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Music in Global America

TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD

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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world
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Version 107

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.107
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	107
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam familiese ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. The nay can be heard in the video of the takht ensemble, below. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. The qanun is featured in the beginning of the video of Sufi songs, above. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
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Version 106

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.106
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	106
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam familiese ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. The nay can be heard in the video of the takht ensemble, below. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. The qanun is featured in the beginning of the video of Sufi songs, above. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
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Version 105

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.105
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	105
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam familiese ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. The nay can be heard in the video of the takht ensemble, below. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. The qanun is featured in the beginning of the video of Sufi songs, above. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
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Version 104

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.104
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	104
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam familiese ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. The nay can be heard in the video of the takht ensemble, below. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. The qanun is featured in the beginning of the video of Sufi songs, above. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
was attributed to	prov:wasAttributedTo	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/users/27725
created	dcterms:created	2024-04-18T16:29:04-07:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 103

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.103
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	103
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. The nay can be heard in the video of the takht ensemble, below. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. The qanun is featured in the beginning of the video of Sufi songs, above. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
was attributed to	prov:wasAttributedTo	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/users/27725
created	dcterms:created	2024-04-18T16:02:04-07:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 102

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.102
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	102
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. The nay can be heard in the video of the takht ensemble, below. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. The qanun is featured in the beginning of the video of Sufi songs, above. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
was attributed to	prov:wasAttributedTo	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/users/27725
created	dcterms:created	2024-04-18T15:56:47-07:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 101

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.101
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	101
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
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Version 100

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.100
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	100
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce microtones. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of maqamat that contain microtones. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
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Version 99

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.99
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	99
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by the Palestinian vocalist Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of these maqamat. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
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created	dcterms:created	2024-02-19T20:19:33-08:00
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Version 98

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.98
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	98
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two tones (notes) that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. Such tones are closer together than the smallest distance between two tones in the European tuning system and so are referred to as microtones. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of these maqamat. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. This video offers a simplified explanation of how maqamat are formed and how microtones are produced. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam hijaz, and a short solo on oud in maqam hijaz. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle played by two drummers, then by ensemble. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm performed by the full orchestra. You will notice that the tempo gradually increases. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The European violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
was attributed to	prov:wasAttributedTo	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/users/27725
created	dcterms:created	2024-02-19T20:15:56-08:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 97

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.97
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	97
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Bseliss who sings in an elaborate melismatic style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two notes that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of these maqamat. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a short solo on oud. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
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type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 96

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.96
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	96
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Baselis. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two notes that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of these maqamat. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a short solo on oud. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. This video gives a clear demonstration of a simple 4-beat cycle, and a more complex 17-beat cycle. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
was attributed to	prov:wasAttributedTo	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/users/27725
created	dcterms:created	2024-02-19T19:15:58-08:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 95

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.95
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	95
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Baselis. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two notes that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of these maqamat. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a short solo on oud. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
default view	scalar:defaultView	plain
was attributed to	prov:wasAttributedTo	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/users/27725
created	dcterms:created	2024-02-19T19:10:36-08:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 94

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.94
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	94
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm in Arab music is metric, with groups of beats arranged in a repeating cycle; alternatively, rhythm can be "free," with no sense of metric regularity Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic. Harmony (system of chords) is absent. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference between syllabus and melismatic style can also be heard in this video by the Jordanian group Harget Kart, contrasting a cover of Adele's song "Hello" sung in simple syllabic style with "Kezbak Halou," a song made popular by Syrian singer/actress Mayada Baselis. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two notes that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of these maqamat. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a short solo on oud. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
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Version 93

