MENAME Winter 2018 schedule

Note: this schedule will be filled in week by week. Note that all assignments are to be submitted via eClass. Repertoire is listed (with links to listen and read) via http://bit.ly/mename

Note also that all repertoire is available online in this Google Drive folder. Theory resources on maqamat and durub are available via the main course webpage http://bit.ly/mename

Short link to this page: https://bit.ly/mename18Wa

Week 1: Jan 11

Lecture and exercise segment (6:30 to 7:30)

• Course introduction: ethnomusicology, world music, Middle East and North Africa. Focus on Music of North Africa, especially Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco.
• Syllabus review, course requirements
• Warm-up exercises from 7 pm to 7:30 pm
• Rehearsal from 7:30 to 9:30
• Note: there is some homework due next week (via eClass); always look for the homework assignment on the day it is due and submit via eClass, not hardcopy or email.

Some terms/concepts to know:

• ethnomusicology
• world music
• darb/durub (rhythms)
• maqam (scale/mode)
• quarter tones or microtones ("notes between the piano keys")
• taqsim (instrumental improvisation)
• layali (vocal improvisation on "ya layl, ya `ayn"
• mawwal (vocal improvisation on a poem)
• lawazim (instrumental fills)
• mashriq (eastern Arab world)
• maghrib (western Arab world)

Introducing...

• Durub: 1,2,3,4...10
  • 1. Wahda Tayra (fox)
  • 2. bamb, malfuf, ayub
  • 3. Fals
  • 4. wahda, maqsum, masmudi, sa`idi
  • 10. sama`i thaqil
• Maqam:
  • Rast on C
  • Hijaz on G
  • Nahawand on C

Note: see http://bit.ly/mename for links to repertoire and theory. See http://maqamworld.com for much info on theory

Rehearsal segment:

• Ah Ya Zayn (all repertoire is listed also via http://bit.ly/mename )

Week 2: Jan 18

Homework (due today)

Remember homework is always due on the day it is listed, before class! You must submit reading reviews for each reading to me by email before class on Thursday! Remember: In this review, you should demonstrate that you’ve completed the assignment (by telling me what it’s about), and that you’ve thought about it (by telling me what you think of it). Use the eClass site to submit all assignments. (All assignments due on a particular day will be submitted together, since eClass provides a single link each Thursday.) For more details on assignments, see course outline above.

Read & review:

• Hearing the Music of the Middle East (from p. "print 32" to p. "print 42").
• North Africa: The Maghreb (from page "print 456" to p. "print 468").

Browse: http://maqamworld.com, and Theory section of our website, especially for the maqamat and durub we introduced last week.

Lecture and exercise segment

• Transliterating Arabic (see also http://bit.ly/mename)
• Music theory and terminology:
  • Darb (lit. "strike"), plural durub: rhythmic concept (also known as iqa` or wazn or usul). We introduced several durub including wahda - maqsum - masmudi - malfuf. See my charts for definitions.
  • Maqam (lit. "station"), plural maqamat: tonal concept (something like "scale" but using a wider range of pitch material, and including melodic and ornamentation characteristics). There are dozens of different maqamat. See maqamworld.com
  • Maqam Rast
  • Taqsim: an instrumental improvisation in a maqam.
  • Mawwal: vocal improvisation in a maqam, with text (which is not necessarily a "mawwal" in the literary sense)
  • Layali: vocal improvisation in a maqam, using "nonsense" syllables, usually "ya `ayn, ya layl".
  • Muwashshah: classical strophic poetry originating in Andalusia; can make use of multiple rhymes and meters
  • Qasida: original form of Arabic poetry, single rhyme and meter
• Some other terms that have come up...
  • Lawazim: instrumental fills
  • Fairouz: famous Lebanese singer
  • Rahbani brothers: composed for Fairouz
  • Ziad Rahbani: Fairouz's son, also a famous singer/composer in Lebanon
  • Hedi el-Jouini: Tunisian composer/singer

Practice:

• Compositions using basics: 1,2,4 (see above)
• Singing patterns in Hijaz, Rast, Nahawand

See http://maqamworld.com for more on maqam, darb, and forms

See the course's Theory section for more information about maqam, darb, and music theory generally.

