Smithsonian Global Sound

Pick up a new beat, poem or speech
Smithsonian Global Sound

Celebrate International Education Week by checking out Smithsonian Global Sound (SGS). It’s the largest and most comprehensive streaming audio collection of world music.  It currently provides streaming access to over 3,000 albums and more than 40,000 individual tracks of music, spoken word, and natural and humanmade sounds.

What’s in there?!

  • World music like “Indian Music of the Upper Amazon,” “Game Songs of French Canada,” and “Mongolia: Traditional Music.”
  • Poetry – Listen to Nikki Giovanni read “Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day” or “The Beep Beep Poem.”
  • Compilations of personal testimonies like “The Story of Greenwood, Mississippi,” narrated by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) co-founder Bob Moses. The testimonies – great primary sources – highlight the struggle endured by African-Americans in the SNCC during the Freedom Ballot campaign of 1963.
  • Children’s songs like “¡Come bien! Eat Right!” produced by Grammy-winning artist Quetzal Flores.  All  tracks appear in Spanish and in English.

There’s something for everyone in SGS.

Browse or search by title, instrument, cultural group, place, genre, and more.

Users can create playlists and download the complete liner notes for a more thorough understanding of each recording. Tutorials for these options and more are available at https://search-alexanderstreet-com.libproxy.furman.edu/help

Let us know your favorites from the collection!

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