When was the last time you had trouble counting to 10? It was probably when you were 5 years old, or maybe it was the first time you tried to play or listen to a Sama’i instrumental! I want to share something very quick, short and easy that you can use to keep track of the beat of a very pesky rhythm in Arabic music called Sama’i Thaqil, and Aksak…
Read MoreThe Best 50 Middle Eastern Songs You Have to Hear!
Here is a brief education in Middle Eastern music listening. If you want to become more familiar with Arabic music and don’t know where to begin, I have 50 suggestions for you. This is just a mere, humble list, and really does not do justice to the rich musical traditions of each area I mention, but it is a strong start. I made three categories: Arabic, Turkish, Persian. The list…
Read MorePianos Are Out of Tune – A Discussion on Equal Temperament and Oud Music
Did you know Pianos are intentionally tuned “out of tune”? Yes it’s true. Modern Pianos are all tuned using a system called “Equal Temperament”. In fact, you can’t use your ear to tune a Piano in equal temperament because our ears don’t hear notes in this manner. Piano tuners use a device and they need to know how much each note needs to be “out of tune” in order to…
Read MoreArabic and Persian Music – Arabic Maqam and Persian Dastgah Comparison
Arabic and Persian Music – Arabic Maqam and Persian Dastgah Equivalents I thought it would be interesting and essential to write a post for those who want to get their bearings on Arabic and Persian scale systems. This post compares the Arabic Maqam to Persian Dastgah to show where and how they overlap. I have never seen a comparison of this kind before. It is relatively a superficial comparison…
Read MoreMaqam Hijaz Medley
As I introduced in my article, Arabic Maqam Theory – A Brief Introduction, there are many maqams that are commonly used in the Middle Eastern music, and each maqam has smaller sections. Some maqams sound very similar because they share same notes. Same but different. This may have caused some of you to think, “Do I need to learn all these maqams before I can play the Oud?” …
Read MoreArabic Maqam Theory – A Brief Introduction
This article is going to be a concise introduction to Arabic maqam theory. My hope is that this will break down the basics for you to understand what is going on in Arabic music in terms of what scales are being played and how to modulate. For a beginner, one of the most important things to do in order to learn this music is to listen to Arabic music a…
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