Rehearsal segment

(all repertoire is listed via http://bit.ly/menamerep)

• Ah Ya Zayn (Hijaz G)
• Bilafrah (Assiss Wara) (Hijaz G)
• Dulab Hijaz (G)
• Dulab Nahawand (C)
• Lamma Bada (C)

Week 3: Jan 25

Homework (due today)

Read and submit reviews for the following readings:

• Arab Musical Life throughout History
• The Musical Pulse of Tunisia

As before LISTEN as much as possible to our durub, maqamat, and songs introduced thus far, using the "3rd Stream" technique (first listen, then listen and sing / clap, then just sing/clap - and repeat with an instrument if you play one). Apply this approach to the maqamat, the durub, and the songs and instrumental pieces. Use http://maqamworld.com for examples of maqamat and for some of the durub (and for the latter you have also your durub charts, which you can also fine online at bit.ly/mename under "theory")

For next time please be able to:

1. clap and say maqsum ; masmudi ; and sa`idi . Optionally: experiment with variations.
2. sing maqam Rast ascending and descending, following the melodies you can hear on maqamworld.com (http://maqamworld.com/maqamat/rast.html ) under “Hear this maqam”

Our maqamat thus far: Rast, Hijaz, Nahawand, Kurd

Our durub thus far:

• Wahda Tayra (1 beat)
• Bamb, Malfuf, Ayub (2 beat)
• Maqsum, Masmudi, Saidi, Zeffa, Wahda (4 beat)
• Fals (3 beat)

Adding this week: Ciftetelli (in 8), Samai Thaqil (10 beat)

Film segment (6:30 to 7:30)

Please arrive on time to watch this film: Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt

Rehearsal

Reminder: for music theory concepts and practice see http://maqamworld.com and the theory links at http://bit.ly/mename. Here's what we did today:

• Maqamat: Rast, Hijaz, Nahawand. Please review these three by listening a lot on http://maqamworld.com.
• Durub: in 2 beats we focused on Bamb, Malfuf, and especially Ayub (Zar). Then we also added Sama`i and Ciftetelli.
• Dulab Hijaz. Dulab (literally "wheel"): a short, precomposed, introductory instrumental form. See forms at maqamworld.com
• New songs: Lamma Bada, Sidi Mansour
• Songs (review): Ah Ya Zayn, Bilafrah, Taht al-Yasmina (didn't get to this one)

All songs are on our google drive folder.

Week 4: Feb 1

Homework (due today)

• Maqamat & Durub: review content from previous weeks (on your own). You should be able to sing and clap all the durub! I may go around the room asking each person to present one or two. Please be prepared!
• Review the film on Umm Kulthum -- Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt - that we saw last week (it's on Rutherford reserve for this course). You should have taken notes - present those notes (what stories does the film tell) and your critique of the presentation (what is the perspective given? what is left out?).
• Listen to this radio program featuring ethnomusicologist Dwight Reynolds: The Arabization of North Africa, and write a review.

Just one or at most two paragraphs for each work (film, radio show) is fine - but be sure you cover the main points! Upload via eClass.