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.93
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	93
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle. Alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arab music is almost wholly melodic, without a system of chords or harmony. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer.Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. The difference can also be heard in this video, a cover of Adele's song "Hello," sung in simple syllabic style by a European vocalist and an Arab singer exhibiting an elaborate melismatic singing style. Melody in the Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century and was codified in 14th-century treatises. There are eight named maqam families:e ajam, hijaz, bayati, nahawand, kurd, nawa athar, rast, saba, and sikah. Each maqam contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have one or two notes that are tuned differently than in conventional European music. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. More recently, many electric keyboards can be adjusted to accommodate the tuning system of these maqamat. Melodies are improvised and composed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas), each containing only a few notes, and different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a short solo on oud. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
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type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 92

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.92
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	92
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle. Alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by a compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a solo on oud in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a short solo on oud. Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"]
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Version 91

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.91
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	91
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle. Alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The notes of maqam ajam are played on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble in maqam ajam. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The notes of maqam hijaz are introduced on the oud, followed by compositions for instrumental ensemble, and a short taqsim on oud. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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Version 90

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.90
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	90
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: A monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance The maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning Unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments Rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle. Alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are most often accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. This maqam conveys a sense of yearning and is often used for love songs. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither with origins in ancient Assyria. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell or metal plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is played throughout the East Arab World, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Central Asia. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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Version 89

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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. This video excerpt of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is similar to the Persian santour. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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Version 88

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.88
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	88
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to how melodic ornamentation is improvised in Arab music. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. of sacred songs of Sufi in a concert in Fès, Morocco begins with an improvised taqsim on qanun in free rhythm. It is followed by a vocal soloist, who also improvises his melody and sings in free rhythm, each phrase echoed by the orchestra. The orchestra leader then begins a structured song in definite rhythm, with the tempo gradually speeding up. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is similar to the Persian santour. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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Version 87

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.87
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	87
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "Definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. "Free rhythm" refers to music in which the rhythm is free flowing and independent of rhythmic regularity. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Arab World and throughout Central and Western Asia. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout Western Asia. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. The qanun is similar to the Persian santour. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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Version 86

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versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	86
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. can be either "free rhythm" and "definite," or "metric" rhythm refers to rhythmic by a stream of continuous equal time units called beats ("definite" or "metric" rhythm). Or rhythmic can be independent of beats, irregular and unpredictable ("free rhythm"). Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, thev earthy gruff-sounding rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.85
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	85
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. can be either "free rhythm" and "definite," or "metric" rhythm refers to rhythmic by a stream of continuous equal time units called beats ("definite" or "metric" rhythm). Or rhythmic can be independent of beats, irregular and unpredictable ("free rhythm"). Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the rebab. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.84
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	84
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. can be either "free rhythm" and "definite," or "metric" rhythm refers to rhythmic by a stream of continuous equal time units called beats ("definite" or "metric" rhythm). Or rhythmic can be independent of beats, irregular and unpredictable ("free rhythm"). Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka. The violin has largely displaced its Arab ancestor, the rebab, and so can now be considered part of a traditional Arab music ensemble. Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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Version 83

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.83
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	83
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system as the basis of melodies and tuning unique sounds of traditional Arab instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. Melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. The beginning section of "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf is an example of florid singing style. Singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, for example maqam ajam, maqam hijaz, etc. Each contains a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because the are smaller than the smallest interval in conventional European music (the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys). The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — have become integrated into Arab music ensembles, since players are able to produce these notes on those instruments, which evolved from the Arab rebab and the bowed string instruments of Byzantium. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments (ajnas) of a few notes, different for each maqam. The unique characteristics of a maqam give it a unique "flavor" and makes it recognizable. Each maqam theoretically produces a particular mood or emotional state in the listener — joyful, sad, amorous, etc. Musicians must learn and memorize the ajnas by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. *Comparison of Maqam Ajam and Maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and induces happiness. The first example maqam ajam is a short instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second example is a composition played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Arab World. The first example of maqam hijaz is a taqsim on oud. The second example is played by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. can be either "free rhythm" and "definite," or "metric" rhythm refers to rhythmic by a stream of continuous equal time units called beats ("definite" or "metric" rhythm). Or rhythmic can be independent of beats, irregular and unpredictable ("free rhythm"). Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS The representative instruments of traditional Arab music includes the oud, violin (or kamanche), ney, qanun, riq, and darbuka Oud The oud is the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones and microtones in a large number of maqamat. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. The qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers. Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The bass line is supplied here by a string bass rather than cello.
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Version 82

