Middle Eastern Music--An Introduction

by Shira

There is a good reason why Middle Eastern music sounds somewhat exotic to those of us raised in Western culture--it does have some identifiable characteristics that distinguish it from the European-influenced music we have heard all our lives. People with musical training in Western music quickly become fascinated with Oriental music once they start becoming familiar with it.

Music in general is a very subtle, very complex subject, and it's difficult to render a discussion of it into writing. Even more challenging is attempting to cover such a topic within the space constraints of a brief article like this. Many of the comments in this article are simplifications and generalities--enough to give a taste of how Oriental music is structured, but not enough to explore the subject in the depth it truly deserves.

This article incorporates several audio clips of Middle Eastern music that you can play on your computer if you have a sound card. Click on the question marks icon to the left if you would like a brief tutorial on how to listen to sound via the Internet.

Some Generalities

This is an over-simplification, but Middle Eastern music, for the most part, can be divided into the following categories: classical music, folk music, modern music, and pop music. In this respect, at least, it is not so very different from Western music. The term "traditional music" can often refer to either folk music, modern music, or classical music.

Classical Music

Classical music, for the most part, was the enduring music with a level of musicality and intricacy that could strike a chord (so to speak) with serious music lovers. Persian classical music was featured along with classical dancers at court--the Persian equivalent, culturally speaking, of ballet. The best-known Arabic classical music is probably a song called Lamma Bada Yata Thanna, a fascinating piece of music done in the samai rhythm, which is written in 10/8. Its origins can be traced back to the tenth century, and it continues to be a familiar piece of music in the Arabic world today. Several modern-day musicians, including Brothers Of The Baladi, John Bilezikjian, and Reda Darwish offer their own recordings of Lamma Bada on their cassette tapes and compact disks.

<==Click here to hear a MIDI file of Lamma Bada Yata Thanna.

Folk Music

Folk music refers to music that arose out of the day-to-day lives of people living in the rural village areas. It was played on traditional instruments crafted from whatever materials were available in the village, and generally had simple melody lines that ordinary people with ordinary voices could sing. Often, no one really knows who composed a given folk song.

Modern Music

Modern music was created by the recording industry and film industry. Music that has been featured in the many popular Egyptian movies would be an example of modern music. Generally, for modern music it's possible to learn who the composer and lyricist were, and often such music is associated with the name of the recording artist who made it popular. Farid Al Atrache was an example of a composer, singer, and actor who popularized many of the Arabic modern music hits that remain popular today--hits such as Habena, Toutah, and Me Alli We Oltelu. Mohammed Abdel Wahab penned many popular songs, such as Cleopatra and Inte Omri. More recently, the fully orchestrated songs that were commissioned by raqs sharqi artists (Egyptian Oriental dancers) such as Nagwa Fouad to accompany their shows in the Cairo nightclubs would fall into this category.

Modern music is often intended to be performed by professional musicians, and therefore frequently has many musical complexities that don't appear in folk music. Egyptian modern music embraced the idea of the large, 40-piece orchestra found in Western music and applied a uniquely Egyptian style to it.

The most famous Egyptian vocalist was Oum Kalthoum. Her songs, accompanied by these orchestras, were often as much as an hour long. These songs usually opened with a lyrical instrumental overture, then moved to a vocal section, then alternated between additional instrumental and vocal sections. Some of the many songs made famous by Oum Kalthoum include Inte Omri, Ana Fi Inte Zahark, Alf Leila Wa Leila, Leilet Hob, Lisah Faker, and Huwwa Sahih el-Hawa Ghallab.

<==Are you new to listening to music played over the Internet? Click here for a brief tutorial.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of one of the instrumental overture sections of Cleopatra as played on the recording by Mohammed Abdel Wahab. The full length of the song is 20 minutes. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of the opening instrumental section of Inte Omri. This song was written by Mohammed Abdel Wahab and performed by Oum Kalthoum. The full length of the song is almost an hour. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Oum Kalthoum's powerful voice singing an excerpt from Inte Omri.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Farid al-Atrache singing his popular song Habena. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Farid al-Atrache singing Me Alli We Oltelu. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

Pop Music

Pop music is a recent offshoot of modern music, written to appeal in particular to the younger generation. In Egypt, the true rise of pop music, which is called al jeel (generation music), began in the 1980's. Some well-known Arabic recording artists whose work could be considered pop music are Amr Diab (the vocalist who popularized Habibi Ya Nour El Ain), Hanan, Alabina, and Ehab Tawfeek. Some of these songs demonstrate a definite Western influence, especially Spanish.

