Spanish music is considered to be synonymous to that with Flamenco, popularly known as Andalusian music genre. Contrary to believes of the local people this form of music is not very popular outside the region itself. Some of the other forms of folk music are popular in areas which include Castile, Valencia, Catalonia, Asturias, Galicia, Basque Country and Aragon. Music forms like hip hop, rock, heavy metal and pop are also popular throughout the country.
Early history:
Music of Spain widely reflects the presence of different cultural streams which came together in the first century in the Christian era. Roman culture was one of the most cultures for several years and brought along ideas and music relating to ancient Greece. On the other hand the early Christians came along their own version of the Roman Rite known as Visigoths. Overrunning the Iberian Peninsula during the fifth century was East Germanic tribe. The ultimate result was formation of various forms of music styles and traditions. While there developed many forms of music there were some which were always considered to be totally different from that which developed in rest of Europe.
In the sixth century Isidore of Seville came up with several notes written upon music. Most of the above notes were predominantly in Greek with information relating to the early music of Christian church. On the other hand Judaism and Christianity mainly flourished under the influence of Moors under their reign of more than seven hundred years. It is also believed that music notations developed in Spain in the early parts of the eighth century. It should be noted that music of the Christian church came to be known as Mozarabic chants and mainly found its development in isolation. The Christian church music was not subjected to any forms of enforced codification of the Gregorian chant at the time of Charlemagne under the guidance of Rome.
Regional folk music:
Independent regions of Spain showcase distinctive folk music traditions. Some of the most popular regional folk music comprise of:
Aragon: One of the most popular forms of music known as Jota is expected to have found its roots from the southern parts of Aragon. Some of the popular instruments which form a part of jota include tambourines, bandurria, guitar and castanets. In most of the cases the Aragonese music is characterized by dense presence of the percussive element. A sole form of small guitar known as guitarro is also found in Murcia is thought to be invented in Aragon.
Andalusia: Although Andalusia is popular for Flamenco form of music, traditional folk music also has a strong presence specially in western parts of the Andalusia. Andalusia has also been instrumental in producing some very popular songwriters and singers which includes names like Carlos Cano, Javier Ruibal. Carlos Cano has been instrumental in reviving of the traditional music popularly known as Copla. Joaquin Sabina and Kiko Veneno are some of the other well known performers of Spanish rock music. Musicians like Rosa Zaragoza, Aurora Moreno and Luis Delgado have been instrumental in keeping alive the Sephardic music.
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