Excursions in World Music

This is a very informative book about world music. If you are ever interested its a good one to have.

Good introduction to many musical themes throughout the world. Accessible, well written, and entertaining to read.

This book presents a series of articles on music and the role of music in a variety of cultures around the globe. The articles each begin with a description of a musical event or concert in a culture, then go on to give more details about characteristics of a wide range of musical styles in that culture. The featured description in each chapter is usually some sort of traditional or classical style for that culture, and popular music in the culture is treated briefly. I found a few of the musical terms hard to understand, never having studied musical theory myself. Perhaps some of these terms would have become more clear through listening to the oft-mentioned accompanying CD, which I unfortunately don't have. There is a glossary in the back of the book, but its definitions are not sufficient to make meanings clear to someone without a thorough grounding in world music. In a few places, the proofreader missed some details, as for example, p. 46 the map of the Middle East shows UAR where the UAE is supposed to be! In addition to the use of technical terms without explanations, the lack of an overall big picture of world music makes this book more of a resource to dip into for background readings than a systematic introduction to the subject. It would work well as readings for a course, but is not ideal for self-study.

I first came across this book when still a student taking an introductory course in asian music cultures. It was and is still is a great read especially for students who are non-musicology majors and have a tendency to get lsot in more technical books. The language, style, presentation and discussion is simple and interestingly handled. Not too scholarly as to be overwhelming. Great background on the socio-cultural context of the music.