Area of Study 3: Rhythms of the World
What's covered
Key facts
African drumming and polyrhythm
The djembe is a West African hand drum.
Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music
Eastern Mediterranean (Greek) music features the bouzouki and often irregular metres.
Indian classical music (raga and tala)
Indian classical music features the sitar, tabla and a drone (tambura).
Central and South American music (samba)
Brazilian samba is played by a samba band with layered percussion (surdo, agogô).
African drumming and polyrhythm
African drumming uses polyrhythms and call and response.
Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music
Greek and Eastern Mediterranean melodies are modal and heavily ornamented (melisma, slides), and the bouzouki is often played with fast tremolo.
Indian classical music (raga and tala)
Indian classical music uses a raga: a melodic framework.
Central and South American music (samba)
Samba is in fast duple metre with heavy syncopation and call-and-response between a leader (mestre) and the band.
African drumming and polyrhythm
A polyrhythm layers two or more contrasting rhythms at once.
Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music
Eastern Mediterranean (Greek) music often uses irregular/additive metres such as 7/8, 9/8 and 5/8, grouping the beats unevenly (e.g. 2+2+3).
Sample questions
A taste of the 25 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What is a polyrhythm?
- •A rhythmic cycle counted in an odd number of beats
- •A single rhythm played very slowly and steadily
- •One melody repeated by different instruments in turn
- ✓Two or more contrasting rhythms layered at once
In a samba band, which instrument is the large bass drum that anchors the beat?
- •Agogo
- •Caixa
- ✓Surdo
- •Tabla
Which is an example of an irregular metre common in Greek music?
- •2/4
- •3/4
- •4/4
- ✓7/8
In Indian classical music, what is a raga?
- •A continuous sustained drone
- ✓A melodic framework
- •A plucked string instrument
- •A repeating rhythmic cycle
The djembe is what kind of instrument?
- •A Brazilian metal whistle
- •A Greek plucked lute
- ✓A West African hand drum
- •An Indian string instrument
Brazilian samba is typically performed by a?
- •A four-piece brass quintet
- •A single solo pianist
- •A small string quartet
- ✓Samba band with layered percussion
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