'Arabic music' includes several genres and styles of
music ranging from Arab classical to
Arabic pop music and from
secular to
sacred music.
Arabic music has a long history of interaction with many other regional musical styles and genres. It is an amalgam of the music of the Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula and the music of all the peoples who were conquered and eventually arabised by the Muslim Arab invaders. It also influenced and has been influenced by
Ancient Greek,
Persian,
Kurdish,
Assyrian,
Turkish,
Indian,
African (i.e.
Berber & Swahili) and
European music (i.e.
Flamenco). As was the case in other artistic and scientific fields, Arabs translated and developed
Greek texts and works of music and mastered the
musical theory of the Greeks (i.e. ''Systema ametabolon, enharmonium, chromatikon, diatonon'').
[1] Such inter-influences can often be traced in language; for example, the word ''Shî'ir'' (poetry in Arabic) bears much similarity to its equivalents in other
Semitic languages (such as ''Shûr'' in
Aramaic and ''Shîr'' in
Hebrew), and ''Shîro'' in
Babylonian.
[2]
History
Pre-Islamic period
The development of Arabic music has deep roots in
Arabic poetry dating back to the
pre-Islamic period known as
Jahiliyyah. Though there is a lack of scientific study to definitively confirm the existence of Arabic music at those times, most historians agree that there existed distinct forms of music in the
Arabian peninsula in the pre-Islamic period between the 5th and the 7th century AD.
Arab poets of that time - called "شعراء الجاهلية" or "Jahili poets" which translates to "The poets of the period of ignorance" - used to recite poems with a high musical rhythm and tone.
[3]
Music at that time played an important role in cultivating the mystique of
exorcists and
magicians. It was believed that
Jinns revealed poems to poets and music to musicians.
[4] The
Choir at the time served as a pedagologial tool where the educated poets would recite their
poems. Singing was not thought to be the work of these intellectuals and was instead entrusted to women with beautiful voices (i.e.
Al-Khansa) who would learn how to play some instruments used at that time (i.e.
lute,
drum,
Oud,
rebab, etc...) and then perform the songs while respecting the
poetic metre.
[4] It should be noted that the compositions were simple and every singer would sing in a single ''
maqam''. Among the notable songs of the period were the "huda" from which the ghina' derived, the ''nasb'', ''sanad'', ''rukbani''.
Al-Andalus
By the 11th century,
Moorish Spain had become a center for the manufacture of instruments. These goods spread gradually throughout
France, influencing French
troubadours, and eventually reaching the rest of Europe. The English words
lute,
rebec,
guitar,
organ and
naker are derived from Arabic
oud,
rabab,
qitara,
urghun and
nagqara'.
The
Arabs invented the
Ghazal (love song), often used since in Arabic music.
Al-Ghazali (1059 - 1111) wrote a treatise on music in
Persia which declared, "Ecstasy means the state that comes from listening to music". The oud was popular between the tenth and sixteenth centuries then fell into disuse, enjoying renewed popularity in the nineteenth century.
Sixteenth century
Bartol Gyurgieuvits (1506 - 1566) spent 13 years as a slave in the
Ottoman empire. After escaping, he published "De Turvarum ritu et caermoniis" in Amsterdam in 1544. It is one of the first European books to describe music in Islamic society. In India, the Islamic
Mughal emperors ruled both Muslims and Hindus. The greatest of these,
Akbar (1542 - 1605) had a team of at least fifty musicians, thirty-six of whom are known to us by name. The origins of the "
belly dance" are very obscure, as depictions and descriptions are rare. It may have originated in Persia or Turkey, possibly developing within the
harems. Essential elements of belly dancing are the
zills (
finger cymbals). Examples have been found from 200 BC, suggesting a possible pre-Islamic origin.
Female ''Harem''
Slavery was widespread around the world. Just as in the Roman empire, slaves were often brought into the Arab world from Africa. Black slaves from
Zanzibar were noted in the eleventh century for the quality of their song and dance. The "
Epistle on Singing Girls", written in
Baghdad in 9 CE satirizes the excessive money that could be made by singers. The author mentioned an
Abyssinian girl who fetched 120,000 dinars at an auction - far more than an ordinary slave. A festival in 8 CE is mentioned as having fifty singing slave-girls with
lutes who acted as back-up musicians for a singer called Jamilia. In 1893, "Little Egypt", a belly-dancer from
Syria, appeared at the
Chicago world's fair and caused a sensation.
Male instrumentalists
Musicians in Aleppo, 18th century.
