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Native American Music A Cornerstone of Native Culture

Native American music has distinctive components and a distinctive sound. Typically led by percussions that start slow and quiet, native music typically becomes louder and faster throughout the song.  In native society, the music was created for and performed to mark important events, such as the harvest and for pow wows. Some native tribes added news songs to the tribe’s musical base every year, and these song were based on significant dreams and visions. Native american music played a role as a kind of record-keeping mechanism for the tribes. Most tribes can trace their history through the songs that came from their tribe.