Music in mainland Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia is a culturally diverse and musically intriguing area, yet the ethnomusicological record lacks coverage of many of its musical and cultural traditions. Placing the music of this region within a social, cultural, and historical context, Music in Mainland Southeast Asia is the first brief, stand-alone volume to profile the under-represented musical traditions of Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It also contains the first introduction to Burmese music ever presented in a music textbook. Drawing on his extensive fieldwork, author Gavin Douglas frames this survey of Southeast Asian music within three key themes: music and diversity, music and political turmoil, and music and globalization. Each theme lends itself to a discussion of the region's classical musical traditions, folk traditions, and contemporary developments. Uniquely focusing on the people who practice these musical traditions--rather than the locales from which the traditions originate--the text also follows individuals out of their native lands and into diasporic communities throughout the world [Publisher description].