ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the historical, cultural, and musical overview of South Asia. It then provides in-depth studies of varied musical traditions, followed by an "aural analysis" of the sound and prominent musical elements. There are two areas of the world that can easily overwhelm someone wishing to explore their musics. The first is East Asia, where approximately one quarter of the world's people live. The second is South Asia, an area with 1.5 billion people, again nearly a quarter of the world's people. One nation—India—dominates South Asia demographically and in landmass, but the region also includes Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and even Afghanistan. Each of the nations that comprise South Asia offers exciting and distinctive musics, but it is the "classical" music of India that has gained most of the attention of outsiders. Indian classical music, unlike the communal music of Africa or the ensemble music of Southeast Asia, is individual and often virtuosic.