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.82
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	82
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system of melody construction and tuning unique timbres (sounds) of traditional instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. A recent example is "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer; that is, everyone in the ensemble (except the untuned percussion) sings/plays the same melody — or slightly different individual versions of the melody — simultaneously. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, each containing a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments of three to five notes, different for each maqam, that give each maqam its own flavor and makes it recognizable. Each maqam is believed to produce a distinct mood or emotional state in the listener. Musicians must learn and memorize by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because they smaller than a semi-tone, the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys, and the smallest interval in European music. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — are well adapted to produce the unique tunings of Arab instruments and so have become integrated into ensembles of more traditional Arab instruments. Indeed, the violin developed from instruments of Byzantium and the Arab rebab. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. can be either "free rhythm" and "definite," or "metric" rhythm refers to rhythmic by a stream of continuous equal time units called beats ("definite" or "metric" rhythm). Or rhythmic can be independent of beats, irregular and unpredictable ("free rhythm"). Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arab music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 81

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.81
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARAB MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arab music: monophonic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system of melody construction and tuning unique timbres (sounds) of traditional instruments rhythm with equally-spaced time units ("beats" in European terminology) organized within a repeating cycle alternatively, nonmetric or "free" rhythm without equal time units Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented. A recent example is "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison, or near-unison, with the singer; that is, everyone in the ensemble (except the untuned percussion) sings/plays the same melody — or slightly different individual versions of the melody — simultaneously. Maqam System The maqam system is the basis of both composed and improvised Arab music, whether vocal or instrumental. The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. There are eight commonly used maqamat, each containing a distinct collection of seven notes, somewhat analogous to the seven-note European scales. Melodies are constructed from a musical vocabulary of melodic fragments of three to five notes, different for each maqam, that give each maqam its own flavor and makes it recognizable. Each maqam is believed to produce a distinct mood or emotional state in the listener. Musicians must learn and memorize by extensive listening to traditional playing and singing. Some maqamat have certain notes that are referred to as "microtones" because they smaller than a semi-tone, the difference in pitch between two adjacent piano keys, and the smallest interval in European music. The European instruments of the violin family — particularly the violin — are well adapted to produce the unique tunings of Arab instruments and so have become integrated into ensembles of more traditional Arab instruments. Indeed, the violin developed from instruments of Byzantium and the Arab rebab. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arab Music "definite rhythm" (or "metric rhythm") refers to music when rhythmic motion is governed by equal times units called beats. can be either "free rhythm" and "definite," or "metric" rhythm refers to rhythmic by a stream of continuous equal time units called beats ("definite" or "metric" rhythm). Or rhythmic can be independent of beats, irregular and unpredictable ("free rhythm"). Definite rhythm is Arab music is structured by establishing a cycle with a certain number of beats, which are grouped into smaller units. For example, a cycle of 10 beats, may be grouped by clapping on beats 1, 6, and 7. The percussionist(s) articulates the rhythmic groupings using combinations of a low-pitch sound, a high-pitch sound, and rests (measured silences) to articulate the rhythmic groupings. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARAB INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arab music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 80

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.80
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	80
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 79

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.79
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	79
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq. and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 78

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.78
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	78
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 77

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.77
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	77
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 76

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.76
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	76
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 75

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.75
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	75
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 74

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.74
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	74
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	72
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 71

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versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	71
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. There is much diversity in musical cultures throughout the Arab World. The two main cultural regions are the Mashriq and the Maghreb. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 70

