拉丁美洲音乐(Latin American music)
中南美洲和加勒比海地区的音乐。拉丁美洲音乐结合三项基本传统：本土的、西班牙-葡萄牙的（「伊比利半岛的」〔Iberian〕）和非洲的传统。本土的音乐和本土人种一样多元化，范围从乡下放牧聚落与农家平民到都市文明人皆包含在内。关於本土都市音乐的讯息大多来自於最初与欧洲人接触时所得到的叙述；而本土乡村音乐中的元素，虽然掺杂着欧洲的影响，仍存在於孤立隔绝的地带。其主要的乐器似乎为喀嗒作响的器具（rattles）或摇击节奏乐器（shakers，例如响葫芦〔maracas〕）和种类众多的笛子，包括排箫。在欧洲的影响下，竖琴、小提琴、和吉他有时用来演奏这类传统音乐（参阅mariachi）。本土音乐为三声或五声音阶，并且平行方合唱的方式在好些地区是常见的。西班牙和葡萄牙的音乐则提供诗的表现形式和自弹自唱的独唱方式。伊比利半岛的舞蹈旋律为拉丁美洲音乐混合体的重要元素，如拍手以及运用围巾和手帕的舞蹈特色。本地欧洲音乐有七声音阶与和声（特别常见的有主调和主要合弦的交替），特别是那些从主音到第五度音的下降音阶，其源自於伊比利半岛（运用基础低音模式）。非洲音乐在旋律上的影响包括运用重复来伴奏即兴的延伸，其中以非常盛行的两拍和四拍的节奏，在加勒比海音乐特别多。非洲传统的影响也可以在鼓和切分音的运用里看到。另外一种非洲音乐的影响就是包含精巧诙谐语的即兴唱歌练习。
English version：
Latin American music
Music of Central and South America and the Caribbean. It combines three basic traditions: indigenous, Spanish-Portuguese ("Iberian"), and African. Indigenous music was as varied as the lives of the indigenous people, which ranged from rural herding and farming to highly urbanized civilizations. Information about indigenous urban music comes mostly from descriptions by Europeans during initial contact; of indigenous rural music, elements have survived in isolated areas, though mixed with European influences. The main instruments seem to have been rattles or shakers (e.g., maracas) and flutes of numerous kinds, including panpipes. Under European influence, harps, violins, and guitars were adopted (see mariachi). Indigenous scales were three- or five-tone, and choral singing in parallel lines was common in some areas. Spanish and Portuguese music contributed verse forms and self-accompanied solo singing. Iberian dance rhythms are important elements in hybrid forms, as are such dance features as hand clapping and the use of scarves and handkerchiefs. European seven-tone scales and harmonies, especially the common alternation of tonic and dominant chords, are of Iberian origin, as is the use of ground-bass patterns, especially those descending by step from tonic to dominant. African influences on rhythm have included the use of repetitive patterns to accompany extended improvisation, and the prevalence of two- and four-beat patterns, particularly in Caribbean music. The African tradition can also be seen in the use of drums and of syncopation. Another African influence has been the practice of vocal improvisation involving elaborate wordplay.