Sounds of South Asia

South Asia is home to thousands of musical instruments and hundreds of musical traditions. There is a wide range of stringed, wind, and percussion instruments. Many of the seven countries have similar instruments but they are played slightly differently. The arrangement of the musical notes often differs and sometimes overlaps.  

Vocal and instrumental genres include: Indigenous, folk, Classical, ode-based music such as ‘Ghazals’, music composed by individuals such as Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, film music, global contemporary music forms, including rap, rock, and fusion music, and many more.

The earliest music composition is found in Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, a set of texts that formed the foundation of the Aryan civilization, dated between 1200 - 1000 B.C., in the Indus Valley, or what is present day northern Indian subcontinent or northern South Asia. 

Today, musicians from South Asia or with origins in South Asia continue to learn, teach, and perform this ancient tradition with contemporary interpretations while adding and perfecting newer genres. 

This exhibit features some of the instruments.

Curators: Mantra Roy, Kate Steffens, Nick Szydlowski, and Christa Bailey