ABSTRACT
Historically, in the United States and Canada, the specific ecological, historical, and geographic space someone inhabited-be it rural farm community, great urban center, arctic fishing village, or swampy woodland-often determined the kinds of music that person experienced. Today, with almost everyone in these countries owning radios, televisions, and a multitude of electronic recording and listening devices, most of the world's musics are available for all to experience. But before the advent of such technology, people and musics were far less mobile, and those living in communities outside large urban centers often had to travel great distances to interact musically with their neighbors or to see traveling opera troupes and other popular and concert music performances. In this section, we discuss the role of geographical place and how it has helped shape and define certain musical traditions in the United States and Canada. In addition, we also examine "place" more symbolically, as meaning a specific but not necessarily geographic historical or contemporary context such as a concert or dance hall, a vaudeville stage, or the music industry.
