Scholarship on the musical traditions of Indonesia has long focused on practices from Java and Bali, including famed gamelan traditions, at the expense of the wide diversity of other musical forms within the archipelago. Jennifer A. Fraser counters this tendency by exploring a little-known gong tradition from Sumatra called talempong, long associated with people who identify themselves as Minangkabau. Grounded in rich ethnographic data and supplemented with online audiovisual materials, Gongs and Pop Songs is the first study to chronicle the history and variety of talempong styles. It reveals the continued vitality of older modes in rural communities in the twenty-first century, while tracing the emergence of newer ones with radically different aesthetic frames and values. Each talempong style discussed incorporates into its repertoire Minangkabau pop or indigenous songs, both of which have strong associations with the place and people. These contemporary developments in talempong have taken place against a shifting political, social, and economic backdrop: the institutionalization of indigenous arts, a failed regional rebellion, and the pressures of a free-market economy. Fraser adopts a cognitive approach to ethnicity, asking how people understand themselves as Minangkabau through talempong and how different styles of the genre help create and articulate ethnic sentiments—that is, how they help people sound Minangkabau.

Scholarship on Indonesia musical tradition has long focused on the gamelan of Java and Bali at the expense of the archipelago's many other musical forms. In an essential addition to literature on ethnomusicology and on Indonesia as a whole. Jennifer A. Fraser finally gives talempong its due. This little-known gong tradition is central to the cultural identity of the Minagkabau people of Sumatra. Gongs and Pop Songs is the first study to chronicle the history and variety of talempong styles. It reveals the continued vitality of older modes in rural communities, while tracing the emergence of newer ones with radically different aesthetic frames and values. The contemporary development in talempong have taken place against a shifting political, social, and economics backdrop that Fraser mines to explore and contexualize the evolution of Minagkabau musical and cultural practices. Fraser looks at how different styles of talempong create and articulate ethnic sentiments. She adopts a congnitive approached to ethnicity, asking how people understand themselves as Minangkabau through the combination of gongs and pop songs. A wealth of online audiovisual materials supplements the book.

The Rough Guide to World Musicwas published for the first time in 1994 and became the definitive reference. Six years on, the subject has become too big for one book- hence this new two-volume edition. World Music 2- Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacifichas full coverage of everything from salsa and merengue to qawwali and gamelan, and biographies of artists from Juan Luis Guerra to The Klezmatics to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Features include more than 80 articles from expert contributors, focusing on the popular and roots music to be seen and heard, both live and on disc, and extensive discographies for each country, with biography-notes on nearly 2000 musicians and reviews of their best available CDs. It includes photos and album cover illustrations which have been gathered from contemporary and archive sources, many of them unique to this book, and directories of World Music labels, specialist stores around the world and on the internet.

This classic reference work, the best one-volume music dictionary available, has been brought completely up to date in this new edition. Combining authoritative scholarship and lucid, lively prose, the Fourth Edition of The Harvard Dictionary of Music is the essential guide for musicians, students, and everyone who appreciates music. The Harvard Dictionary of Music has long been admired for its wide range as well as its reliability. This treasure trove includes entries on all the styles and forms in Western music; comprehensive articles on the music of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Near East; descriptions of instruments enriched by historical background; and articles that reflect today’s beat, including popular music, jazz, and rock. Throughout this Fourth Edition, existing articles have been fine-tuned and new entries added so that the dictionary fully reflects current music scholarship and recent developments in musical culture. Encyclopedia-length articles by notable experts alternate with short entries for quick reference, including definitions and identifications of works and instruments. More than 220 drawings and 250 musical examples enhance the text. This is an invaluable book that no music lover can afford to be without.

Contains nearly 1000 pages of precise and accessible information on all musical subjects.

Vietnam is host to a unique mix of natural beauty and cultural diversity. It has one of the most ancient cultures of Southeast Asia, with relics of its rich history found at tourist-friendly sites such as the Hindu temples of My Son and Ponagar Tower. Its landscape ranges from mountain passes to lush rice fields and some of the world's most beautiful beaches stretched along 1,860 miles (3,000 km) of tropical coast. This comprehensive and beautiful illustrated guidebook offers walking and driving itineraries to well-known wonders and hidden treasures within the country, as well as useful maps to navigate your way. Active travelers will find plenty of opportunities to stretch their legs with self-guided walks through the shops of the Old Quarter of Hanoi, along the legendary Mandarin Road, and through tunnels used by Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Thrill seekers can find adventures from kite-surfing in Mui Ne to spotting tigers in Chu Mom Ray Park. And for a taste of authentic Vietnam culture, visit the markets of the mountain tribes. With practical information on when to go, where to stay, what to eat, and what to do, this is the ultimate guide to the best of Vietnam.

A guide for music: compositions, events, forms, genres, groups, history, industry, instruments, language, live music, musicians, songs, musicology, techniques, terminology , theory, music video. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music.

Most of what is known about the outside world remains superficial and stereotypical. World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia brings a long, rich story to light about ethnic groups, the impact of terrain and natural resources, and the influence of history. This unique reference work maps out how the nations of the modern world became what they are today through photographs of the geography and people of foreign lands, through discussion of ancient and contemporary works of art and events, and through scores of maps detailing geographical features, historic and modern places, natural habitats, rainfall, locations of ethnic and linguistic groups, natural resources, and centers of industry and transportation. No single resource assembles such comprehensive insight into the world and the people who live in it.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.