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.70
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	70
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video is a performance of Awil Marra, composed by Mounir Murad with lyrics by Ismail El Barouk, and made popular by the great Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez in a movie of 1957. It is sung here by the popular Lebanese-American musician Usama Baalbaki. The instrumental includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. Instead of cello, the bass line is supplied by a string bass.
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Version 69

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.69
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	69
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. This video includes nay, violin, qanun, oud, and riq. A second percussionist plays a darbuka. The cello in the photo above in replaced by a string bass.
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Version 68

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.68
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	68
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble associated with the Mashriq that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown in the photo of an early 20th-century Egyptian takht. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may perform a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm.
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Version 67

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.67
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	67
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht is an ensemble that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is the early 20th-century Egyptian takht shown below. The singer is seated in the the center, surrounded by musicians with instruments (from left): riq, qanun, violin, nay, oud, and cello. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm.
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Version 66

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.66
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	66
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble Classically, a takht is an ensemble that includes at least one singer and several instrumentalists. The typical combination is shown below. The singer is seated in the the center, sroounded by may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 65

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.65
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	65
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Wikipedia: "Maqam"] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 64

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.64
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	64
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. *Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz* The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Habib Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 63

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.63
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	63
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Habib Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 62

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.62
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	62
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Habib Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Habib Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 61

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.61
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	61
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. There are 22 members in the Arab League, as shown in the figure above. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian [present-day Iran] music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 60

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.60
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	60
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 59

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.59
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	59
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 58

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.58
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	58
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The first example is from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud. The second is played by a takht, small instrumental ensemble described below. Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are first, a taqsim on oud, then by a takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 57

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.57
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	57
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.56
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). Takht Ensemble A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively.
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Version 54

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.54
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	54
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (fifth video on page)
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.53
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	53
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. [Radmssen Touma, "Maqam" in Wikipedia] [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (fifth video on page)
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Version 52

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.52
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	52
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (fifth video on page)
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Version 51

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.51
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	51
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (fifth video on page)
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Version 50

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.50
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	50
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (fifth video on page)
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Version 49

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.49
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	49
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (fifth video on page)
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Version 48

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.48
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	48
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 47

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.47
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	47
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour: Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 46

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.46
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	46
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas are made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones: doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 45

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.45
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	45
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour Nay (Ney) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 44

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.44
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.43
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.42
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.41
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform a set of jazzy improvisations on Syrian folk song "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), mixing Arabic, European, and Latin instruments during Bashir's "Oud around the World" tour Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.40
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. Omar Bashir and ensemble perform "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), a Syrian folk tune. Bashir begins with a taqsim. The actual song is heard when the Latin drums, Spanish guitar, and jazz other instrumentalists in the ensemble, a mix of Latin and jazz instruments) join in. perform on a Syrian folk tune, "Al Bint al chalabiya" ("The Beautiful Girl"), a Syrian folk tunebegins with a free-form taqsim and is then joined by instruments drawn from Latin music and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 39

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.39
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	39
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 38

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.38
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	38
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern darbukas hare made of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and fitted with membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbukas creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. In this video the player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 37

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.37
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	37
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images from over 3000 years ago and played today throughout the Arab world. Modern instruments have bodies of copper or aluminum (rather than clay or wood), and membranes of synthetic material (rather than fish or calf skin). Darbuka creates rhythmic patterns with two contrasting tones, doum, produced by striking the head, and tek, produced by striking the rim. The player on the right begins by playing a frame drum, then switches to finger cymbals (zills). A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 36

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.36
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion The player on the left holds a riq. The two men in the middle each play a darbuka, a type of goblet drum recognizable in Sumerian images more than 3000 years old. with hourglass-shaped baked clay bodies and A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 35

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.35
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz (or Hezas) has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun (kanun) is a trapezoidal box zither. Ordinarily the quanun is strung with seventy-two gut or nylon strings in sets of three, producing twenty-four tones in total. T"he qanun is plucked with tortoise-shell plectra affixed to rings that are worn on the right and left index fingers." [Touma] Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 29

