentations."

Africa on RootsWorld
http://www.rootsworld.com/africa/

Reviews and audio clips of popular and traditional African music recordings. Interviews with performers and a special section on Afro-Caribbean Reggae are included.

African Music Encyclopedia
http://africanmusic.org/

A searchable encyclopedia dedicated to African music performed by musicians in Africa and in countries around the world. There are country and artist indexes, along with a glossary of musical styles and terms. A list of links to related sites and information on buying African music are also included.

Africanhiphop.com
http://www.africanhiphop.com/

Features new and archived articles on hip-hop music in Africa, reviews of African hip-hop artists, and discussion forums. The site covers hip-hop scenes reaching from Tanzania to South Africa and Liberia. This page also links to African Hip Hop Radio.

Afropop Worldwide
http://www.afropop.org/

A searchable database and international music archive of African popular music. Includes reviews, news, and links to live radio broadcasts from Africa.

Airs, Anthems, Ballads, Canons, Ditties, Folksongs, Hymns and War Songs
http://www.musicanet.org/robokopp/

A database of folksongs of the world including the areas of Germany, England, France, Ireland, Austria, Scotland, and Wales. Both the lyrics and sound files (MIDI format) are available for many songs.

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress: Omaha Indian Music
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/omhhtml/

"Omaha Indian Music features traditional Omaha music from the 1890s and 1980s. The multiformat ethnographic field collection contains 44 wax cylinder recordings collected by Francis La Flesche and Alice Cunningham Fletcher between 1895 and 1897, 323 songs and speeches from the 1983 Omaha harvest celebration pow-wow , and 25 songs and speeches from the 1985 Hethu'shka Society concert at the Library of Congress. Segments from interviews with members of the Omaha tribe conducted in 1983 and 1999 provide contextual information for the songs and speeches included in the collection. Supplementing the collection are black-and-white and color photographs taken during the 1983 pow-wow and the 1985 concert, as well as research materials that include fieldnotes and tape logs pertaining to the pow-wow."

American Museum of Natural History: Congo Expedition, 1909-1915
http://diglib1.amnh.org/galleries/congo_sounds/congo_sounds....

A collection of recordings made by the filmmaker Armand Denis in 1934-5. "They were among the first recordings made of the sounds of the central Congo."

The American Nyckelharpa Association
http://www.nyckelharpa.org/

A site dedicated to the nyckelharpa, a Swedish folk instrument. Included on this site are a history of this string instrument, tips for learning how to play the nyckelharpa, sound files and You Tube links, and articles from the monthly magazine, Nyckel Notes.

Asia on RootsWorld
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/asia.html

Interested in Asian music? Check out this web-based periodical with music reviews, audio clips, and feature articles, categorized by specific regions, including Japan, China, and Tibet.

Australian Folk Songs
http://folkstream.com/

An extensive collection of Australian folk tunes. Both sheet music and audio files are provided for each song. A glossary of Australian words is also included. Provides information on the history and development of the tunes, as well as articles about selected songs and a search option.

Australian Music World Wide Web Site
http://www.amws.com.au/

The Australian Music Web Site is "a series of links and pages that exist as a tribute to Australian music. The pages contained within aim to become a useful reference of discographies, biographies, links and news for as many Australian artists as possible." You can do a search by band or artist and look for Australian movies and DVDs, as well as browse the site for news and other information.

Batanga: Free Latin Music, Music Videos & Internet Radio
http://www.batanga.com/en/

A source for a wide variety of Latin music genres ranging from popular to Norteño/Banda/Corridos, to Cubanísimo. Contents include interviews, reviews, videoclips, and links to radio broadcasts. Available in both English and Spanish.

Beat of India
http://www.beatofindia.com/index.html

A collection of folk music resources including information about and examples of wedding and childbirth songs. Other features consist of artist biographies and a calendar of events.

BET
http://www.bet.com/

Find out the latest on the Rap/Hip Hop scene.

