In choosing which 10 music excerpts to include, I wanted to base my choices on what I felt represented the widest variety of examples of what human music is and can be to an audience who may be entirely unfamiliar with the concept of music. To me, this meant trying to select tracks that not only maintained diversity of geographic and cultural origins and musical traditions, but also tracks that featured the widest possible combinations of diverse musical elements. Some of the musical features I prioritized for inclusion are unaccompanied vocal music, instrumental-only music, mixed instrumental and vocal music, vocal harmony, self-accompanied singing and playing, solo music, ensemble music, primarily rhythm/percussion-based music, music without a steady beat, music with pitch-bending & ornamentation, and a wide diversity of types of instruments and arrangement styles. I found this task to be very challenging, and I feel like I will not be satisfied with my selection without the addition of another 4 or 5 tracks.

Java, court gamelan, “Kinds of Flowers,” recorded by Robert Brown. 4:43

Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08

Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14

Japan, shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) performed by Goro Yamaguchi. 4:51

Georgian S.S.R., chorus, “Tchakrulo,” collected by Radio Moscow. 2:18

Peru, panpipes and drum, collected by Casa de la Cultura, Lima. 0:52

Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20

Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38

India, raga, “Jaat Kahan Ho,” sung by Surshri Kesar Bai Kerkar. 3:30

“Dark Was the Night,” written and performed by Blind Willie Johnson. 3:15

My spreadsheet of considerations.