Here are some clips of music that may help you familiarize yourself with some al jeel music:

<==Are you new to listening to music played over the Internet? Click here for a brief tutorial.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Amr Diab singing Habibi Ya Nour El Ain with its vocals. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Ehab Tawfeek singing Doubti Doub. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Ehab Tawfeek singing Khalas. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Hanan singing Ed Hak. The lyrics to this song, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

Country Of Origin

Middle Eastern music can also be generally categorized by country of origin, into Arabic, Turkish, and Persian music. Here are some sound clips of well-known, representative songs, to help you start developing an ear for how the songs from different countries sound.

<==Are you new to listening to music played over the Internet? Click here for a brief tutorial.

Turkish

Note: the Turkish alphabet uses some characters that cannot be displayed on a computer using typical English-language fonts. Some song titles mentioned below use some of these characters. One such character is the letter "s" with a cedilla under it. Where that "s" would be used in the Turkish spelling of a word, I have substituted "sh" below to convey the sense of how it should be pronounced.

The karsilama (9/8) rhythm is generally considered to be Turkish in origin, but can also be found in the music of some countries that were conquered by the Ottoman Empire such as Greece and Armenia. Karsilama music can make a very exciting, dramatic finale to a belly dancer's performance! Here are sound clips of two that I particularly enjoy.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Çadirimin Üstüne Ship Dedi (also known as Rompi Rompi), a traditional Turkish song. Generally, if you ask a band of live musicians to play a karsilama, but don't specify a particular song by name, this is most likely the one they will choose. It also appears on many, many recordings of music for belly dancing. This particular recording is from Gypsy Fire. The lyrics to Çadirimin Üstüne, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site. If you like this song, see the Acknowledgements section at the end of this article on how you can order the CD.

<==Click here to hear a RealAudio clip of Dere Geliyor, a traditional Turkish song. This is a very old Turkish folk song, but surprisingly isn't used very often by musicians and doesn't appear on very many recordings of music. It's a good one to listen to if you're just learning the karsilama rhythm because it's slower than most karsilama music. This particular recording is by the Sultans. The lyrics to Dere, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site. If you like this song, see the Acknowledgements section at the end of this article on how you can order the CD.

<==Click here to hear another RealAudio clip of Dere Geliyor, this one played by Brothers Of The Baladi.

Of course, not all Turkish music uses the 9/8 rhythm, just as not all Austrian music uses the 3/4 waltz rhythm! Here are two more very well-known Turkish songs:

<==Click on this icon to hear a RealAudio clip of Shisheler, a traditional Turkish song. This uses a 2/4 rhythm known as ayyoub or ayoob. This particular recording is from Gypsy Fire, although the song appears on many recordings of Turkish music and music for belly dancing. The lyrics to Shisheler, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site. If you like this song, see the Acknowledgements section at the end of this article on how you can order the CD.

<==Click on this icon to hear a RealAudio clip of Bir Demet Yasemen, a beautiful Turkish song that is perfect for veil work. This particular recording is from Sirocco, a cassette tape by John Bilezikjian, although the song appears on many recordings of Turkish music and belly dance collections. Sometimes it appears under the name Sali. The lyrics to Bir Demet Yasemen, translated into English, can be found elsewhere on this web site.

Other Rhythms

Samai (10/8), Masmoudi Saghir (8/4), Maqsoum (often called "beledi" in the United States), Saidi, and certain other rhythms are particularly associated with Arabic music. Persian music is usually characterized by a 6/8 rhythm.

The Structure Of Middle Eastern Music

Here are some generalizations about Middle Eastern music. Please bear in mind that Middle Eastern composers, especially since the dawn of the entertainment industry in the early years of the 20th century, may borrow techniques from Western music as they seek to new sources of inspiration. So the structure described here applies reasonably well to older, folkloric music, but more recent works may incorporate Western influence.

