Music Sheets

1. God Bless Africa

2. The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Italy has played a significant role in the history of European music. Many music instruments such as the violin and piano were developed in Italy. The music scale, the art of opera and many classical music forms can also trace their roots back to Italy. Today, music in Italy is diverse and find its sources in both native and imported styles.

Music Sheets:

1.  O Sole Mio

2.  National Anthem Of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia)

The music of the United States reflects the country’s multi-ethnic population through a diverse array of styles. The country’s most internationally renowned genres are jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, rock, rhythm and blues, ragtime, hip hop, barbershop, pop, experimental, techno, house, dance, boogaloo, salsa, and rock and roll. The United States also has the world’s largest music market.

Music Sheets:

1.  Camptown Races

2.  National Anthem Of USA (The Star-Spangled Banner)

Japanese music is very different from the music common in Western lands. This difference can be  heard in the scales, rhythms and the sounds. In Western orchestral music, sounds from the various instruments blend to produce harmony. But in Japanese music, the instruments play separate melodies. Nevertheless, together they create an aesthetic balance.

Music Sheets:

1.  National Anthem of Japan – Kimigayo (君が代)

2.  Sakura

Music in Greek culture has a long history dating from Antiquity, when poetry, dancing and music were inseparable and played an important part in the ancient Greek’s everyday life. With the fall of Ancient Greece and the rise of the Byzantine Empire, Greek music became more diverse and it was influenced by eastern sounds. And since then, Greece has produced many talented artists, from great composers to fabulous singers.

Music Sheets:

1.  Theme From Zorba The Greek (Easy)

2.  National Anthem Of Greece –  Hymn to Liberty (Ύμνος εις την Ελευθερίαν)

Australia is a country rich in diversity, both culturally and geographically. This diversity is reflected in its music which encompasses all genres and styles including: Indigenous music; Classical music; Folk, Bush and Country; and Popular music such as Rock and Jazz.

Music Sheets:

1.  Advance Australia Fair

2.  Waltzing Matilda

Rock and roll began in the American south, a combination of the many styles of music that existed in the country at the time. Up until the late 1940s, different cultures in America had created their own styles of music, including blues, jazz, folk, country and swing.  Around that time, musicians began to combine the different styles of music, and soon they came together to resemble what we now consider rock and roll.

Music Sheets:

1.  Rock Around The Clock Intro

During the Romantic period from 1820 to 1900, composers were more concerned with individual expression than with formal structures. The music was thus seen to be less restrained and more passionate.  At the same time, there was an interest in nationalism with composers like Chopin and Liszt using the folk music traditions of their homeland. Other notable Romantic composers include Brahms, Wagner, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Fauvre, Paganini, Verdi, Strauss and Tchaikovsky.

Music Sheets:

1.  Blue Danube (Easy)

2.   Unfinished Symphony (Easy)

Since the early days of the film industry, music has been an integral part of movies. It helps to create atmosphere in movies such as through the use of ‘scary’ music for horror scenes.  Music is also part and parcel of the overall entertainment aspect of movies with many movies being based on musicals. We will thus forever associate Harold Arlen’s classic song, ‘Over the Rainbow’ with the movie, ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

Music Sheets:

1.  Over The Rainbow (Lead Sheet)

Strictly speaking, classical music refers to the style of music produced in Europe between 1750 and 1820. It was characterized by clear melodic lines and an emphasis on form, for example, the sonata form. The main composers of the classical era were Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Clement.

Music Sheets:

1. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Very Short Version)

Reggae started during the early 1970s in Jamaica. It is characterized by a slow to moderate 4/4 time with accents on the 2nd and 4th beats. Reggae’s impact on traditional rock music was in letting the guitar play the off-beat chords while the bass guitar played the riffs. The most well-known reggae artiste is Bob Marley and his influence on popular music is apparent up till today.

Music Sheets:

1. 3 Little Birds Accompaniment

Blues music, or the Blues, originated from late 19th Century African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States. It is characterized by its own unique scale (the blues scale) and chord progressions of which the 12-bar blues is the most common. As a genre, it has remained popular up to the present day, and has influenced other genres of American popular music, namely jazz, rock and roll and rhythm and blues. Well-known blues artistes include Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B. B. King (just to name a few).

Music Sheets:

1. 12 Bar Blues Example