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.29
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 28

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.28
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 27

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.27
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 26

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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 25

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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 24

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.24
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	24
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute commonly made of cane or bamboo. The du-kah (larger, lower-pitched) nay and the nawa (smaller, higher-pitched) nay are the most frequently played of the various lengths of the instrument. By slight movements of the lips and head a player is able to produce all of the tones necessary to play in a large number of maqams on one instrument. The nay is a common wind instrument throughout the Middle East. Below is a modern depiction of a woman playing nay in pre-Islamic Persia. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 23

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.23
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 22

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.22
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 21

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.21
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.20
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is considered by many to be the most important instrument in traditional music of the Middle East. The progenitor of the oud dates back over 5000 years to Central Asia. Other instruments that were derived from this common ancestor include the Chinese pipa and the European lute. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. Omar begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 19

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.19
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	19
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) The nay is an end-blown flute. Qanun The qanun is a trapezoidal box zither. Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 18

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.18
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	18
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), ney, qanun, and two main percussion instruments, riq and darbuka Oud (Ud) The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney (Nay) Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Percussion A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. The link below has several videos. The sixth video from the top — "Arab Instrument demonstration - the Full Takht" — is a composition for the five basic instruments of the takht. The videos that follow present demonstrate playing Arabic music on solo qanun, oud, and nay, respectively. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht
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Version 17

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.17
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	17
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 16

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.16
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	16
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 15

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.15
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title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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created	dcterms:created	2018-08-25T19:25:20-07:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 14

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.14
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	14
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 13

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.13
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	13
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 12

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.12
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	12
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 11

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.11
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	11
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 10

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.10
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	10
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 9

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.9
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	9
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 8

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.8
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	8
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. Oud The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Ney Qanun Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 7

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.7
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	7
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 6

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.6
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	6
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 5

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.5
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	5
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 4

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.4
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	4
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Image courtesy of arabworldbooks.com Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 3

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.3
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	3
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Image courtesy of arabworldbooks.com Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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Version 2

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.2
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	2
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Image courtesy of arabworldbooks.com Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

