Welcome to Horace Mann's webpage on:
Part I: What is Classical Middle Eastern Music Like?
A. Tones: The Arabic scale is very different from the Western (from the U.S. and Europe) scale. On a Western piano, for example, there are 8 "white keys" and 5 "black keys". This octave (from middle C to high C, for example) then has 13 notes. In Arabic classical music, music can be played with 17 notes, 19 notes, or 24 notes in an octave! Therefore, the human voice and stringed instruments can more easily get these notes that are "halfway between" the notes on the piano's octave. They are called "quarter tones" and are not part of Western music.
B. No Harmony: Classical Arabic music does not use harmony. The music is sung or played in a solo, or by a single musician. Sometimes there is a group of musicians who repeat what the soloist sang or played, but without harmony. Part of the reason why there is no harmony is because the soloist often improvises (creates something different) or makes changes in the music each time he/she plays or sings it. Arabic music is monophonic (one line of sound, no harmony). In contrast, Western music (music of the U.S. and Europe) has harmony and chords. Western music is "polyphonic", meaning many sounds" and includes harmony and chords. Also there are almost no changes made to the original written music. Western musicians do not improvise much, except in certain kinds of jazz.
C. Rhythm (the beat)
Middle Eastern rhythms are very exciting and complicated (not simple). Rhymth is usually played by tapping the center or the edge of the drum or tamourine. The center gives a deep sound, the edge gives a higher sound. Sounds can be hit harder to make an accent. Because the rhythm is so complicated - with at least 32 different "beat styles" - musicians had to memorize them. They were not written down. To learn more about rhythm, see Middle Eastern Rhythms FAQ. and hear Sample Percussion (GEM Music - Maqam.com). Rhythm can add to the emotional tone of the song: sad, energetic, romantic.
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Number of notes in a scale |
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Tones of the scale |
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Harmony or chords? |
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Most common instruments |
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Singer(s) |
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How do musicians learn? |
Musicians learn with written music and from listening to other musicians ("by ear"). Recordings and written scores are available. |
Musicians learn mostly "by ear", by listening to others and then improvising or making changes. Classical Arabic music was not usually written, but passed down in an apprentice system: a "teacher" shows a "student". Recordings were not available until very recently. |
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Styles of Music |
Many styles: jazz, rock and roll, blue grass and country, folk songs, rap, funk, rhythm and blues, classical music (symphony, concerto), etc. ranging from soloists, to small group, to a full symphony orchestra with up to 104 musicians. There are small to large choral groups (in a chorus), usually with three- to four-part harmony. |
vocal (human voice in a solo) with instrumental accompaniment, solo instrument, or small group or ensemble of instruments. Usually there will be only two, three or four musicians who work together in an ensemble with one vocalist (singer). There may be a small group or chorus, but there will be no harmony with the singers. They will almost repeat what the singer sang, or answer the singer, like in a dialog (often between a man and a woman). |
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What is often the subject of a song? |
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Learn more about the long history of Arabic music.
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You may already have RealPlayer in your computer's hard-drive. Check with your teacher if you have trouble getting the songs to play. (Your teacher will see if it's already in your Applications Folder. If it's available, click on the application. It may be necessary to copy the url addresses below and paste them into File (on the top menu bar): Open Location and paste in the url. If everything is working well, just click on the icon to hear a clip. Your teacher may need to download RealPlayer 8 Basic - It's free BUT BE SURE TO ASK YOUR TEACHER FIRST! (It requires an email address, commitments not to violate copyright and other rules, and memory limits on your computers. You will be asked if you want other services and announcements emailed to that email address, and you can remove the check mark and avoid the announcements.) Modern popular songs still show the only some of style and instruments of the Middle Ages:
Listen to the Classical Music Sounds of Kan Zaman Ensemble [This uses Quicktime Audio]
Religious Chants
Sufi Music: Listen to a sample near the bottom of the page. http://www.ifrance.com/alkindi/alkindi5.rm
Muslim Call to Prayer - The Adhan
Prayer: Chants or reading from the Qur'an: See IslamiCity's set of Salat Al-Fajr http://islam.org/audio/ra90_21.ram Islamic music is still being created! Learn about the British singer formerly known as Cat Stevens who converted to Islam twenty-some years ago and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. This site tells about his tour and CD. Many Muslim songs and chants are presented here. You may also be interested in his album Life of the Last Prophet which is his telling of the story of Muhammad. While generally true to Middle Eastern music, some harmony is added in some songs. The album includes music and prayers in Arabic, but the translation is available on the website. You can hear Real Audio clips: http://catstevens.com/cgi-bin/ram.pl?file=songs/00158.ra |
You are here at Page One: Middle Eastern Music
Go to Page Two: Were Music and Dance Sinful?
Go to Page Three: Secular (non-religious) Music
Go to Page Four: Musical Instruments (1) for string instruments
Go to Page Five: Musical Instruments (2) for wind and percussion instruments.
Go to Page Six: Dance (Introduction and Folk Dances)
Go to Page Seven: Religious Dancing of the Sufi Muslims
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