Its a fascinating story. Musical systems vary significantly between cultures and there is much under-appreciated sophistication. The economic, political and tec

Its a fascinating story. Musical systems vary significantly between cultures and there is much under-appreciated sophistication. The economic, political and technological dominance of the West for several centuries has put a lot of pressure on these separately evolved art forms: they did not fit the theoretical and practical systems of Western equal-temperament / harmonically oriented styles. The harmonium story is a metaphor for an invasion of Western instruments (mostly during the early 20th century) that couldn't reproduce local music traditions. Developments like the guitar replacing the oud and other non-fretted string instruments have playd out in many places (though I don't know of any place banning the guitar :-) What is interesting (and appropriate for HN) is that the "dematerialization" of music production from the shift to digital frees up musicians to explore all these facets without being constrained by instrumental limitations (though we must keep in mind that constraints are a major trigger for creativity).