bic mus

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Noura, Fatine, Lama, Reemaz,
Furat, Abeer Pascale, Lea

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INtroduction
The song is the life of
the soul... when a sick
man listens, he is
healed
...‫االمغنى حياة الروح‬
‫يسمعها العليل تشفيه‬
-Umm Kulthum, 1945
Presentation
Agenda
01 Takht Ensemble
02 Al Wasla
03 Iqaa and Maqamat
04 Across the Arab World
05 Tarab
06 Ornaments and Style
 Takht
ensemlbe
The Original Setting

4 melodic instruments
1 or 2 percussionists
2 to 3 chorus
1 main soloist singer
Half Circle formation facing the audience
 Takht
ensemlbe
Women in Takhts

You can find many female ensembles

throughout history - unfortunately with little
records.
All female ensembles takhts were used mostly
in all female soirees and parties, where the need
to have female musicians was important.
 What is a wasla?
Proposition Opposition
Instrumental: Sama'ai,
Instrumental: Taqasim
or Dwlab, or Bashref
Vocal: Mawal
Vocal: Muwashah
improvisational
non-improvisational

Conclusion
Instrumental: Tahmila
Vocal: Dawr
improvisational
 Qwaleb and Structures
Muwashah
Longa Standard classical Arabic structure
A fast paced instrumental piece sometimes composed on poetry
usually very complex technically Has specific / complex time signatures.
allows time for instrumental Passes and modulates through many
improvisation called a Taqsim. maqams.
An example of this is Lama Badaa
Yatathanaa

Samaa'i
An instrumental form that follows a
specific iqaa’ of the same name
10/8 time signature
Taqtuqa
a standard song with a repeating chorus and verses.
Aim of this is to be simple, easy to apply and sing a
long to.
 Qwaleb and structures
Dawr
A very long improvisation,
sung by the main soloist in the takht
choir repeating a fixed phrase while
the soloist improvises.
can sometimes be about half an hour
if not more.
Mawal
A vocal 100% improvisation
no fixed rhythm
Sung by a soloist and accompanied
with one instrument
instrumentalist will repeat back the
same line the singer improvises within
the same moment.
 IQAA
Translates to "rhythm"

Many types of iqaa', each with a

specific name and purpose

"Doom" and "Tak" and silence

Bass and Treble

Rhythmic cycles
MAQSOUM
BALADI
ZAFFA
MALFOUF / LAFF
 Let's try
MAQSOUM

Slap your thigh on Doom, Clap on Tak

 Arabic Music Across
the Arabic World

The
The Gulf Egypt The Maghreb
Levant
what is Maqam?

A maqam is a scale that is used

to build a melodic
line/song/piece
Each maqam has 2 sections
called “jins”
You mix and match these jins to
create more scales and maqams.
 Rast

Masculine Love, pride, power

 Bayati

Feminine love, joy, vitality

 Hijaz

Solitude, enchantment, mysticism

 Ajam
Major scale

Nationalism, cheerfulness
 Nahawand
Minor scale

drama, emotional extremes

 Kurd

freedom, gentleness
 Saba

Pain, sadness, solitude

Let's Play Rast!
Ya Shady Al Alhan

‫يا شادي األلحان‬

Mastering the
feeling: Tarab
a trance like state that the
musician enters while presenting
their music
audience also enters this
enchantment as they listen
literally translates to "ecstasy"
people might even faint of become
unconscious
 tarab applied
War and Armies
Healing
Maqams like Ajam
vibroacoustic sound
used to excite an
therapy
army before battle
scientifically proven!

Political Movements
Emotional melodies or
motifs can be cries of
revolution
ornamentation and
stylistic choice

Ornaments Style

ornaments are often not written on sheet

largely dependent on individual
music
stylistic choices are never random
even when they are, they are more so a
derived from the expected emotion and
suggestion
interpreted emotion
should not be played rhythmically or perfectly
glissando, slides, grace or extra notes
 To Conclude...
Practice by
enjoying!
Listen to classical Arabic music such as
muwashahat to learn
practice microtonal passages with
intention
Maqams, Iqa'a, deep dive research!

Structures...
Important formulas to understand
that Arabic Music in general is very
intentional and never random
Questions?
What more would you
like to learn about
Arabic music?
Does your cultural
music have any
similarities?
Thank You