California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties - American Folklife Center
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afccchtml/cowhome.html

This WPA project documents a representative collection of folk music being actively performed in Northern California in the 1930s. It comprises 35 hours of folk music recorded in 12 languages representing numerous ethnic groups and 185 musicians, as well as song transcriptions and research, photographs, drawings, field reports, and articles.

The Ceolas Celtic Music Archive
http://www.ceolas.org/ceolas.html

Information about Celtic/Irish music, including discographies of Celtic artists and upcoming tour schedules, and information about Celtic instruments.

Chinavoc: Chinese Traditional Opera
http://www.chinavoc.com/arts/perform/opera.htm

An introduction to the history of Beijing, Yue, Huangmei, and Kungu Opera. This site describes the instrumentation used in the various forms as well as the different costumes and character roles.

The Colonial Music Institute
http://www.colonialmusic.org/

A source for a variety of resources related to American colonial music including instructions on how to dance a Country Dance, a Minuet, a Cotillion, or a Reel. Essays about American colonial music are also featured.

Cora Connection: The Manding Music Traditions of West Africa
http://www.coraconnection.com/

Resources for the West African Mandinka kora (cora), a lute like instrument that is played in a style similar to that of a flamenco guitar. The site also includes clips of the balaphone, a marimba-like instrument and ngoni, a plucked lute.

Dancedrummer.com
http://www.dancedrummer.com/

A collection of Anlo-Ewe resources including a virtual instrument museum, a performance gallery, and a section on tradition rhythms. On the Kogiri, a north Ghanain instrument, page you can "virtually" play the instrument.

Dandemutande Zimbabwean Music Worldwide
http://www.dandemutande.org/

A resource for Zimbabwean music including a magazine, a calendar of worldwide events, an e-mail listserve, and a resource guide to instrument makers, teachers, and performers. The embedded search engine allows you to limit searches for events to a particular city in many cases.

Didjeridu & Traditional Music of the Top End
http://manikay.com/didjeridu/

A site dedicated to the "promotion and enjoyment of traditional Arnhem land music. The included glossary of musical terms provides definitions for terms from "Aeroplane noises" to "Dja tpangarri" to "Yuta". An additional section includes a map with links to representative audio examples for particular regions.

Esflamenco.com
http://www.esflamenco.com/enindex.html

Covers Spanish flamenco culture: dancing, guitar playing, and singing.

The Great Empire of China: The Internet Chinese Music Archive
http://www.ibiblio.org/chinese-music/

A vast collection of audio resources. Genres represented include children’s songs, traditional, popular, and ceremonial genres. The site is available in both Chinese and English.

Herodotus Project
http://losttrails.com/pages/Hproject.html

The focus of this educational website is to document and translate the works of Greek historian Herodotus. In addition to the text of his works, you can also find extensive photography of the locations and artifacts mentioned in the book. In keeping with the interests of Herodotus in ethnography and history, there are also field recordings and examples of authentic traditional folk music from Greece and Romania. Music from Turkey and Bulgaria will be added soon.

Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
http://www.irishtune.info/

Coverage of recorded sources of Irish traditional music. Includes a tune search and finder, album search and finder, discography and bibliography.

Jammin' Reggae Archives
http://niceup.com/

Large web site for things related to reggae music and the culture that surrounds. Has information about artists, discographies, sound files, histories, tour dates, festivals, lyrics and pictures. Also contains information about reggae variants like ska and dub.

Japanese Traditional Music
http://jtrad.columbia.jp/eng/index.html

A pictorial chronology of Japanese music history is provided along with a survey of each era. Musical genres including Gagaku, Kabuki, and Shomyo are described in detail and several example sound files are available.

Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/

The online counterpart to Ken Burns' documentary Jazz includes extensive biographical profiles and discographies of major jazz musicians, a chronology of the development of jazz, essays about jazz and its place in American culture, and audio clips of jazz compositions.

