western music

Western music has two distinct meanings depending on context.

In global terms, it refers to the musical traditions originating in Europe and its cultural descendants—classical, pop, rock, jazz—as distinguished from Asian, African, or other world music traditions.

In American contexts, western music is the genre associated with cowboys, ranching, and the American West: songs about open ranges, cattle drives, and frontier life, often featuring acoustic guitars, fiddles, and yodeling.

This second sense pairs with country in country and western music, though the two have largely merged.