"Classical music" and "art music" are terms that have been used to refer to music of different cultural origins and traditions. Such traditions often date to a period regarded as the "golden age" of music for a particular culture.
The following tables list music styles from throughout the world and the period in history when that tradition was developed:
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gamelan | At least 8th century AD.[1] | ||
| Pinpeat | At least 6th century AD. | ||
| Mahori | At least 14th century AD. | ||
| Piphat | |||
| Pinphat |
See main article: articles and Indian classical music.
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carnatic music | At least 6th century AD (as Indian classical music), split from Hindustani classical music in the 16th and 17th centuries.[2] [3] | ||
| Hindustani classical music | At least 6th century AD (as Indian classical music), split from Carnatic music in the 16th and 17th centuries. | ||
| Klasik | At least 6th century AD (as Indian and Hindustani classical music), split from Hindustani classical music . | The classical tradition of Afghanistan, ultimately a descendant of Hindustani classical music.[4] Developed in the 19th century by Indian musicians in Afghan courts. Along with Hindustani music theory and instruments, Afghan classical music also uses local Pashtun elements, especially in its performance practices. | |
| Odissi music | At least 6th century AD. |
See also: East Asian cultural sphere.
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanguan music | At least 14th century CE.[5] | ||
| Gagaku | 6th century CE. | ||
| Jeongak | 5th century CE.[6] | ||
| Nhã nhạc | 13th century CE. | ||
| Yayue | At least 2nd century BCE. |
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Byzantine music | 4th century AD. | ||
| Pibroch | At least the 17th century AD.[7] | ||
| Western classical music | 6th century AD. |
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persian classical music | At least 3rd century AD, with drastic changes in the 16th century.[8] [9] | ||
| Arabic classical music | |||
| Andalusi classical music | 9th century AD. | Likely practiced since the early 9th century, the musical tradition of Al-Andalus is notable for spreading Middle Eastern and North African musical instruments to Western Europe, where they would become staple instruments of Western tradition.[10] Now practiced in North Africa in the form of the Andalusi nubah,[11] this tradition has also had considerable effect on Ottoman classical music, especially in the Sephardic romance and Maftirim repertoire.[12] | |
| Ottoman classical music | At least 3rd century AD (as Persian traditional music), emerged as a unique tradition in the 17th century. | Now known as Turkish Art Music or Turkish Classical Music | |
| Shashmaqam |
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| American gamelan | |||
| Mahāgīta | 16th or 17th century AD. | The classical tradition of Burma seems to have begun around the late Toungoo period,[13] with an expansion of Western-influenced repertoire during the colonial period. Organized into various forms based on tuning systems, melodic structure, rhythmic patterns and performance conventions, commonly played genres include the kyo, bwe, and .[14] |