Lecture segment (6:30 to 7:30)

Introduction to Maqam and Ajnas theory: analyzing the maqamat

Maqamat: First group:

• Hijaz
• Rast
• Nahawand

Second group:

• Suznak
• Huzam
• Kurd

Ajnas:

• Rast
• Hijaz
• Nahawand
• Kurd
• Sikah

Review of Durub:

• Wahda
• Masmudi
• Maqsum
• Sa`idi
• Malfuf
• Bamb
• Ayub
• Ciftetelli
• Sama`i thaqil

And one new one:

• Masmudi kabir

Rehearsal

Break into groups and decide how you'd like to arrange "Ah Ya Zayn" (consider: solo/group, group/group, repetitions, clapping patterns)

• Ah Ya Zayn (Hijaz G)
• Bilafrah (Hijaz G, Nahawand C)
• Ya Banat Iskandariyya (Nahawand C)
• Lamma Bada Yatathanna (Nahawand C)

• Sidi Mansour (Nahawand C)
• Taht al-Yasmina

Week 5: Feb 8

Homework (due today)

• Listen to the Afropop program, The Musical Legacy of al-Andalus. Write a 1-2 paragraph review: what are the main points, and what did you think of the way the producer or author presented the material?

• Read Musics of Algeria: Selected Recordings, by Dwight Reynolds. Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 1 (July 1995), pp. 16-21. Write a 1-2 paragraph review: what are the main points, and what did you think of the way the producer or author presented the material?

Submit both together (i.e. 2-4 paragraphs total) on eClass for this week.

Lecture and exercise segment

Andalusian music of Spain, and the North African nawba.

Exercise on Hijaz, Rast, Nahawand, and Kurd (now including audio! Your part is the trumpet; a guitar provides some instrumental lawazim.)

Week 6: Feb 15 - QUIZ #1

First quiz.

Quiz

No new homework for today....just prepare for the quiz. The quiz is in two parts:

• Map quiz: simply name the countries identified by letters on this map, which also appeared in your first reading this term, Hearing the Music of the Middle East. Spelling is important; try your best - but you will receive nearly full credit for minor spelling problems. Names that are completely mangled will receive partial credit.
• Short answer: here is a list of short-answer questions. On the quiz, I'll present you with a selection of four (4) questions from this list, out of which you'll pick two (2) questions to answer, each in less than one page of the exam book. Your answers are to be short, but try to cover the key points.

The quiz will be 45 minutes long, from 6:30 to 7:15, after which we'll break for a few minutes before the rehearsal starts. Please arrive on time!

Rehearsal

• Warmup on maqamat and durub, including the Maqam Exercise
• New Stambeli song: Bu Sa`adiyya
• New song in Hijaz: Foug al-Nakhal
• Review of current repertoire (Sidi Mansour, Dulab Hijaz, Qasqas Waraq, Ah Ya Zayn)

Week 7: Feb 22 - READING WEEK - no class

But you can use this week to review the songs as well as the maqamat and durub, in preparation for the second midterm quiz, after the break.

Week 8: March 1

Homework (due today)

Please watch 100% Arabic, a comedic film depicting rai music and life in the Algerian diaspora resident in a poor Parisian suburb (banlieue). The star of the film is Khaled, formerly known as Cheb Khaled, who did more than anyone to popularize this Algerian music in France and globally. 100% Arabica (1997). Director: Mahmoud Zemmouri. Writers: Marie-Laurence Attias, Mahmoud Zemmouri. Starring: Khaled. Submit a paragraph or two: What messages does the film convey about French society and the position of Algerian immigrants within it? What did you think of the film and why? Do you feel it represents reality? What sorts of stereotypes are likely? What is your opinion of its use of humor and of music? Submit on eClass.

Week 9: March 8

Homework (due today)

Muslim religious chant - adhan and Qur'anic recitations - reflect the various styles of music in the region. They also impact it, because many singers are trained through such recitations. We saw a clear instance in the case of Umm Kulthum, but such training is common to many singers.

• Read and review each of the following (just two paragraphs on each).
  • The Muslim Call to Prayer.
  • The Qur'an Recited.
• Read, listen, analyze: what differences do you hear?
  • Read and listen and submit your comments on the differences you hear between the different styles of performing the Call to Prayer (adhan).
  • Read and listen and submit your comments on the differences you hear between the different styles of performing Qur'anic recitation.

Watch Koran by Heart, a beautiful documentary about a Qur'an competition. (Kristina Nelson served as consultant on this film.). Note: updated link.

