Music in Canada has been an art practised among the Inuit and Indians for thousands of years. However, as the world grew and people started interacting largely, there has been a significant influence of outside before the music by Indians and Inuit in Canada is recorded. The primary factor that makes a music “Canadian” includes how song texts, dance tunes, and dances represent the local Canadian environment. Therefore, in consideration of these factors, the music studies in these lectures do not seem to be “Canadian” since they are influenced by foreign and primarily paralleled with the European and American music styles at the time.
Foreign styles influenced the indigenous music in Canada despite its existence for thousands of years. There was a quick adoption of European music instruments such as drums, chanting, flutes, and rattles among the indigenous Canadian population. For example, the Inuit quickly included button accordion and fiddle in the music performance. Moreover, early Canadian music did not represent the country’s local conditions where it used European folk songs and instruments such as the keyboard and violin. The history of music in Canada also shows that even when written and more formal music developed in Canada, the locals had little influence on transmission methods. There was a lack of influence in how Canadian music is written and distributed by the local populations.
These foreign writers and distributors of music in Canada do not necessarily represent the Canadian environment influence; hence they could not be considered “Canadian.” For example, when the publishing of written music started in Canada in the 19th century, Americans such as Abraham & Samuel Nordheimer ran a music store in Toronto by the 1840s. These American publishers of the “Canadian” music most printing and sales in the United States. Thus, there was a significant influence of foreign music on the local music industry in Canada, making the music seem to be not “Canadian” since there was little representation of the local environment.
