ABSTRACT
For musicians and listeners of the twenty-first century, the Middle East is a region with far-reaching connections that extend across large portions of three continents-Africa, Europe, and Asia-and can be discerned, as well, in large diasporic communities of Australia and the Americas. The contributors to this section have been more concerned with fundamental principles of the musics of the Middle East and with ways in which shared resources and values have been adapted to local requirements than with drawing sharp contrasts between Middle Eastern musical practices and those of neighboring regions.
