Singing together can revive memories and create social connection.
Articles on Traditional music
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Long before climate science named the crisis, women across the world were registering these shifts in another language – through song.
His life in music was a struggle against narrow definitions - of ‘race’, instrumental appropriateness and musical genre.
Toumani Diabaté left a legacy as enormous as the west African Mande music tradition he was born into.
He took west Africa’s Mande music to a new level of global recognition, often collaborating with artists who made music in very different styles.
Combining elements of traditional and modern music has created rhythms that are unique to Senegalese music.
The extraordinary documentary Ballaké Sissoko: Kora Tales takes a journey from Mali to The Gambia.
Composers are keeping bow music alive through electronic music and other experiments.
Dhamaal music and dance reveals a rich and complex mixing of cultures that is shaped by history.
She paved the way for women to play the mbira – and then took the ancient tradition global.
The queen of Xhosa music has passed away. She reinvigorated ancient Xhosa cultural traditions through performance and teaching.
In a country where Christians are a minority, understanding how religious groups use traditional arts and music to convey their faith and identity is important to preserve their cultural legacy.
After years of marginalization, the bèlè dance has been embraced by a growing community who see it as a form of social and spiritual healing.
Lesotho’s famo music is known for the use of accordions - and gang violence. In Wayfarers’ Hymns, Zakes Mda explores this tradition.
Clay figurines of musicians, made in the 1930s, are being exhibited along with a new film of actual musicians playing the traditional instruments.
His single Yeke Yeke was the first African song to pass a million in sales, but it’s meaning was best understood in Guinea, home of the griot and kora star.
There is so much more to Iran than politics. Its traditional music carries messages of beauty, joy, sorrow and love to the world.
Top contributors
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Professor emeritus of music, SOAS, University of London
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Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria
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Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology, University of Warsaw
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Postdoctoral Fellow at Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of the Witwatersrand
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Senior Lecturer, Stellenbosch University
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Artist in Residency, University of Pretoria
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Assistant Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Professor of Ethnomusicology Emeritus, Oberlin College and Conservatory
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Researcher, International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, University of Sydney
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Post Doctoral Researcher, Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University
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Ethnomusicology and African Musical Arts lecturer, Rhodes University
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Professor of Music, Wesleyan University
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Senior Research Associate, Global Development, University of East Anglia
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Lecturer, University of South Africa
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Associate Professor of Musicology, University of Cape Town