Male instrumentalists were condemned in a treatise in 9 CE. They were associated with vices such as
chess, love poetry, wine drinking and
homosexuality. Many Persian treatises on music were burned by zealots. Following the invasion of Egypt,
Napoleon commissioned reports on the state of Ottoman culture.
Villoteau's account reveals that there were guilds of male instrumentalists, who played to male audiences, and "learned females," who sang and played for women. The instruments included the
oud, the kanun (
zither) and the
ney (flute). By 1800, several instruments that were first encountered in Turkish military bands had been adopted into European classical orchestras: the
piccolo, the
cymbal and the
kettle drum. The
Santur or
hammered dulcimer was cultivated within Persian classical schools of music that can be traced back to the middle of 19 CE. There was no written notation for the santur until the 1970s. Everything was learned face-to-face .
Twentieth century
Early Secular Formation
In the
20th century, Egypt was the first in a series of Arab countries to experience a sudden emergence of
nationalism, as it became independent after 2000 years of foreign rule.
Turkish music, popular during the rule of the
Ottoman Empire in the region, was replaced by national music. Cairo became a center for musical innovation.
One of the first female musicians to take a secular approach was
Umm Kulthum quickly followed by
Fairuz. Both have been extremely popular through the decades that followed and both are considered "Arabic Music Legends".
Westernization
Arabic Pop
During the 1950s and the 1960s Arabic music began to take on a more Western tone with such artists as
Dalida paving the way. By the 1970s several other singers had followed suit and a strand of
Arabic pop was born. Arabic pop usually consists of Western styled songs with Arabic instruments and lyrics. Melodies are often a mix between Eastern and Western.
In the 1990s and the 00s several artists have taken up such a style including
Sabah,
Warda Al-Jazairia,
Magida El Roumi,
Latifa,
Samira Said,
Angham,
Asalah Nasri,
Thekra,
Amr Diab,
Najwa Karam,
Nawal Al Zoghbi,
Ehab Tawfik,
Hisham Abbas,
Wael Kfoury,
Amal Hijazi,
Elissa,
Nancy Ajram,
Haifa Wehbe and
Natacha Atlas.
Arabic Pop has been able to be extremely popular in the Arab world as well as parts of Europe especially places with huge expat communities such as
France.
Arabic RnB and Hip Hop
There has also been a rise of
RnB and
hip hop influence of Arabic music in the past 5 years. This usually involves a
rapper featured in a song (such as
Ishtar in her song 'Habibi Sawah')
However certain artists have taken to usuing full Rnb beats and styling such as
Darine. This has been met with mixed critical and commercial reaction. As of now it is not a widespread genre.
Criticism of Arabic music
Haifa Wehbe
Some Arab expats have been known to shun the more traditional Arabic music. In the Arab world more criticism recently has been launched towards certain female
Arabic pop artists for what is perceived as a 'lack of talent' or 'disgraceful'. most
Islamic countries criticise the
overt sexuality and manner of dress has also been held against such artists as
Haifa Wehbe.
Amal Hijazi's Baya al Ward
On the other hand, the rising star,
Amal Hijazi had to face a lot of criticism by the release of song,
Baya al Ward. It was a most unusual song, a half mixture of jazz and ballad. The controversies rose when the equally unusual music video of the song was released, directed by Yehya Saadeh, where Hijazi is seen cutting her hair, smoking as she bends down her car and finally going down a deep lake, presumably to commit suicide.
Despite of the controversial song, album
Baya al Ward became a bestseller in many countries throughtout the Middle East.
Musical regions
The world of modern Arabic music has long been dominated by musical trends that have emerged from
Cairo,
Egypt. The city is generally considered a
cultural center in the
Arab world. Innovations in popular music via the influence of other regional styles have also abounded from
Morocco to
Saudi Arabia. In recent years,
Beirut has become a major center, dictating trends in the development of
Arabic pop music. Other regional styles that have enjoyed
popular music status throughout the Arab world include the
Algerian ''
raï'', the
Moroccan ''
Gnawa'', the
Gulfian ''
sawt'' and the
Egyptian ''
el gil''.
