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Musical journeys: Music from around the world

Part of MusicMusical JourneysYear 1Year 2

Where does music come from?

Everywhere!

You can find different music all over the world. Music from different countries and cities can have its own special sound too.

It's important to share and to listen to music from other parts of the world.

Musicians often mix their music with musical ideas from other styles and countries. This can help make new and exciting music.

An illustrated map of the world with the continents marked on it. A cartoon boy is pointing to the map on the left and Nile Rodgers is smiling on the right.
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Watch - Cities with Nile Rodgers

Join music legend Nile Rodgers, as he explores different styles of music from around the world.

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A cartoon of a young girl playing a tumbi and a slightly older girl playing a dohl drum with a drum stick.

What is Bhangra?

Bhangra is a style of music and a dance from India. Bhangra dancing is high energy and the music is too!

Instruments used in Bhangra music include the dohl drum and the tumbi.

The dohl drum is played with wooden sticks and is very loud. The tumbi is like a guitar but with just one string.

Bhangra is very popular all over the world. It's been mixed with other styles of music, like hip-hop and reggae.

A cartoon of a young girl playing a tumbi and a slightly older girl playing a dohl drum with a drum stick.
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A cartoon of a young Indian boy playing the tabla.

What is Afrobeat?

Afrobeat is a style of music from Nigeria, in West Africa.

Afrobeat is a mix of music like jazz and funk with traditional African music.

It often has lots of different rhythms played on percussion instruments. It's a fun style of music with lots of energy.

Afrobeat is often performed by groups of musicians playing together in big bands. They can include instruments like:

A cartoon of a young Indian boy playing the tabla.
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  1. Saxophone and illustration of Asha playing the saxophone.

    Saxophones

    A saxophone is a wind instrument you play by blowing into it and using the keys to create notes.

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A cartoon image showing a female Saba drummer, a samba whistle and cowbell.

What is samba?

Samba is a kind of music and dancing from Brazil in South America.

Samba is performed in street carnival celebrations. This is where the musicians perform with the dancers, playing as they move. It's like one big party!

Carnival samba music uses lots of different percussion instruments that play different rhythms. Instruments like surdo drums, snare drums and different types of bells. They can be played with sticks, beaters or your hands. The ganza (shakers) is played by shaking it.

They are played together and repeated over and over again.

There's always a leader in samba music. They direct the musicians with a whistle called the apito.

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Activities

Quiz

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Glossary

Here's the meanings to some important words.

Apito - A whistle used by the leader in samba.
Afrobeat - A type of music from Nigeria in West Africa.
Bhangra - A type of music and dance from India.
Rhythm - A pattern of sounds of different lengths.
Samba - A type of music from Brazil in South America.

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