Presenter stands in front of a computer-generated graphic for WOMADdelaide. On-screen text reads 'World Music'.
PRESENTER:
The next time you switch on the radio, the chances are you'd hear pop music. The lyrics would probably be about love, it would feature a guitar or piano, and the song would be between two and four minutes long. The point is, a lot of the music we listen to is very similar and follows a familiar pattern. But there is a type of music that provides much more variety, because it's influenced by all the different countries and cultures of the world. Tash reports.
Close-up shots of a didgeridoo.
(Didgeridoo plays)
TASH:
You don't need to see it to know what it is or where it comes from.
Shots of a man playing the didgeridoo.
TASH:
And just as the didgeridoo is one of the sounds of our land, many other countries have music that's grown from their culture, like traditional Asian drumming.
Footage of Polynesian drumming, followed by footage of men playing large drums.
(Rapid drumbeat)
TASH:
Indian sitar music.
Footage of an Indian man playing a sitar.
(Sitar tune)
TASH:
European folk, like this from Ukraine.
Footage of a woman singing and playing drums.
(High-pitched singing)
TASH:
African traditional choirs.
Footage of an a cappella performance by a choir dressed in traditional African clothing.
(Choir sings)
TASH:
And reggae and Creole music from the Americas and Caribbean.
Footage of a man singing a reggae tune, dressed in a shirt with Rastafari colours of green, gold, red and black.
TASH:
These are just a few examples of traditional music performed by indigenous musicians. Altogether, it's called 'world music'.
Shot of a group of Indigenous musicians performing in a band. Computer-generated text that reads 'World Music' appears across the screen, with the 'o' substituted by an image of the globe.
TASH:
The sound and style of world music is influenced by the culture of each country.
Series of shots of people performing.
(Woman sings in foreign language)
TASH:
And with so many different cultures in the world, the music has a lot of variety.
Shot of an outdoor music festival with two men on stage performing to an audience. Close-up shots show the audience dancing to the music.
TASH:
And that's why world music festivals, like this one in Australia, are so popular.
Shot of an African man playing a traditional instrument adorned with colourful beads and shells.
TASH:
World music often uses instruments which you may not have seen before. Some are made using the most simple items, like recycled goods, dried fruits and vegetables, or anything that can be found on the land.
Series of shots of a man wearing a robe and cap singing and playing a pair of maracas-like instruments made out of recycle drink cans attached to wooden sticks.
TASH:
It's a bit like the didgeridoo that's been in Australia for thousands of years.
Tash holds up a didgeridoo and hands it to a young man who plays the instrument.
TASH:
Aboriginal people found they could make music out of these tree trunks that were made hollow by termites.
(Man plays didgeridoo)
TASH:
So the sound we hear is distinctively Australian.
Shot of an African man singing to a group of young school children seated on the floor of a school hall while other men provides musical accompaniment on traditional instruments.
(Man sings in foreign language)
TASH:
This group, called Rango, performs Sudanese songs. They use a lot of percussion instruments, like drums, and even this leather belt.
Shots of a man and a few children wearing a wide belt covered in a layer of hoof-like material, which rattles as they shake their bodies.
TASH:
It's actually made from goats' toenails, which clash together to make a sound when you move around.
Shot of a man playing a wooden xylophone to a group of young students.
TASH:
Another instrument played in the group is called the 'rango', which is how the group got its name. It's a bit like a xylophone and is more than 200 years old.
The man picks up one of the wooden planks on the instrument and show its underside to the students as he explains how the rango works.
TASH:
The different lengths of wood, the way it's tuned, and how hard you hit the bars helps to produce the sound.
The man plays the rango with a pair of mallets with rounded heads on each hand as the students watched.
TASH:
Hassan is thought to be the only person in the world who can play the instrument. He wants to teach others how to play instruments like the rango, because if he doesn't share his skills with the next generation, rango-playing could die out.
Camera cuts to a shot of the school hall with a line of students playing the maracas-like instruments with the help of the performer. Another group of children is later seen learning dance moves from another performer.
TASH:
These kids were given the chance to play the instruments, dance, and sing along.
Shot of two young, female students.
GIRL:
I think it sounds better when they're actually playing it than hearing it recorded.
Shot of two other young girls in school uniform.
GIRL 2:
It was good to see the feather person, and to see the people from different countries.
Shot of a man dressed in a feather-covered costume dancing and singing to a percussion-heavy music in front of the students.
TASH:
So, with lots of variety, world music definitely has something for everyone.