Genres
Secular art music
Secular genres include
maqam al-iraqi,
andalusi nubah,
muwashshah,
Fjiri songs,
qasidah,
layali,
mawwal,
taqsim,
bashraf,
sama'i,
tashmilah,
dulab, and
sawt. (Touma 1996, p.55-108)
Sacred music
Arabic religious music includes Jewish, Christian, and
Islamic music. However, Islamic music, including the "singing" of
Qur'an readings, is structurally equivalent to Arabic secular music, while Christian Arab music has been influenced by
Syriac Orthodox,
Catholic,
Greek Orthodox,
Anglican,
Coptic, and
Maronite church music. (ibid, p.152)
Characteristics
Much Arabic music, is characterized by an emphasis on
melody and
rhythm, as opposed to
harmony. There are some genres of Arabic music that are
polyphonic, but typically, Arabic music is
homophonic.
Habib Hassan Touma (1996, p.xix-xx) submits that there are "five components" that characterize Arabic music:
#The
Arab tone system; that is, a
musical tuning system that relies on specific interval structures and was invented by
al-Farabi in 10 CE (p.170)
#
Rhythmic-temporal structures that produce a rich variety of
rhythmic patterns, known as ''
awzan'' or "weight", that are used to accompany metered vocal and instrumental genres, to accent or give them form.
#A number of
Musical instruments that are found throughout the Arab world that represent a standardized
tone system, are played with generally standardized performance techniques, and display similar details in construction and design.
#Specific social contexts that produce sub-categories of Arabic music, or musical genres that can be broadly classified as urban (music of the city inhabitants), rural (music of the country inhabitants), or
Bedouin (music of the desert inhabitants)..."
#An Arab musical mentality, "responsible for the aesthetic homogeneity of the tonal-spatial and rhythmic-temporal structures throughout the Arab world whether
composed or
improvised,
instrumental or
vocal,
secular or
sacred."
Touma describes this musical mentality as being composed of:
##The phenomenon of the maqām
##The predominance of vocal music
##The tendency toward small instrumental ensembles
##The arrangement in different combinatory sequences of the small and smallest melodic elements - the maqams and ajnas - "and their repetition, combination, and permutation within the framework of the tonal-spatial model."
##The general absence of polyphony, polyrhythm, and motivic development, though Arabic music is familiar with the use of
ostinato, and an even more instinctive heterophonic way of producing and performing music.
##The alternation between a free rhythmic-temporal and fixed tonal-spatial organization on the one hand, and a fixed rhythmic-temporal and free tonal-spatial structure on the other.
Maqam system
A Maqam tone level example
Though it would be incorrect to call it a
modal, for the Arabic system is more complex than that of the
Greek modes, the basis of Arabic music is the
maqam (pl. maqamat), which looks like the mode, but is not quite the same. The
tonic note,
dominant note, and ending note (unless modulation occurs) are generally determined by the maqam used. Arabic maqam theory as ascribed in literature over the ages names between 90 and 110 maqams, that are grouped into larger categories known as fasilah. Fasilah are groupings of maqams whose first four primary pitches are shared in common.
[6]
Jins/Ajnas
The maqam consists of at least two jins, or scale segments. "Jins" in Arabic comes from the ancient Latin word "genus," meaning type. In practice, a jins (pl. ajnas) is either a
trichord, a
tetrachord, or a
pentachord. The trichord is three notes, the tetrachord four, and the pentachord five. The maqam usually covers only one
octave (usually two jins), but can cover more. Like the melodic minor scale, some maqamat use different ajnas, and thus note progressions, when descending and ascending.
Due to continuous innovation and the emergence of new jins, and because most music scholars have not reached consensus on the subject, it is difficult to provide a solid figure for the total number of jins in use. Nonetheless, in practice most musicians would agree there are at least eight major ajnas: Rast, Bayat, Sikah, Hijaz, Saba, Kurd, Nahawand, and Ajam - and their commonly used variants such as the Nakriz, Athar Kurd, Sikah Beladi, Saba Zamzama. Mukhalif is a rare jins used almost exclusively in Iraq, and it is not used in combination with other ajnas.
More notes used than in Western scale
The main difference between the Western
chromatic scale and the Arabic scales is the existence of many in-between notes, which are sometimes referred to as
quarter tones, for the sake of simplicity. In some treatments of theory, the quarter tone scale or all twenty four tones should exist. According to
Yūsuf Shawqī (1969), in practice, there are many fewer tones (Touma 1996, p.170).
Additionally, in 1932, at the International Convention on Arabic Music held in Cairo, Egypt - and attended by such Western luminaries as
Béla Bartók and
Henry George Farmer - experiments were done which determined conclusively that the notes in actual use differ substantially from an even-tempered 24-tone scale. Furthermore, the intonation of many of those notes differ slightly from region to region (Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Iraq).
