Native American Music Areas
Plains (Blackfoot, Arapaho, Cheyenne)
Eastern U.S. (Seneca, Mohawk, Iroquois)
Yuman (SW US)
Athabascan (Navajo/Apache, SW US)
Pueblo (Papago, SW US)
Great Basin (Ute, Shoshone, Paiute NV/UT)
Northwestern Coast (Alaska, OR, WA, AK)
Drums
Double-headed drums (Large drums used in pow wow)
Small hand drums with single skin
Container rattles made of gourd, sewn hide, or turtle shell
Native America flute
Vertical flute made of cedar, walnut, birch, and other woods, played solo for courting. Flutes play songs, but in the southwestern United States there is a separate flute repertory not markedly different from the songs.
Apache fiddle
Bowed instrument with one string, probably made in imitation of the Western violin, used by Navajo and Apache peoples
Ceremonial Traditions
The Hako
A Pawnee ceremony of general religious significance, required several days and included about one hundred songs.
Ghost Dance songs
The Ghost Dance was a messianic cult that began in the Great Basin and was adopted by Plains tribes. The song style, derived from the Great Basin style used in Utah and Nevada, is characterized by a small range and a typical paired-phrase form (AA BB CC, etc.).
Peyote songs
Used in many tribes to accompany Peyote cult ceremonies. Ordinarily sung solo, the vocal style is relaxed (Navajo), the rhythmic structure uses two note values (Apache), and the typical form is “incomplete repetition,” with descending contours (Plains). There is a special set of vocables combined in “words” such as heyowanene, heyowitsinayo, kayatinayo
Powwow
Based on Plains style, the modern successor of midsummer religious ceremonies symbolizes broad Indian identity to both Indian and White audiences
Cape Breton Fiddle
Cape Breton fiddling is a regional violin style which falls within the Celtic music idiom. Cape Breton Island’s fiddle music was brought to North America by Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances during the 18th and 19th centuries
Inuit music
The music of the Inuit, has been based around drums used in dance music as far back as can be known. The vocal style called katajjaq (Inuit throat singing) has become of interest in Canada and abroad
Cajun/Zydeco
Is a musical style developed in Louisiana, It is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based, Cajun-influenced zydeco form, both of Acadiana origin.
Sacred Harp
Sacred Harp singing is a tradition of sacred choral music that took root in the Southern region of the United States. It is part of the larger tradition of shape note music. Sacred Harp music is performed a cappella (voice only, without instruments) and originated as Protestant Christian music