ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the historical, cultural, and musical overview of Canada and the United States. It then provides in-depth studies of varied musical traditions, followed by an "aural analysis" of the sound and prominent musical elements. Both Canada and the United States began as colonies of Great Britain, though parts of each were earlier under French control, and the southwestern United States was under Spanish control. Unlike much of the Caribbean and most of Central and South America, where the colonial powers were mostly Roman Catholic, North America was largely Protestant. The dominance of Protestantism had at least two results: first, a greater tendency to suppress the religious traditions of both Native peoples and African slaves, and second, the flowering of an incredible number of highly diverse religious groups, many of which developed unusual or innovative musical traditions.
