What is music of the Arab world?

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What do you think? What is "music of the Arab world"? How can it be defined?

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here it goes...
Arab music is music that from an etic or emic perspective is considered to belong to or be associated with those that are identified as or self identify as Arab.
So, if you think its Arab music, its Arab music.
I feel like this doesn't really help narrowing it down at all but the concept of Arabic music seems to subjective to a have a neat definition.
Maybe something should be added about distinctive sound qualities, language too. It would be hard to consider a song with a western pop style, sung in english by someone who considers themself to be Arabic, to be Arabic music. At this point it becomes something else I think.

Justina




What is music of Arab world?

This is a question which can’t be answered easily and it needs reviewing of different aspects. First of all I want to come across the word “ Arab “ and thinking about it as a language which is mostly spoken in the countries that are mentioned as Arab countries and mainly have more cultural similarities(also we should be aware of the countries that speak Arabic but has less cultural similarities). I want to count this two features together for making sense about the expression of “ Arab world “, having cultural similarities and Arabic language.

Music of Arab world is mostly singer-centered and this is why the Arabic words play an important role in this context. I am interested in adding some more factors which may lead us to count a special kind of music as the category of Arab world music; One of those is the intervals which make the special scales or maqams and the other can be the musical instruments but, I think there is a feature that can be mentioned as the most important part and it may be the improvisation or taqsim that seems to be the most effective part of a classical Arabic performance.

Mahsa


The biggest issue I have discovered in trying to write a definition for Arab music is in the way that different cultures approve or dissaprove of being Arab. It seems like trying to "section off" the "Arab world" leaves one cultural group offended or compromised in some way. Some people are proud to be Arab, and some view Arab people as the invaders and a threat to their heritage. Other people seem to consider their Arab ethnicity in a relative perspective of where they are in the world. A person from Cairo may call themselves Arab when asked in Canada, but would not call themselves Arab when in Egypt. Recently, furthur misconceptions have been generated in North American culture about what being Arab is. Many people directly associate Arab ethnicity with being Muslim. This makes defining Arab music from an edic perspective even more confusing. With this in mind, I think that we have to almost disregard all imposed geographical boundaries and focus on the musical trends and instruments that separate what we are calling "Arab music" from everything else. These trends include heterophany in vocalists and instrumentalists. Instruments such as the Ud, Riq, Buzuk, Kaman, Qanun, Nay, etc. are considered instruments to have been developed for Arab Music by Arabs. Also, I think it is safe to classify music sung in the Arab language to be Arab. I know that this is not complete or a total definition, but so far this is what I have.

Amanda




What is music of the Arab world?

Because I am so new to the concept of Arab music I have a hard time defining it just yet. But for me, I see Arab music as the music of any Arabian cultures or any Arab-speaking cultures that has evolved from the early beginnings of Arab music. This music makes use of Arab instruments as well as the special scales such as the Major Rast. Therefore, this includes traditional Arab music as well as modern Arab pop. When I think of Arab music the first thing that comes to mind are the unusual (to the North American ear) vocals with a lot of improvisation throughout the piece. Unusual rhythms also exist in these pieces which often leaves a person unfamiliar with Arab music scratching their heads, but to an individual accustomed to Arab culture, it is normal.

Adrienne.



Initially, it seems like any definition of music of the Arab world is going to be incomplete, so I'm very curious what we come up with. I agree with Justina that "If you think it's Arab music, it's Arab music." Likely, if a performer or listener calls something Arab music then they are referencing a connection that the music has with the Arab world (however that is to be defined) or somebody associated with the Arab world. Perhaps any music that is a part of the larger social network of Arabic speaking people can be considered music of the Arab world. This obviously sets aside any claim of authenticity since everything becomes mixed up with other worldly musical practices. However, there would always be an element of the resulting musical practice that can be tied back to the Arabic speaking world. Family, friendship and professional ties seem to be quite significant in defining Arab music of the Diaspora.

I feel like a location needs to be referenced in this definition in terms of a social network that involves music and people from the Arab world. Perhaps it's any type of music that is associated or connected with a part of the world that is deemed to be Arab in some sense. This could take place in any community, country or person who associates him or herself with the Arab world or the Arabic language through family ties, relationships or profession. At the same time, somebody who is involved with music that can be connected with the Arab world may claim that the music is not Arab, leaving us with the original definition of “If you think it’s Arab music, it’s Arab music.” It all comes back to individuals and how they talk about what music of the Arab world is.

"Patrick"