"Classical music" and "art music" are terms that have been used to refer to music of different cultural origins and traditions. Such traditions often date to a period regarded as the "golden age" of music for a particular culture.
The following tables list music styles from throughout the world and the period in history when that tradition was developed:
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| Gamelan | At least 8th century AD. [1] [ better source needed ] | |
| Pinpeat | At least 6th century AD.[ citation needed ] | |
| Mahori | At least 14th century AD.[ citation needed ] | |
| Piphat | ||
| Pinphat | 
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| Carnatic music | At least 6th century AD (as Indian classical music), split from Hindustani classical music in the 16th and 17th centuries. [2] [3] : 249 | |
| Hindustani classical music | At least 6th century AD (as Indian classical music), split from Carnatic music in the 16th and 17th centuries. [2] [4] | |
| Klasik | At least 6th century AD (as Indian and Hindustani classical music), split from Hindustani classical music c. 1860. [4] [5] | The classical tradition of Afghanistan, ultimately a descendant of Hindustani classical music. [5] Developed in the 19th century by Indian musicians in Afghan courts. [5] Along with Hindustani music theory and instruments, Afghan classical music also uses local Pashtun elements, especially in its performance practices. [5] | 
| Odissi music | At least 6th century AD.[ citation needed ] | 
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| Nanguan music | At least 14th century CE. [6] | |
| Gagaku | 6th century CE.[ citation needed ] | |
| Jeongak | 5th century CE. [7] | |
| Nhã nhạc | 13th century CE.[ citation needed ] | |
| Yayue | At least 2nd century BCE.[ citation needed ] | 
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| Byzantine music | 4th century AD.[ citation needed ] | |
| Pibroch | At least the 17th century AD. [8] | |
| Western classical music | 6th century AD.[ citation needed ] | 
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Persian classical music | At least 3rd century AD, with drastic changes in the 16th century. [9] [10] | ||
| Arabic classical music | |||
| Andalusi classical music | 9th century AD.[ citation needed ] | Likely practiced since the early 9th century, the musical tradition of Al-Andalus is notable for spreading Middle Eastern and North African musical instruments to Western Europe, where they would become staple instruments of Western tradition. [11] Now practiced in North Africa in the form of the Andalusi nubah, [12] this tradition has also had considerable effect on Ottoman classical music, especially in the Sephardic romance and Maftirim repertoire. [13] | |
| Ottoman classical music | At least 3rd century AD (as Persian traditional music), emerged as a unique tradition in the 17th century. [9] [10] | Now known as Turkish Art Music or Turkish Classical Music | |
| Shashmaqam | 
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| Griot | The tradition of the djeli | 
| Style | Earliest historical period | Notes | 
|---|---|---|
| American gamelan | c. 1960[ citation needed ] | |
| Mahāgīta | 16th or 17th century AD. [14] | The classical tradition of Burma seems to have begun around the late Toungoo period, [14] with an expansion of Western-influenced repertoire during the colonial period.[ citation needed ] Organized into various forms based on tuning systems, melodic structure, rhythmic patterns and performance conventions, commonly played genres include the kyo, bwe, and thachingan. [15] |