MofA Week 2: The history of Arab music & the construction of “Arab music” ("al-musiqa al-`arabiyya")
Contents
To do this week
- Ear training with the nay: Rast.
- Continue critical introduction: "What is ethnomusicology of the Arab world?" (what is the Arab world? who is an Arab? what is Arab music?...)
- Your empirical investigations regarding "Arab music" (audio and video recordings)
- Role of Arab nationalism (since 19th c) in formulating "Arab music" as "al-musiqa al-arabiyya"
- What is an SC paper? - ex: Touma (critical reading & analysis, together...)
- Some history...
- Film: Dananeer
Some concepts we've introduced so far...
- emic/etic distinction
- ethnocentrism
- Orientalism
- Hornbostel-Sachs system for classifying musical instruments
- concept of frequency ratios and musical intervals (e.g. an octave is 2:1)
- 'Microtones', 'quartertones' (see www.maqamworld.com), equal temperament, frequency ratios
- 'Arab' (people, music)
History
Islamicate timelines and periods
The history of Islamicate music (as presented by Touma)
Critique
Critique of "Arab music" history (as presented by Touma and others)
Typology
Typology of Music of the Arab World
Films
- Umm Kulthum in Dananeer. Songs from the film: [1][2][3][4]
- An Art of Living (on Ziryab in Cordoba)