The music of Ethiopia is traditional and eclectic, infused with the variety of culture and religion in the land and created with creativity and energy. The people of Ethiopia love to sing the Ethiopia songs of celebration and protest, allowing them the chance to freely express their experiences and emotions to the fullest. This gives them opportunity to engage in a cultural dialogue, too, giving them the chance to explore the culture and share it with others that may not know. Learning Ethiopia songs is a great way to learn about the cultural mosaic of this African country.

Each of the country’s 80 tribes is associated with at type of music. This makes for a lot of unique sounds in the country of Ethiopia. A lot of the forms of Ethiopia songs are influenced by the countryside folk musicians or Islamic music, but it also has an ancient element derived from Christianity that is related to the country’s deep Christian heritage. The country of Ethiopia uses music as a form of therapy to recover from the serious history of the country, including the famine and the war with Eritrea. This recovery has been aided with Ethiopia songs that have spread throughout the land.

More About The Music

The majority of the music in Ethiopia is traditional or related to the tribal influences. There is, however, a small community of popular music that develops. Most of these musicians in the popular music field, however, sing and perform traditional Ethiopia songs. A longstanding tradition in Ethiopia of brass bands has become quite popular again in modern times, emanating from Jerusalem where the first official orchestra of Ethiopia came from. Large orchestras often accompany singers, creating a large group of European or American trained vocal and musical orchestras.

In the 1980s, when the Derg controlled Ethiopia, it became a lot more stringent to perform or play Ethiopia songs because of the harsh constrictions on the legal elements. Emigration became nearly impossible and the music of Ethiopia suffered as a result of that, creating a musically stagnant time that the country has since evolved out of. Music from Ethiopia in modern times is now becoming popular, with Los Angeles based singer Aster Aweke leading the pack with her tremendous crossover appeal. The music has expanded and is popular all over the world, especially in places like Italy where the scene is thriving.