Arab music origins
The historical origins of Oriental music are versatile. The first Arab musicians drew their inspiration from the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians and Sumerians. Many of the instruments played today are the descendants of instruments shown on wall paintings and documents of those ancient civilizations. The uniqueness of Arab music is, to a great extent, an outcome of the instruments on which it is performed. In spite of the ancient origins of Middle Eastern instruments, their contemporary structure has been developed since the 8th century a.c., the period in Islamic culture called "The Golden Age".
Both Classical Arabic music
and Folk music
are demonstrated here.
Fundamentals of Arab Music
Scales - Arab music is played in scales
called "Maqamat" [sing. - Maqam] - meaning "places";
this term comes from the singer's place on the stage, when he sang for
the ruler. The maqam is more than a scale. It has prefixed main notes,
register, and the different motifs
are emphasized. Sometimes even a particular tempo
and metre are required, as a result of the choice of maqam.
Intervals - Sound intervals in Arab music are quarter-tones, in contrast to Western music, where a semitone is the smallest interval. This differentiation is one of the reasons why the unaccustomed listener may sometimes think the Arab players are "off key".
The Rhythm - Arab music has a considerably developed rhythm, and drummers play their instruments energetically and swiftly. Sometimes, they combine different rhythms at the same time, creating variety and fascinating sophistication.
Texture - Whereas European music, whose origins
are similar to those of Arab music, favored the development of harmony
(and earlier, polyphony),
Arab music has focused on heterophony
- playing of the same tune by all the instruments, while ornamenting
the original melody from time to time, independently.
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Here are some of the most popular rhythms of the Middle Eastern music:
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Study how to play Oriental rhythms
The Great Arab Artists
Unlike the folk image many Westerners have, there are,
in Arab music, works that are pure art music. There are many composers
and artists who have made impressive artistic achievements. Composers such
as Abdel Wahab,
Farid El Atrache,
Sunbati and others, wrote pieces that are
classics of Arab music: art music in every way, performed by big orchestras.
The instruments serving in those ensembles are authentic
oriental instruments, and Western instruments added in order to expand
possibilities of expression. Some of the Arab music's reputation has to
do with its emphasis on singing
(in contrast to the centrality of instrumental composition in the
last 400 or 500 years of Western music), which gives it an image of light
music for the masses. However, the songs of the great musicians are built
as real artworks, with their own structure, dramatic development, sophisticated
orchestration and length no less than that of a Western musical piece.
This is also why many of us find it hard to understand how the great Egyptian
singer Um Kalsum used to sing one song for
almost an hour. A song like this should be perceived as an artwork parallel
to a song cycle, not a single short song.
The biggest accomplishment made by the great Arab musicians of the 20th century is succeeding to merge art with the audience's love. Their songs are best sellers years after their demise, and people love their work with all their heart.
A great Arabic composer
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and rhythms
of art music. Art music is popular, too, in Arab
countries, and singers such as Farid El Atrache
and Um Kalsum are still popular singers, years
after their death. Songs like Abdel Wahab's
"You are my life" ("Inta Omri")
and "Siret El - Hobb"
are still widely loved.
and organs
which can be tuned for performing in quarter-tones and oriental
rhythms, are making this music more and more Western, in the aspect of
production means. There are many popular Arab singers, and among them we
can mention Fairuz, Layla
Murad, Abdel Halim Hafez
and Muhammad Fuad. In the main festival of
the Arab world, which takes place every year in August, in the ancient
city of Jaresh in Jordan,
one may hear the greatest Arab performers on stage, with the accompaniment
of the best orchestras.
