The expression, "Western Music" includes genres of music coming in the Western world (which comprises Europe) that are distinguished by music in the Orient or even Middle East. To put it differently, Western music, for the large part, is built on major, minor, and pentatonic scales.

Music from the Orient or the Middle East uses a larger set of scales including those constructed around five notes (instead of seven) and quarter tones (rather than semitones). These differences, though not known by the layperson, go a long way in producing music that's noticeably different and unique to every culture.

Music from different nations and ethnicities can be dramatically different. Latin music, for example, is famous for its use of a variety of percussion instruments including congas, claves, timbales and hand drums. Mexican audio, on the other had, frequently comprises a mariachi band which consists of guitar, bass, violin and horns such as trumpets.

Strikingly are you not entertained , music from Japan is frequently played on interesting instruments with intriguing titles such as shamisen, taiko drums, along with a flute known as shakuhachi, which is constructed of bamboo. The music is quite meditative and is frequently used for ceremonies and signaling certain passages in existence. Hawaiian music is very simple in rhythm and tune and contains a different sound played with ukuleles and guitars. "Slack key" guitar, a finger picking style played with unusual tunings, started in Hawaii in the 1960s and is still heard today. Music from Israel is a mixture of songs from Jewish and non-Jewish customs. You will also hear a mixture of Klezmer and Hebrew folk songs.

The United States, being a relatively young nation, and one that is made up of virtually all ethnics groups, has a music of its own - jazz -- and it's derivatives. The U.S. is known as the birthplace of both rock-and-roll and Country music, both sharing their own infancy with folk music (which some triumphed had its origins in Europe).

The word "world music" is a most frequently utilized to describe a broad and eclectic group of musicians and music. There are many world music festivals throughout the year with musicians and their support team travel thousands of miles to get one performance. Music magazines such as "Song Lines" are devoted to world music with every copy comprising a CD of music from around the globe.