Kavals and Dzamares: End-blown Flutes of Greece and Macedonia
http://www.research.umbc.edu/eol/4/tammer/index.html

A history of the end-blown flutes of Greece and Macedonia. The making of kavals is depicted in a series of photos and instrument design and tunings are discussed in an appendix.

Latvian Folklore and Traditional Culture
http://folklora.lv/en.shtml

Find out more about Latvian Folklore groups, activities, traditional instruments and performance styles. Traditional performance groups are divided by location and alphabetically, and some include musical samples.

Mariachi Publishing Company: Education Resources
http://www.sobrino.net/mer/

A collection of resources for mariachi enthusiasts including articles about mariachi styles like the Son Jaliscience, the Jarabe, and the Ranchera. The site also features a brief history of the mariachi tradition, a mariachi trumpet articulation guide, violin & trumpet voicing guide,vihuela chords chart, and tuning/strum charts

MBIRA
http://www.mbira.org/

"MBIRA is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to educate the public regarding traditional Shona music of Zimbabwe." Contains information on musicians, instruments, workshops, lessons and Shona culture.

Minnesota Public Radio: One hundred Years of the Maple Leaf Rag
http://music.mpr.org/features/9905_ragtime/index.shtml

A history, complete with a timeline and audio files, of ragtime music in the 20th century.

MTV Online
http://www.mtv.com/

This is MTV's official site with current news, animation, music reviews, weekly schedule, buzz clips, etc. Definitely not for the slow of modem.

Music Archive for the Pacific
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/sass/music/musicarchive/Archiv...

Music of the indigenous people of Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and the nations of the Pacific Islands. Resources on this site will be of interest to those conducting research and include articles about musical styles, musical instruments, audio examples, and a bibliography.

Music Australia
http://www.musicaustralia.org/

"A collaboration between the National Library of Australia, ScreenSound Australia, the National Screen and Sound Archive and other national cultural institutions and the wider Australian music community." This site contains "more than 100 pieces of digitized sheet music, most dating from before 1930, more than 60 digital audio files, with most recordings dating from before 1952, several 'digital scores' - contemporary music scores created using music notation software, several synchronized multimedia items, which integrate digitized score and audio elements, and a small number of related music resources including text, pictorial and manuscript items."

Music Information Centre Norway
http://www.mic.no/english

Genres on this website include: world/folk/ethnic; jazz; classical/contemporary; pop/rock/electronica. There are also sections dedicated to artist biographies, CD reviews, and music downloads. Available in both English and Norwegian.

Music.org.za
http://www.music.org.za/

Provides information about South African musical artists and general information to support regional music as well as to educate an international audience.

MusicFinland.com
http://www.musicfinland.com/

Resources for Finnish popular, classical, jazz, and contemporary folk music. Artist profiles are included as well as recording reviews and audio samples.

Ohwejagehka Iroquois Earth Songs
http://www.ohwejagehka.com/songs.htm

A discussion of the social songs of the Iroquois community complete with recorded examples. Examples include the Standing Quiver, the Moccasin Dance, and the Smoke Dance.

Piazzolla.Org: The Internet Home of Astor Piazzolla and his Tango Nuevo
http://www.piazzolla.org/

Available in both Spanish and English. Dedicated to the music of Argentinean, Astor Piazolla. Features include an extensive biography and an audio library.

rec.music.celtic Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.cs.uu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/music/celtic/faq.html

"This document attempts to answer the questions which are asked on a weekly basis in the REC.MUSIC.CELTIC newsgroup. REC.MUSIC.CELTIC is an unmoderated forum for the discussion of all issues relating to Celtic music. Generally understood, 'Celtic music' refers to the folk musics of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, (Spanish) Galicia, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and certain parts of Canada (esp. Newfoundland/Cape Breton), as well as more recent musical styles (i.e. rock, jazz, new age) that draw heavily from these folk traditions. It should be understood, though, that not all musicians who hail from Ireland/Scotland/Wales/Brittany/etc. necessarily play Celtic music."

