# World Music — Genre

> Music from non-Western traditions, or fusion thereof. Catch-all category.

## Defining elements

- Non-Western or hybrid origins
- Traditional instruments often
- Cultural specificity
- Variable structure (not Western pop format)
- Often modal / non-major-minor

## Major regional traditions

### African
- West African (Fela Kuti, Tinariwen)
- South African (Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
- Modern: Afrobeats (see afrobeats.md)

### Latin American
- Cuban (Buena Vista Social Club)
- Brazilian (Caetano Veloso, Bossa Nova)
- Mexican (mariachi, ranchera)

### Middle Eastern
- Arab classical (Umm Kulthum)
- Sufi (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan)
- Azerbaijani mugham (see azerbaijani-mugham.md)
- Turkish arabesque (see turkish-arabesque.md)

### Asian
- Indian classical (Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar)
- Chinese traditional
- Japanese traditional + modern
- Korean (gugak + K-pop)

### European folk
- Celtic (The Chieftains, Loreena McKennitt)
- Balkan (Goran Bregović)
- Spanish flamenco (Paco de Lucía)

## Typical instrumentation (varies by tradition)

- African: djembe, talking drum, kora
- Latin: guitar, percussion, accordion
- Middle Eastern: oud, qanun, ney, daf
- Asian: sitar, tabla, shakuhachi, koto
- Celtic: fiddle, bodhrán, tin whistle, bagpipes

## Production characteristics

- Acoustic instruments often
- Live ensemble
- Less Western production processing
- Cultural authenticity matters

## For Suno

Specify tradition explicitly:
```
[Style: traditional Indian classical, 80 BPM (rubato), Raga Yaman, 
sitar + tabla + tanpura drone + male vocal in classical Indian style, 
acoustic ensemble, meditative]
```

## Examples

- Fela Kuti, Caetano Veloso, Ravi Shankar, Umm Kulthum
- Modern fusion: Anoushka Shankar, Ibrahim Maalouf

## Cultural respect

Always:
- Research authenticity
- Don't appropriate
- Credit tradition
- Hire cultural consultants for serious work

## Avoid

- Stereotyping (all "Eastern" same)
- Western beat under non-Western melody
- Wrong instruments for tradition
- Cultural appropriation