Version 1

resource	rdf:resource	https://scalar.usc.edu/works/music-in-global-america/traditional-music-in-the-arab-world.1
versionnumber	ov:versionnumber	1
title	dcterms:title	TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN THE ARAB WORLD
content	sioc:content	INTRODUCTION Image: Sid Ahmed, Hanaa. (2016). Socio-environmental impacts of urban expansion: Case of Arab countries. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research. 14. 7689-7706. Source: researchgate.net Arabic music is the music of Arabic-speaking states of Western Asia and North Africa sharing common music practices, theories, and instruments. From the tenth century, Arabic music maintained close contacts with Persian music theory, song, and instruments. During the Ottoman Empire beginning in the thirteenth century, Turkish culture dominated Arabic musical life. A distinctly Arabic consciousness was reborn in the nineteenth century, launched by anti-imperialist Islamic reformers, scholars, and musicians. Fundamental change occurred during the colonial rule of the Arab World by European powers following World War I when Arabs began to adopt Western musical styles and instruments. From the mid-twentieth century to today Arabic music has been influenced by American popular music as well, especially jazz and hip hop. [Touma, The Music of the Arabs] TRADITIONAL ARABIC MUSIC Anne Rasmussen, in The Music of Multicultural America, counts as the distinguishing features of Arabic music: a melodic texture that foregrounds improvisation, decoration, variation, and nuance the maqam system's particular approach to intonation (tuning) and melody exciting meters and rhythms, and the sounds of the percussion instruments that play them the unique timbres of traditional Arabic string and wind instruments the juxtaposition and combination of metric and nonmetric music Melodic Style Traditional Arabic music is almost wholly melodic, and melodies are often melismatic and highly ornamented as in "Seyouff el Ezz" performed by Mohammed Assaf. Singing is held as the ideal of musical expressiveness. In traditional style, singers are almost always accompanied by an instrumental ensemble playing in unison with the singer. Maqam System The theory behind the maqam system of Arabic music stretches back to the ninth century. Arabic music is based on eight commonly used melodic modes, or maqams. The maqam system is the basis of composed and improvised Arabic music, whether vocal and instrumental. The maqam system is mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to traditional playing. Each maqam is also meant to produce a certain mood or emotional state in the listener. The particular tones of each maqam are organized in seven-tone scales, and each maqam has characteristic musical phrases made up of four (less often, three or five) continuous tones that give the maqam its flavor and recognizability. The Arabic tuning system contains tones that sound "out of tune" in the European equal-tempered tuning system. Such tones are often referred to as "microtones," because their distance apart is less than that of the semitone, the smallest interval in European music. For Arabic music to sound as intended it should be played on traditional Arab instruments that can produce the microtones that Western instruments with fixed pitches (such as piano) cannot. Violin, and the other members of the fretless violin family, adapt readily to the tunings of the maqam system. Comparison of maqam Ajam and maqam Hijaz: The tuning of maqam Ajam is identical to the European major scale and is meant to produce a happy feeling in the listener. The examples are from an instrumental solo (taqsim) played on oud, and an instrumental ensemble (takht). Maqam Hijaz has two tones that are outside of the European tuning system and that give Hijaz a sound shared by Semitic people throughout the Middle East. The examples played are again taqsim and takht. Rhythm in Arabic Music Rhythm is Arabic music is often in free rhythm. Metric rhythm is organized by rhythmic patterns of various durations —3, 4, 7, 8, or 10 beat long, up to more than 100. The pattern is made from two different timbres — one low-pitched and one sounding higher and drier — and rests. These patterns can be varied by decoration in performance, similar to improvised melodic ornamentation. [Touma, Radmussen, "Maqam," Wikipedia] TRADITIONAL ARABIC INSTRUMENTS Instrumental music may be played by a soloist as a self-contained improvisation (taqsim), or by an ensemble. The representative instrumental ensemble of the classical Arabic music of the Middle East is the takht. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan, the takht includes the oud, kamanjah (violin), qanun, ney. The main percussion instruments in Arabic music are demonstrated in this video (left to right): riq, two darabukas, and daf. A takht may play a stand-alone composition, or the ensemble may play a suite (nuba) — a series of linked vocal and instrumental sections, with free-form vocal or instrumental improvisations alternating with ensemble playing in strict rhythm. Qatar Music Academy: Performance by Takht (Scroll half-way down the linked webpage to "Arab Instrument Demonstration - Full Takht" to play this video.) Qatari Music Academy takht: violin, ney, qanun, oud, riq An Arabic takht. From left to right: two ouds, violin, qanun, darabuka, and riq Image from Sarah Sanbar, "Music Links Investigation-Arabic Music and Bartok," March 2013. The oud is an Arabic instrument whose origins date back over 5000 years to a Central Asian progenitor that is also the ancestor of the Chinese pipa and the European lute. It is perhaps the most important instrument in music of the Middle East. This performance of "Bint al chalabiya" is by Iraqi musician Omar Bashir whose father Munir (1930 – 1997) was a prime figure in bringing Middle Eastern instrumental traditions to the attention of the West. In this live performance he begins in the nature of a free-form improvised taqsim and is later joined by other instruments in a combination of maqam, rumba, and jazz. Image courtesy of arabworldbooks.com Set of four neys (or nays), cane or bamboo flutes Image posted by Anthony Daou at z-lightdimensions Qanun Photo: Ozanyarman at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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created	dcterms:created	2018-08-22T17:23:58-07:00
type	rdf:type	http://scalar.usc.edu/2012/01/scalar-ns#Version

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