Small bits of music can quickly conjure up a time and place. Consider the following examples of such musical riffs and motifs, then discuss: when is it okay to use a musical cliché as a storytelling shortcut?

Oriental riff | Arabian riff | Hijaz scale | Andalusian cadence

Oriental riff - The Oriental riff, also known as the East Asian riff and the Chinaman lick, is a musical riff or phrase that has often been used in Western culture as a trope to represent the idea of East or Southeast Asia. The riff is sometimes accompanied by the sound of a gong at the end. (learn more abt the usage of this riff in this yt video!)

Arabian riff - "Arabian riff", also known as "The Streets of Cairo", "The Poor Little Country Maid", and "the snake charmer song", is a well-known melody, published in various forms in the nineteenth century. The melody is often associated with the hoochie coochie belly dance. The riff has made its way to pop culture like in Kesha’s Take It Off. Orange Caramel’s Lipstick, MOMOLAND’s I’m So Hot and if you know Just Dance then you might know it from Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by The Four Lads and They Might Be Giants.

Hijaz scale - The Hijaz scale is a Harmonic Minor. The only difference from the minor scale is a sharpened 7th note of the scale, which provides a compelling and triumphant major chord to dance around when playing progressions. If you search the Hijaz scale on Google, it’ll show results of Phrygian dominant scale. (i actually thought this was a normal piano scale,,, so close!)

Andalusian cadence - The Andalusian cadence is a common Flamenco chord progression. Andalusia is an area in the south of Spain and is the birthplace of Flamenco guitar music. I recommend listening to the tune itself and scroll through this list. Scream by Usher is a great example cuz I was not expecting I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor one the other end of the spectrum for this chord progression.

Tarantella Napoletana | Jarabe Tapatio | Yodeling

Tarantella Napoletana - The "Tarantella Napoletana" is the tarantella associated with Naples. It is familiar to North American viewers of popular media as a quintessentially Italian musical riff or melody. Tarantella Napoletana translates to the Neapolitan Tarantalla. (this is a fun tune to listen! and would most likely to be played when spawned in an italian pizzeria lol)

Jarabe Tapatio - Jarabe Tapatío, often referred to as the Mexican hat dance, is the national dance of Mexico. It originated as a courtship dance in Guadalajara, Jalisco, during the 19th century, although its elements can be traced back to the Spanish zambra and jarabe gitano. The standard music of the jarabe tapatío was composed by Jesús González Rubio in the 19th century. However, its more common instrumental arrangement dates from the 1920s. Nowadays, its music is most commonly performed by either mariachi groups or string ensembles.

here’s the full sheet https://musescore.com/user/5869266/scores/2156891

Yodeling - Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word yodel is derived from the German word jodeln, meaning "to utter the syllable jo" (pronounced "yo"). Yodeling is also used as a means of communicating over moderate distances by the inhabitants of mountainous regions. It is associated with the Alpine peoples of Switzerland and the Austrian Tirol. (the first thing that came to my mind when i read yodeling was the walmart yodeling kid and the Sound of Music’s The Lonely Goatherd hehe)