Music in my opinion is a universal language that goes beyond borders, connecting people through different cultures, sharing stories. With this traditional and modern music of different cultures, all this type of music expresses their own identity and history. In this blog post, I will show you the different traditional and modern cultures music to analyze them and learn a little bit more about them.
Of course I have to start with my own country and culture, Bolivia. Bolivia’s music is a beautiful mix of tradition and modern influences. Traditional for me sounds like the morenada bring the coutry’s history to life with its rhythms, bands, and of course colorful festivals. On the other hand, Bolivian modern genres like cumbia have taken a famous role in our music, that are popular at parties and celebrations.
This next video is a morenada that is maybe not very old, but very traditional.
Now, this song is a modern genre in Bolivia that is cumbia. And this song became really famous a few years ago. I really like it and I hope you will too.
For the traditional music part, I chose South Africa. South African traditional music is full of rhythm and soul in my opinion. It includes powerful vocal styles, where this groups sing in harmony to tell stories and share emotions. Instruments such as drums, marimbas, and more add energy to this beautiful genre. These traditional sounds are not just music, they also are a way of celebrating history, culture and community as well.
This song I used is from a scene of a very good movie called “Zulu”. The Zulu warriors sng to honor those who’ll be killed in the upcoming battle. They are difnifying there enemies. In my opinion, cinematic perfection and a film of great importance and significance.
And lastly, for the modern music part, I chose a genre that I enjoy listening a lot which is Jamaican Reggae. Reggae is the heartbeat of modern Jamaican music. With its relaxed rhythms, lyrics and melodies, this type of genre shares messages of love, peace and social change as well. Artists like one of my personal favorites, Bob Marley, made reggae famous aroun the world, and its influence can still be felt in music today. Reggae isn’t just a genre, its also a way of life that represents the soul of Jamaica.