Lecture segment: Adhan and Qur'an

About Adhan and Qur'an

• Two forms of Islamic "language performance" fusing sacred text and non-metric melody
• Meaning, use, purpose
• Primary role in vocal training, along with the music of Sufi orders (turuq)
  • Pronunciation; Makharij al-huruf
  • Breath control
  • Improvisation in maqamat
  • Use of cadence (qafla)
• Relation to melody/music
  • Maqamat
  • "Melodies of the Arabs" (Hadith)

Adhan:

• Islam's link to Aksumite kingdom in Ethiopia (Habasha) - site of the first hijra; and birthplace of the freed slave Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi, Islam's first mu'adhdhin - as well as spiritual progenitor of Keita dynasty (rulers of Mali 12th - 17th centuries) and various sub-saharan subcultures of North Africa (e.g. Gnawa, Stambeli)
• Origin of adhan (see 1:20:00; from Moustapha Akkad's film, al-Risala, a biopic about the Prophet Muhammad)
• Map of adhan and geocultural performance styles
  • Melody
  • Group
  • Local musical sound

Qur'an:

• Recitation (tilawa, qira'a, tajwid, tartil) of the Qur'an restricted by 3 sources:
  • the mushaf (Qur'anic text)
  • the 10 (7, or 14) qira'at ("readings")
  • the ahkam al-tajwid: rules of recitation, dictating how to begin and end, when is it necessary, possible, or forbidden to stop for a breath, etc.
  • nowhere is melody determined, and in fact association of a fixed melody is discouraged in favor of improvisation
  • Egyptian reciters tended to be most famous and influential until the recent rise of Saudi reciters
  • One of the great master of this art was Mustafa Ismail, deploying Egyptian maqamat, whose performative interactions with the audience border on tarab.
  • Contrast this performance by Al rama Mouhamadou Sanoussi (from Niger).
  • Muslims are enjoined to beautiful the Qur'an - with their voices, or -- less commonly -- in calligraphy.
• Koran by Heart, a beautiful documentary about a Qur'an competition. (Kristina Nelson served as consultant on this film.)
• More on tilawa
• video from The Guardian, in which a calligrapher speaks and demonstrates his art.
• The calligraphic representation of the Qur'an.

For those who are interested, here are some links on Arabic script and calligraphy:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBYFPI8gIt4 technique of the calligrapher
• http://web.stanford.edu/dept/lc/arabic/alphabet/ (really nice site - you can see each letter, watch it being drawn, and hear its sound)
• http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Arab (technical discussion of the alphabet and script)
• http://www.omniglot.com/charts/print/arabic.pdf (a chart)
• http://www.omniglot.com/writing/arabic.htm (more)
• http://www.mastersofistanbul.com/en/ustalar/2/calligraphy Turkish masters of calligraphy

More in-depth presentation of Language Performance in Islam

Week 10: March 15 - QUIZ #2

Review:

Please be ready to identify all the pieces we've performed so far, and say something (1-3 sentences) about them, including the following sorts of information (as available - not all information is available for every song or piece, so don't feel that you need to provide everything for each):

• the title
• the maqam and darb (if identified)
• the names of the composer and lyricist (if known)
• the singer with whom the piece is associated (if known)
• the genre (type of music)
• the source culture or country/region
• any other associated facts or history

I will play a recording; you will provide as much of the above (or other) information. You don't have to know anything about these songs that hasn't come up through this class (so don't go researching); there isn't always a definite "right" answer; and you don't have to provide every last detail. I'm just looking to see what information you can provide.

I will play an excerpt from the recording and then you'll write 1-3 sentences about the piece. Here is the list - along with some relevant information. You'll find all the pieces here.