RootsWorld: Finland
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/finland/

"In addition to the usual audio excerpts from CDs, this section also includes original audio recorded exclusively for RootsWorld on location in Finland."

RootsWorld: Latin, The Caribbean, and South America
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/feature/latin-caribe.html

A collection of interviews, articles and CD reviews related to the Latin music of the Caribbean and South America.

Rootsworld: Louisiana (Cajun, Creole, Zydeco and R&B)
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/feature/cajun.html

A collection of interviews, articles and CD reviews related to the cajun, creole, zydeco, and R&B music of Louisiana.

RootsWorld: South America, Central America and Mexico
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/feature/sa.html

A collection of interviews, articles and CD reviews related to the Latin music of South America, Central America, and Mexico

RootsWorld: They Call Themselves Roma
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/gypsypage.html

At this site you’ll find answers to questions including: Roma: Who are they? What is Gypsy music? You’ll also find listening examples of works by the Karandila Brass Orchestra and saxophonist Yuri Yunakov.

Salsa & Merengue
http://www.salsa-merengue.co.uk/revealit/explode.html

Available in both English and Spanish, this site explores the Latin genres salsa and merengue through music and dance. Histories of both genres are included as well as a glossary of terms.

Salsaartists.com
http://www.salsaartists.com/

Available in both English and Spanish. "The most current in salsa news and information, ...interactive chats and message boards, links to fan clubs, direct music and video downloads."

The Phonograph Turntable and Performance Practice in Hip Hop Music
http://www.research.umbc.edu/eol/2/white/

This article by Miles White discusses the evolution of the phonographic turntable into an instrument. The site depicts the use of the turntable as an instrument with the use of both audio and video clips.

The Pontic Music Homepage
http://www.scimitarmusic.com/pontos/

Resources relating to the Greeks of Pontos who were settled mostly in Macedonia after the 1922 Treaty of Lausanne. Instruments including the kemenche, a type of lyra, and the tulum, a type of bagpipe, are discussed as well as dance forms including dipat, kochari, and serra.

The Red Hot Jazz Archive
http://www.redhotjazz.com/

This jazz archive primarily focuses on music before 1930 and features artists like Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Gene Krupa, and Bessie Smith. Contents include artist biographies, audio files, video files and essays like "Billie Holiday’s Small Band Recordings of 1935-1939" and "The Young Sidney Bechet".

The Robert Johnson Notebooks
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MUSIC/rjhome.html

A biography of the singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Johnson. Other features include sound clips of performances by the artist, a lesson plan for teachers to "illustrate the poesy of Robert Johnson's blues lyrics", and a glossary of verse terms.

The Traditional Music and Cultures of Kenya
http://www.bluegecko.org/kenya/

Dedicated to the recording and preservation of traditional Kenyan music and culture. A variety of sound clips are available as well as a healthy bibliography of resources about musical traditions and techniques in Kenya. Provides sections on history, customs, and religion as well.

The Virtual Gramophone: Canadian Historical Sound Recordings
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gramophone/index.html

"A multimedia Web site devoted to the first half-century of recorded sound in Canada." The site provides information on famous Canadian musicians and composers, Canadian recording companies and images of 78rpm records. It also includes videos, audios of classic records and podcasts. Available in both English and French.

Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz
http://www.jazzinamerica.org/

A jazz resource library complete with lesson plans for educators, audio clips, artist biographies, and digital images. You will also find "style sheets" that describe the general characteristics of a variety of jazz styles including dixieland, cool jazz, swing, bebop, ragtime, and third-stream.

Todo Tango
http://www.todotango.com/english/home.asp

A site dedicated to the tango and available in both English and Spanish. A source for daily music news in Argentina, artist interviews, biographies, sheet music, lyrics, and audio files of music and radio broadcasts.