Latin America refers to the vast area from the southern United States to the southernmost tip of South America. The area is equivalent to two Europe, including Mexico, Central America, Caribbean and South America, where ancient Indians once created three splendid cultures: Maya, Aztec and Inca. Music was also highly developed at that time. Maya's instrumental music is closely combined with singing and dancing. They use percussion instruments, such as water drums made of half gourd, percussion instruments with hard long pods, and wind instruments that can blow out birds' songs. Aztecs often use rattles made of wooden drums, bamboo flutes, shells and gourds. In Inca music, it is famous for flute and clarinet. It is said that as many as 100 clarinet bands accompany the dance. Music is a very important part of the education of Inca aristocratic children. The pentatonic scale without semitone is a common scale used by Indians.

After more than 300 years of colonial rule, Latin American music culture has undergone tremendous changes. As a result of a large number of European (especially Spain and Portugal located in Iberian Peninsula) music culture spread all over Latin America. At the same time, black slaves from Africa also brought African music art, and for a long time, mixed-race children also formed various new mixed-race groups. Latin American culture is a unified multi-culture formed by the long-term collision, conflict, infiltration and absorption of European culture, Indian culture and African culture. It originates from these three cultures and is different from the original culture, and appears in the world with a brand-new look. From a macro perspective, Latin American music is also a mixture of European music, Indian music and African music. However, due to the different types, levels, components and mixing degree, a very rich and diverse music style has been formed. Today, Latin American music is rich in colors. Unique rhythm, beautiful melody and rich harmony attract the vast number of music lovers. Its unparalleled enthusiasm, abundant vitality and magical style have attracted the attention of the world. As the Cuban poet Jose Marti, a great revolutionary in Latin America, said, "This is a harmonious and artistic land decorated with music and beautiful natural scenery".

Latin American music culture can be roughly divided into three types: Indian music; African-American music centered on black music; Latin American folk music represented by indigenous white and mixed-race music.

Indian music can be roughly divided into two categories: one is the music of Indians in isolated and remote areas, such as Indians in the Amazon tropical jungle. Because it is in the primitive state, its music is relatively simple; Another example is the music of Hifaro people in Ecuador, which only uses three tones. The music of Camayura people in Brazil is relatively simple, but they have the longest wind instrument in the world-an instrument tied together by two plant stems (one is 1.6 meters long and the other is 2.2 meters long). Their music is closely related to dance, and they often perform in various ceremonies and celebrations. These are very useful for studying the origin and development of music. The other is highly developed Indian music, such as Andean plateau music in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, which is the inheritance and development of Inca traditional music. The flute and clarinet music they play are very distinctive and excellent in expressing the customs of plateau Indians. The solemn ode to the sun god, the melancholy and lyrical Yalavi love song, and the cheerful and lively Varino dance music are all their creations. Beautiful and touching folk coloratura soprano singing-Andean Plateau singing is a treasure in the world folk music. Cuzco, the capital of ancient Inca, is known as "the hometown of American archaeology". June 24th every year is the famous Sun Festival, and traditional Indian music and song and dance performances can be seen in grand celebrations. Puno in Bolivia Plateau is also known as "the hometown of folk songs and dances in the American continent".

Black music is also called American African music. This kind of music is mainly distributed in the Caribbean, Brazil and the coastal areas of Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. In Surinam's virgin forests, escaped slaves and Haiti in the Caribbean, relatively pure African music is preserved. Black music in Bahia, Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and other countries is more influenced by Portuguese and Spanish culture. The characteristics of American and African music are that rhythm plays a leading role in music, with strong segmentation, frequent use of multi-line rhythm and echo music, irregular music structure, multi-use of European instruments and preference for percussion instruments. The popular steel drum music in the Caribbean is the creation of black people. This is a melody percussion instrument made of petrol cans. This wonderful music from the petrol tank shocked the world. Samba in Brazil, rumba in Durham and Cuba, calypso, Mambo and Chacha in the Caribbean, and Marinheira and Dongdeda in Peru are all typical American-African musical song and dance schools.

Latin American folk music refers to the music of indigenous whites and Indo-European mixed-race people strongly influenced by European music. This kind of music comes directly from Iberian peninsula, but it has adapted to the customs of Latin America for hundreds of years and has changed. Basically, the foundation of European music system (including mode, harmony, beat, paragraph structure, etc.) has been preserved. ), but its passionate style and stirring atmosphere are essentially different from the national music of Iberian Peninsula. This kind of music is characterized by nostalgia and sadness, many duets, easy singing, soft and lyrical tone, more 3/4 and 6/8 beats, square music structure and many guitars. The harp from Spain is also very popular in Latin America, but the timbre of the instrument becomes bright and lively. Paraguay, the "country of the harp", has also developed the solo and duet forms of harp accompaniment. Charango (banjo), Tibori (banjo), Guadelo (ukulele) and other plucked instruments with small guitars and wide mandolin range are the ingenious combination of European music culture and Indian music culture, and now they have become indispensable instruments in Latin American music. In Mexico, a kind of wandering band music, which integrates guitar, trumpet, violin and bass guitar, has developed with distinctive features and is very popular.

Pine trees in Mexico, Cuaika in Chile, tango in Argentina and garden dance music in Peru are all typical Latin American folk music schools.