Music in Madagascar

Madagascar is an island off the east coast of Mozambique in the Indian Ocean. This blend of cultural influences is evident in the music of the Malagasy people, which can be roughly divided into three categories: traditional, contemporary, and popular music

Musicians in rural Fianarantsoa district

Instruments and vocal styles, as well as the style and purpose of music, traditionally vary widely from one region to the next. The oldest musical traditions are those of the Highland peoples, who trace their ancestry back to the original Malayo-Polynesian settlers.

Traditional instruments include the valiha, a bamboo tube zither very similar in form to those used traditionally in western Indonesia. The strings were originally raised from the fibers of the bamboo tube itself, although a contemporary form also exists that uses bicycle brake cables for strings instead to give the instrument a punchier sound.