FREE ESSAY ON ARAB MUSIC

ARAB MUSIC

Arab Music
The word music comes from the Greek word Mousiki which means 'the science of composing
melodies'. Ilm al-musiqa was the name given by the Arabs to the Greek theory of music as
to distinguish it from ilm al-ghinaa, the Arabian theory. The Arab music tradition
developed in the courts of dynasties in the Islamic Empire from the seventh to the
thirteenth century. It flourished during the Umayyad dynasty in the seventh and eighth
centuries in Syria. Although the major writings of Arab music appeared after the spread
of the Islamic religion in the beginning of the seventh century, the music tradition had
already begun. Before the spread of Islam, Arab music incorporated music traditions of
the Sassanid dynasty (224-651) in Persia and the early Byzantine empire (fourth to sixth
century) and of sung poetry from the Arabian Peninsula. 
Arab music is created using non-harmonized melodic and rhythmic systems. Arabic melodies
draw from a vast array of models, or melodic modes, known as maqamat. Arabic books on
music include as many as 52 melodic modes, of which at least 12 are commonly used. These
modes feature more tones than are present in the Western musical system, including
notably smaller intervals that are sometimes called microtones, or half-flats and
half-sharps. Arab melodies frequently use the increased second interval, an interval
larger than those of most Western melodies. The sound of Arab music is richly melodic and
offers freedom for subtle nuance and creative diversity. 
The rhythmic structure of Arab music is also complex. Rhythmic patterns have up to
forty-eight beats and typically include several downbeats (called dums) as well as
upbeats (called taks) and rests. To grasp a rhythmic mode, the listener must hear a
relatively long pattern. Moreover, the performers do not simply play the pattern; they
decorate and elaborate upon it. Often the pattern is recognizable only by the arrangement
of downbeats.
The order of these systems of melody and rhythm is essential to the composition and
performance of Arab music. Students learn pieces of music, both songs and instrumental
works, but rarely perform them exactly as they were originally composed or presented. In
Arab tradition, a good musician is someone who can offer something new in each
performance by varying and improvising on known pieces or models in a fashion similar to
that of musicians. The creations of musicians can be lengthy, extending ten-minute
compositions into hour-long performances that bear only a skeletal resemblance to the
models.
The style of the new works traditionally depends upon the response of the audience.
Listeners are expected to react during the performance, either verbally or with applause.
Quiet is interpreted as disinterest or dislike. The audience members, in this tradition,
are active participants in determining the length of the performance and in shaping the
piece of music by encouraging musicians to either repeat a section of the piece or to
move to the next section.
Instruments typically used in an Arab musical performance include the 'ud, a prototype of
the European lute, and the nay, an end-blown reed flute. Frame drums, with or without
jingles, and hourglass-shaped drums are common percussion instruments. These instruments
vary in name and shape depending upon the region of their origin. Double-reed instruments
of varying sizes, such as the Lebanese mijwiz and the Egyptian mizmar, are played at
outdoor celebrations. The Arab rababah, a spike fiddle, may have been the prototype for
the European violin, which is now also found in many Arab regions.
Solo performance consisting of the interactive invention of good music with an
appreciative audience represents a peak of musical accomplishment for the instrumentalist
similar to that which the singing of poetry represents for the vocalist. In a taqsim, a
form of instrumental improvisation, the instrumentalist chooses a melodic mode, offers
interpretation of the mode, and in pitch, and modulates to other modes. Eventually the
instrumentalist descends to close in the original mode. Musical accomplishment lies in
the musician's technical virtuosity, creativity, and subtlety in suggesting other modes,
other compositions, or even the music of other artists.
Performances considered traditional-whether they are neoclassical events in concert
halls, entertainment in hotels, or television programmes-usually include both song and
instrumental performances, although often not played in unison, that last about an hour
and are arranged to reach a high peak in a vocal performance. Such collections of
pieces-metrical and non-metrical, vocal and instrumental, simple and complex, and often
unified by mode-are central to Arab music. Examples include the North African nawbah,
thought to have originated in Andalucia, and the eastern Mediterranean waslah musical
forms, which were previously the standard of entertainment for small gatherings of elite
Arab men. 
While the general principles have remained the same, the tradition of Arab music has
changed throughout the centuries. Distinctive local practices have evolved and become
important to the cultural identity of their respective societies. For example, the North
African cities of Fes, Tlemcen, Tetuan, and Tunis have distinct versions of the
Andalusian nawbah that help define local culture and are closely associated with the
histories of their regions. Melodic modes of the same name are tuned slightly differently
in Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and the countries of North Africa. Music of these regions is
distinguishable by pitch. Rhythmic modes also have varying articulations in different
locales, and the styles of melodies and renditions differ. Sung poetry, particularly
informal verse, changes with local dialects. The Iraqi maqam is not simply a melodic
mode, but an unfolding of pieces in a particular mode. The word maqam in Iraq carries a
meaning closer to that of waslah or nawbah than it does maqam in other places.
Because of the absence of recording or notation until the 20th century, it is impossible
to be certain of the age of the melodies. Particular melodies, specifically those of
Andalusian or Syrian muwashshahat, may be centuries old, but it is highly unlikely that
they have remained exactly the same throughout the years. Widely known musical pieces of
early times were probably subject to reinterpretation at different places throughout
history.