• Ah ya zayn (oh beautiful). Traditional Arab folksong in maqam Hijaz, perhaps originally referring to Ali Zayn al-Abidin, the Prophet Muhammad’s great-grandson.
• Ana qad kana li khalil (I had a beloved) Algerian inqilab, in the tab` (maqam) called “zidan”, similar to Hijaz. The inqilab is an extension to the Algerian version of the nawba suite, and is considered to form part of the Andalusian heritage.
• Bu Sa`adiyya. A stambeli religious song (nuba) from Tunisia, in praise of a local saint, Bu Sa`adiyya. The song features metal clappers called qraqeb as well as the bass guimbri. The mode is pentatonic, reflecting sub-Saharan origins of this religious movement, Stambeli. (Note that this use of the word “nuba” is completely different from the Andalusian type!)
• Dulab Hijaz. The dulab (“cycle”) is a short metric instrumental introductory piece typical of the Mashriq art music heritage. Each dulab is named for its mode or maqam, here Hijaz, and is used to prepare a vocal piece. Traditional istrumentation is the takht (“platform”): kamanja (violin), oud, nay, qanun, and riqq.
• Dulab Nahawand. Another dulab, this one in maqam Nahawand.
• Foug al-Nakhal ("Above the palm tree", likely a mispronunciation of “Fougina khill”, or "above us is the beloved"). A folk song originally from Iraq but now widespread throughout the eastern Arab region (mashriq).
• Lamma Bada Yatathanna (when she began to sway). An old muwashshah of unknown author or composer, extremely well known throughout the Arab world. The muwashshah genre comes originally from Andalusia and hence is sometimes known as “al-muwashshah al-andalusi” although many were composed in the mashriq.
• Qasqes wara. A song from the musical play, “Nas min Waraq” (People of paper) composed by the Rahbani brothers and made famous by Lebanese diva Fairouz. In maqam Hijaz.
• Sidi Mansour. A traditional Tunisian song praising the saint, Sidi Mansour, it was popularized by Muhammad Jarrahi, and later adapted by Arab singer superstar, Saber al-Ruba`i, becoming famous throughout the Arab world.
• Taht al-Yasmina (Under the jasmine tree at night). A popular song by Tunisian singer Hedi al-Jouini, in maqam Kurd.
• Ya Hamma Barra al-Buha (Oh Muhammad go to her father). Made famous by Hammouda Lasmar this song is an instance of the popular Tunisian genre of mizwid, accompanied by a bagpipe instrument of the same name. The mizwid plays a limited range, essentially Rast on G. The lilting rhythm is called ‘’fazani murtah’’, the “relaxed” fazani mode.

You will also be asked to identify the following, upon hearing them:

RHYTHMIC CYCLES (Durub)

My Darb Chart contains all of the following:

• Wahda Tayra (1 beat)
• Bamb, Malfuf, Ayub (2 beats)
• Fals (3 beats)
• Wahda, Maqsum, Masmudi, Saidi, Zeffa (4 beats)
• Ciftetelli (8 beats)
• Samai Thaqil (10 beats)

TONAL STRUCTURES. Maqamat: Rast, Hijaz, Nahawand, Kurd. Study the maqam exercise I presented earlier this term. During the quiz I'll play it, then repeat bits of it, and you'll tell me which maqam you're hearing.

Please don't worry if you have trouble with maqamat - just do your best (it's actually a relatively small part of the quiz).

See theory section of our website for additional information about rhythmic and tonal structures, including audio examples for each.

Homework

None - just prepare for quiz

Rehearsal

• Reviewing all our pieces so far.

Week 11: March 22

Homework (due today)

Please study the songs as much as you can! We have few rehearsals left before the concert on April 6. No other assignments for this week!

Week 12: March 29

Rehearsal: starts at 6:30 this week!!

We'll be reviewing our entire repertoire. Please practice hard this week!

Week 13: April 5 (MENAME final concert Friday April 6

Our last rehearsal before the concert (tomorrow).

Week 14: April 12: Final quiz

• Final quiz.

Week 16: April 26 (for credit graduate students only)

• Final paper due.