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country music

(Encyclopedia)country music, American popular music form originating in the Southern and Western United States. Country music is directly descended from the folk songs, ballads, and popular songs of the English, Sc...

North Little Rock

(Encyclopedia)North Little Rock, city (1990 pop. 61,741), Pulaski co., central Ark., on the Arkansas River opposite Little Rock; settled c.1856, inc. as a city 1903. North Little Rock lies in a cotton, rice, soybea...

African music

(Encyclopedia)African music, the music of the indigenous peoples of Africa. Sub-Saharan African music has as its distinguishing feature a rhythmic complexity common to no other region. Polyrhythmic counterpoint, wh...

Japanese music

(Encyclopedia)Japanese music, the highly eclectic musical culture of the Japanese islands. Over the years, Japan has borrowed musical instruments, scales, and styles from many neighboring areas. The indigenous musi...

Balinese music

(Encyclopedia)Balinese music represents, to a large extent, a survival of the pre-Islamic music of Java. It was taken to Bali by Hindu Javanese in the 15th cent. and uses the tonal systems of Javanese music, of whi...

absolute music

(Encyclopedia)absolute music, term used for music dependent on its structure alone for comprehension. It is the antithesis of program music. It is not associated with extramusical ideas or with a pictorial or narra...

chamber music

(Encyclopedia)chamber music, ensemble music for small groups of instruments, with only one player to each part. Its essence is individual treatment of parts and the exclusion of virtuosic elements. Originally playe...

Plymouth Rock chicken

(Encyclopedia)Plymouth Rock chicken, one of the most popular early breeds of poultry. The Barred Plymouth Rock was a favorite farm chicken since it was both a good egg producer and also developed a large quantity o...

Chinese music

(Encyclopedia)Chinese music, the classical music forms of China. Throughout the political and social turmoil following World War I, Western (classical and popular) and Japanese sources dominated Chinese music. At...

computer music

(Encyclopedia)computer music, term used to describe music composed or performed with the aid of a computer. The first substantial piece of music composed on a computer was the Illiac Suite (1956) by the avant-garde...