Regional scales
As a result of these findings, the following recommendation was issued: "The tempered scale and the natural scale should be rejected. In Egypt, the Egyptian scale is to be kept with the values, which were measured with all possible precision. The Turkish, Syrian, and Iraqi scales should remain what they are..." (translated in Maalouf 2002, p. 220). Both in modern practice, and evident in recorded music over the course of the last century, several differently-tuned "E"s in between the E-flat and E-natural of the Western Chromatic scale are used, that vary according to the types of maqams and ajnas used, and the region in which they are used.
Practical treatment
Musicians and teachers refer to these in-between notes as "
quarter tones," using "half-flat" or "half-sharp" as a deisgnation for the in-between flats and sharps, for ease of nomenclature. Performance and teaching of the exact values of intonation in each jins or maqam is usually done by ear. It should also be added, in reference to
Habib Hassan Touma's comment above, that these "quarter-tones" are not used everywhere in the maqamat: in practice, Arabic music does not modulate to 12 different tonic areas like the
Well-Tempered Klavier. The most commonly used "quarter tones" are on E (between
E-flat and
E-natural), A, B, D, F (between
F-natural and
F-sharp) and C.
Vocal traditions
Arab classical music is known for its famed virtuoso singers, who sing long, elaborately ornamented, melismatic tunes, and are known for driving audiences into ecstasy. Its traditions come from pre-
Islamic times, when female singing
slaves entertained the wealthy, and inspired warriors on the battlefield with their rajaz poetry, also performing at
weddings.
Instruments and ensembles
Front and rear views of an
oud.
The prototypical Arabic music ensemble in Egypt and Syria is known as the
takht, and includes, (or included at different time periods) instruments such as the
'oud,
qanún,
rabab,
ney,
violin (introduced in the 1840s or 50s),
riq and
dumbek. In Iraq, the traditional ensemble, known as the chalghi, includes only two melodic instruments - the jowza (similar to the rabab but with four strings) and
santur- accompanied by the
riq and
dumbek.
The Arab world has incorporated instruments from the West, including the
electric guitar,
cello,
double bass and
oboe, and incorporated influences from
jazz and other foreign musical styles. The singers remained the stars, however, especially after the development of the recording and film industry in the
1920s in
Cairo. These singing celebrities include
Abd el-Halim Hafez,
Farid Al Attrach,
Asmahan,
Sayed Darwish,
Mohammed Abd el-Wahaab,
Warda Al-Jazairia, and possibly the biggest star of modern Arab classical music,
Umm Kulthum.
See also
★
Arabic poetry
★
Arabic scale
★
Islamic music
★
Turkish music (style)
★
Pizmonim
External links
★
Resource page
★
Arabic MP3
★
Arabic musical instruments
★
The maqam
★
Maqam
★
Maqamat
★
The Arab Classical Music Society
★
Arabic Music Community
★
Arabic Music & Multimedia Engine
★
Arabic Music MP3 samples
★
Arabic MP3
★
Article on History of Arabic music
★
More information about Arabic music
★
Middle Eastern Pizmonim
★
Excerpt from ''Arabic Musical Life Throughout History''
★
Popular Culture and the Performing Arts in the Arab world
★
''Between Two Notes'' - a documentary on Arab Music
★
Arabic Sources on Music
★ http://elbidaoui247.skyrock.com/article_1141183808.html
Sources
★ Shireen Maalouf (2002). ''History of Arabic Music Theory: Change and Continuity in the Tone Systems, Genres, and Scales''. Kaslik, Lebanon: Université Saint-Esprit.
★ Peter van der Merwe (1989). ''Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4.
★ Habib Hassan Touma (1996). ''The Music of the Arabs'', trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-88-8.
Further reading
★ Lodge, David and Bill Badley. "Partner of Poetry". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), ''World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East'', pp 323-331. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
★ Shiloah, Amnon. ''Music in the World of Islam. A Socio-Cultural Study'' 2001. ISBN 0-8143-2970-5
★ Julian Ribera y Tarrago. ''La musica arabe y su influencia en la española'' (1985). ISBN 84-8191-357-X
References and notes
1. Habib Hassan Touma - Review of ''Das arabische Tonsystem im Mittelalter'' by Liberty Manik. doi:10.2307/850449
2. ''Fragments of the history of Arab music'' - sotakhr.com
3. ''Singing in the Jahili period'' - khaledtrm.net
4. ''ibid.
5. ''ibid.
6. http://www.musiq.com/makam/page0.html ''Musiq.com''
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