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Chinese music, dating back 7,000 to 8,000 years, was popular among both aristocrats and commoners because music was believed to help purify the mind. It was so highly regarded that royal families and wealthy aristocrats employed their own orchestras. The Song and Tang dynasties encouraged musical celebration and its popularity spread to commoners who popularized easy instruments with lively sounds. Early Chinese instruments can be grouped into four categories: wind, bowed string, plucked string and percussion.
Cuban music, like any other musical style, has morphed and continues to change through the years because of exposure to a variety of musical influences, such as funk or hip-hop. West African slaves and Spanish immigrants are responsible for starting a musical style that's not only popular in Cuba, but prevalent in countries all over the world.
Cuban son music, or son cubano, is a genre of dance music that was at the height of popularity in Cuba in the 1930s. With the recent advent of faster musical styles, like salsa, traditional son has fallen out of favor; however, its elements continue to be very important in the foundation of all Latin and world music.
While Cuba is a small country, it has been influenced by so many different cultures that Cuban music is like no other. As a mashup of various other musical styles, Cuban music has its own unique sound and "flavor." There are also a variety of music subcategories that fall under Cuban music.
Timbales are familiar instruments in all forms of Cuban music. They are a part of the polyrhythmic sounds that originate from a deep African tradition and have become a part of a distinctly Caribbean and Cuban sound. The history of the timbale drum goes back hundreds of years, and takes its place in the important events that have shaped Cuba and the Caribbean.
Cuban music, or Afro-Cuban music, has had a tremendous role in influencing world music. Practically every musical style around the world has been influenced by Cuban music. Yet Cuban music is a synthesis of many different styles of world music, coalescing to create distinctive rhythms and melodies. The development of Cuban music is a complex one, involving world movements such as slavery in the Western world and communism. But each of these different movements are important to understanding certain facts about Cuban music and the way it has come to influence music in general.
Cuban music mixes African, Hispanic and American cultural influences. There are various genres of Cuban music: some that were once popular for certain periods of time, such as zapateo music, and others that are emerging, like timba. For samples of the music, refer to the Amazon or All Music websites.
The music of Cuba is as varied and diverse as its culture and population. It is primarily a fusion of African and European musical influences that developed in the early 19th century from the interplay between the Spanish immigrants and their African plantation slaves. Since that time, Cuban music has been an enormous influence in the international music scene and may be the most popular form of world music. There are many types of Cuban music, as well as their derivatives.