The Scale Versus The Maqam

One major difference between Western music and Middle Eastern music is that Western music tends to be based on a scale (sometimes called a key), while Oriental music is based on a maqam. In the words of San Francisco musician Mimi Spencer, a maqam is "something more than a scale, something less than a tune."

In typical Western music, there are 12 possible notes to choose from: A, A Sharp (also known as B Flat), B, C, C Sharp (also known as D Flat), D, D Sharp (also known as E Flat), E, F, F Sharp (also known as G Flat), G, and G Sharp (also known as A Flat). But only 7 of these notes are normally used in a given song. The 7 notes selected as the basis for a given song comprise a scale, and there are certain specific rules regarding which 7 notes can be used in a certain scale. For example, a typical Western song in the key of D Major will use only the notes D, E, F Sharp, G, A, B, and C Sharp. The scale also defines certain relationships between the notes for determining which notes the chords will consist of, and which chords will serve as the basic building blocks for a given song.

In Arabic and Turkish music, the maqam utilizes only selected notes from the full range of possible notes available, so in that respect it resembles the Western scale. But the maqam goes farther in its influence on the resulting music. It also consists of a melody scrap based on certain key notes from that scale and a certain tendency of movement. So a song written in a certain maqam must not only use the particular notes in that maqam, but it must also incorporate the melody scrap for that maqam into the melody line of the song.

Half Steps And Quarter Tones

In Western music, the musical notes are a half step (semitone) apart. For example, on a standard Western piano or harpsichord, each white key and each black key represents one of the 12 possible notes that can be used in Western music, and each is a half step higher than the key immediately adjacent to its left.

However, many (but not all) Middle Eastern songs use quarter tones. A quarter tone is a pitch that is halfway between two adjacent keys on a Western piano. So, instead of having 12 possible notes to use as the basis of building a scale, Oriental music has twice as many possible notes to choose from in building a maqam. It would be impossible to play a Middle Eastern song that uses quarter tones on many standard Western instruments such as pianos, trumpets, and saxophones, because certain notes would simply not have corresponding keys or finger combinations--they would fall halfway between two adjacent ones. (It is possible to tune some Western instruments to play music with quarter tones, but the standard instrument tuned for normal Western symphonic or concert band music would not be capable of playing quarter tones.)

Chords???

Western music makes extensive use of chords, which are constructed according to certain rules from the notes in the scale that the song is in. Classical music from Europe relies heavily on chords. The typical song designed for a chorus to sing often positions the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass vocalists each on a different note of a chord.

Traditional Middle Eastern music does not use chords--when multiple instruments play, then usually one instrument will carry the primary melody, while the others will layer melody scraps or rhythm segments over it. For example, while one instrument is holding a note in the primary melody line, another might play a little trill over the top of it, with the trill constituting a separate but compatible melody scrap. The rhythm segment concept is also found in Western music--think of a tuba playing "oom-pah" while a trumpet plays the melody line. Alternatively, different instruments can take turns carrying the melody. Or, one instrument will play the melody while another plays a descant. This general concept should be familiar to Western musicians who have experience playing in an ensemble, because orchestral and jazz arrangements will often use these same techniques. The main point is that traditional Middle Eastern music doesn't use chords, although more modern music influenced by Western music might.

Given these basic structural differences between Middle Eastern music and Western music, it's no wonder many beginning-level belly dancers have trouble hearing what the music is truly doing and learning to dance in time to it. Learning to do Oriental dance is not just a question of learning a bunch of hip articulations, undulations, and arm motions--it also involves training the ear to hear and absorb brand-new musical rhythms, strange new musical notes, and a whole set melodies that are entirely unfamiliar.

Some Middle Eastern Instruments

Today, much modern Middle Eastern music is played on instruments that look very familiar to Westerners: synthesizers, keyboards, clarinets, accordions, and violins. Some of these must be specially tuned to work with the quarter tones that appear in Oriental music.

However, traditional Middle Eastern music was played on instruments that were distinctly unique to the Middle East.

Stringed Instruments

The Oud, sometimes spelled Ud, was the forerunner to the lute that was known in Medieval Europe. It is pronounced "ood" where the "oo" sound is like that in "moon". It has 11 strings and no frets. The melody is produced through plucking the strings. Literally, the word "oud" means "wood", and the instrument is made by gluing thin tapered strips of wood edge to edge. The glue line is usually no more than a thousandth of an inch wide! The oud was introduced by the Persians to Arabia in the Middle Ages, and passed to Europe through Islamic Spain.

