Arabic music
Key elements of Arabic music.
It is principally melodic music, as opposed to Western harmonic music. Because of the microtonal nature of the music it is difficult for any harmony to sit comfortably in the music.
It subdivides the octave into quarter tones and microtones.
It is based on the Maqam (plural maqamat) which is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music. The Maqam can be considered to be comprised of 2 tetrachords – so 2 sections of 4 notes.
It is not modal music as we might understand in the west but “a set of notes with traditions that define relationships between them, habitual patterns, and their melodic development[…]another peculiarity of maqamat is that the same note is not always played with the same exact pitch. The pitch may vary slightly, depending on the melodic flow and what other notes are played before and after that note. The idea behind this effect is to round sharp corners in the melody by drawing the furthest notes nearer”.
An example of a Maqam:
There are many different rhythms and time signatures used.
The Andalusian Muwashahat (plural of Muwashah) are a musical form that originated in Al-Andalus (medieval Spain and Portugal). The muwashah is often composed using a complex rhythm, ranging from 2/4 to 48/4 and greater.
One example below.
Principal instruments
The prototypical Arabic music ensemble in Egypt and Syria is known as the takht. The traditional Arabic ensemble or takht pronunciation (literally bed in Arabic) consists of 4 main melodic instruments: oud, nay, qanun and violin, and one main percussion instrument (riq). A description of the principal instruments is listed below:
Oud – Its name derives from the Arabic for ‘a thin strip of wood’, and this refers to the strips of wood used to make its rounded body. The oud is a short-necked, half pear-shaped, plucked lute of the Arab world, a direct ancestor of the European lute.
Qānūn – The qanun is a descendent of the old Egyptian harp. The qanun also resembles a dulcimer and santour. The instrument is placed flat on the knees or table of the musician. In the video I watched the strings are plucked by a metallic pick attached to the forefingers. The form of the qanun consists of a trapezoid-shaped flat board over which 81 strings are stretched in groups of three with 24 treble chords consisting of three chords to each note.
Ney – A type of flute. “Ney” is the Farsi word for reed, so the flute is named after a plant from which it is fashioned.
Different lengths determine pitch and most players have a set of flutes to play in different keys. Accomplished players, though, can achieve a 3-octave range on one ney through advanced finger and blowing techniques. The rast mode is the Arabic maqam mode easiest to achieve from the ney: for those of you with a more Euro-centric world view, the rast is the same as the dorian mode.
Kaman / Violin – introduced in the 1840s or 50s, (or possibly even earlier following Napoleon’s forays into the Middle East). Violin techniques include the European under-the-chin-style of playing, and a knee-held style, called the “gamba” style. Turkish tuning for the violin, GDAD, differs slightly from the European GDAE tuning. Arabic tuning differs slightly still, being GDGD. Characteristic performance techniques are very decorative with melismas, slurs and slides, trills, wider vibrato, and double stops.
Dumbek / Darbuka / Goblet drum – Is a type of drum. The body of the dumbek is shaped like an hourglass and is typically made from nickel, ceramic, or compressed aluminum. It is played with the hands and fingers to create percussive sounds and rolls with different tones. The origin of the Egyptian Arabic term darabukka probably lies in the Arabic word “darab” (“to strike”). Arabian in origin, the dumbek is commonly found in Turkey, the Balkan countries, and North Africa.
Riq – A type of tambourine used in Arab music, with a skin stretched accross the frame for a more drum like sound.
I find Arabic music fascinating as it sounds so different to western music. I also spent some time in Seville and Andalucia some years ago, and there is an undoubted arabic influence to the music, such as in flamenco as well as other traditional songs sung at Fiestas and Ferias. The singing tends to have a mellismatic style which I presume is at least partly derived from the Arabic music when the arabs occupied southern Spain.
The appeal of arabic music to a composer would be many: The different rhythms and time signatures, the exploration of non-western scales and microtonality, and the different textures that these middle-eastern instruments provide. One of the things that struck me listening to the music was how different the violin sounded in the hands of an arab musician. Some of these elements have made their way into western music, and film music in particular.
I found it relatively difficult to find popular arabic music but did come across the examples below.
Turkish style: Mahur Oriental – Burhan Öçal Istanbul Oriental Ensemble. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1YSnrcsmdg
Moroccan: Master Musicians of Jajouka – A Habibi Ouajee T’Allel Allaiya
Israeli: http://faran-ensemble.com/
Example of arabic instruments being played:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGQK1VYXaPg
References:
http://www.maqamworld.com/instruments.html
Click to access QL_RA_Manual.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblet_drum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riq
maqām (pl. maqāmāt). The term used for the melodic modes of Arab music, covering both the ranking of pitches and the melodic patterns of a given mode.
The Oxford Companion to Music
Alison Latham
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published online: 2011 Current Online Version: 2011
eISBN: 9780199579037
Jim Mennell Music 