A Systematic Review of the Literature on Ancient Greek Music and Its Connections to West African Musical Traditions

The musicological study of ancient Greece has produced extensive scholarship on scales, modes, instruments, and the social role of music, while West African musical traditions have been documented primarily within ethnomusicology. The scholarly literature explicitly connecting these traditions is sparse and methodologically inconsistent. This study conducts a systematic review of the literature on ancient Greek music and its potential connections with West African musical traditions. A systematic review methodology was adopted, searching nine databases for publications addressing ancient Greek music and West African music comparatively or in relation to shared musical features, from 1990 to 2023. Inclusion criteria required comparative engagement with both traditions; forty-two publications met criteria. Findings reveal that the literature cluster around three connection types: modal scale theory (the Greek modes and their analogues in West African tonal systems), the social and ritual functions of music, and organological parallels between Greek and West African instruments. Methodological quality of identified publications varies considerably, with stronger comparative scholarship concentrated after 2015. The evidence for direct historical musical transmission is weak, with parallel development more probable in most cases. However, the structural and functional parallels are sufficiently consistent to warrant dedicated musicological investigation. The study identifies priority gaps in the literature, including studies of Greek and West African rhythmic theory and the oral transmission of musical learning, and provides a research agenda for comparative classical-African musicology.

Keywords: ancient Greek music, West African music, systematic review, comparative musicology, musical traditions