The Kanoun, sometimes spelled Kanun or Qanun, somewhat resembles an autoharp. It is pronounced "kuh NOON". This instrument is common in Turkey and Arabic countries. Its wooden frame is designed to lie flat on a surface such as a table or the performer's lap, and the strings across it are plucked to produce the melody.

The Rebaba, sometimes spelled Rababa, is a stringed instrument with one or two strings and played with a bow. It is pronounced "ruh BAH buh". Also sometimes spelled Rababa. This is a stringed instrument, typically used in music of the Said (Upper Egypt). It has one or two strings. The music appearing on cassette tapes or CD's by Metkal Kanawi uses rebabas extensively.

The Saz, pronounced "sahz", is a gourd-shaped Turkish stringed instrument, resembling a lute only with a smaller base. It has frets whose positions can be adjusted, enabling the musician to get varying quarter tones. Different maqams require the frets to be set in different positions because they employ different musical notes. The saz was the ancestor of the Greek bouzouki.

Percussion Instruments

Dumbecs The hourglass-shaped Dumbek, sometimes spelled Dumbec, Doumbek, Doumbec, or Darbuka, is a very popular percussion instrument used with Arabic music. It is pronounced "DOOM bek". Traditionally, dumbeks were made of ceramic, with the head made of either goatskin or fish skin. In modern times, many dumbeks have synthetic heads, and the drum body may be made of metal.

The Def, pronounced "def", is a Middle Eastern frame drum which looks like a large tambourine. In a band large enough to have more than one percussionist, one musician might play the primary rhythm on the dumbek while another plays a background rhythm such as ayyub on the def.

The Riqq, sometimes spelled Riq or Reque, is the Arabic tambourine. It is pronounced "reek". The riqq can be used for either lead percussion (instead of the dumbek) or background rhythm, however the musicians prefer. Riqq

Finger Cymbals are called Sagat (or Zagat) in Egypt, meaning "small metal trays", or Zills in Turkish.

Wind Instruments

The Mizmar is a member of the oboe family of musical instruments. It is pronounced "MIZZ mar". It produces a loud, blaring sound which is ideal for occasions where an ethnic style of music and dance would be appropriate.

The Ney, sometimes spelled Nay, is a traditional instrument used in Turkish and Arabic folk music that resembles a flute both in appearance and sound. It is pronounced "nay". The ney is a very difficult instrument to play.

The Zurna is a type of horn used in Turkish folk music, which, like the mizmar, is a member of the oboe family of musical instruments. It is pronounced "ZERN uh". It produces a loud tone that is particularly well-suited to ethnic-style music and dance.

Acknowledgements

I'd also like to thank John Bilezikjian, who has given me permission to feature clips of songs from his recordings on my web site. For information on how to order the recording Sirocco, which the clip of Bir Demet Yasemen in the section on Turkish music above is from, see John's web site at http://www.dantzrecords.com/.

I'd also like to thank Omar Faruk Tekbilek for permission to use the sound clips of Dere from Best Of The Sultans and Çadirimin Üstüne Ship Dedi (also known as Rompi Rompi) from Gypsy Fire that appear on this page. For more information about Omar Faruk Tekbilek's music, click here for his web site, or you can order the CD's that feature his songs that appear on this page as follows:

The Best of the Sultans is the CD that one of the clips of the karsilama comes from.

<==Click here to order Best of the Sultans from Amazon.com in the U.S.

Gypsy Fire is the CD that the clips of Shisheler and the karsilama Çadirimin Üstüne Ship Dedi (also known as Rompi Rompi) featured in the section on Turkish music above come from.

<==Click here to order Gypsy Fire from Amazon.com in the U.S.
<==Click here to order Gypsy fire from Amazon.ca in Canada.

Would you like to order Eye On The World by Brothers Of The Baladi? This is the CD that one of the clips of the karsilama Dere Geliyor featured in the section on Turkish music above comes from.

<==Click here to order Eye On The World by Brothers of the Baladi from Amazon.com in the U.S.
<==Click here to order Eye On The World by Brothers of the Baladi from Amazon.co.uk in the U.K.

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