Christian Savage
Christian Savage 10/16/10
World Music Seminar Egyptian Music Lecture
Music in Egypt
Part One – Introduction to Egyptian Styles
BEFORE CLASS
- Have a copy of the Marcus Music in Egypt reference book, along with accompanying CD
- Have printed items for the overhead projector (map of Egypt, pictures of instruments, assorted pages)
Objectives:
- To introduce Middle Eastern music by giving a brief, general survey of genres in Egypt
- To show the interplay of music and culture
- To prepare students for more in-depth lectures to follow
*Ask class to identify some basic features of Egyptian music*
- “exotic sound” ... chromaticism
- improvisation
- mostly monophony or heterophony
- stepwise motion of music
- instruments: chordophones (‘ud, violin, qanun/zither) aerophones (mizmar/oboe, nay/reed flute) and percussion (tabla, riqq)
A short history of Egypt
- Located in Northeastern Africa *show map of region*
- predominantly desert, except for Nile valley
- 70 million people
- Home to one of the earliest river civilizations (ancient Egyptians)
- Historic links to Arabia, North Africa, Nubia, the Mediterranean, later India
- Major empires: ancient Egyptian, Greek (Alexander/Ptolemy), Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Mameluke, Ottoman, French, British
- Currently ruled by “President” Hosni Mubarak, emphasis on modernization
- Major religion: Islam (mystical side = Sufism, exoteric side = Wahabism)
Qur’anic recitation/call to prayer
- returning to question posed at the beginning of the semester: what is music
- call to prayer: 5x daily (depends on sun), permeates life, Islam is “an acoustic community”
- individual variations in recitation, but follow standard forms
- Cairo is trying to link all mosques to one muezzin for acoustical reasons (page 12)!
- may be syllabic (azan shar’i) or melismatic (azan)
- may use maqamat, but many don’t know the theory
- Imam, hafiz, and muezzin = three mosque officials... “morning muezzin,” communal efforts
- silent call and response style
- one does not sing; one yi’ul/yiddi/yirfa’ (says/gives/raises up)
*TRACK 1 and page 2*
Sufi songs – madih in-nabi (praise of the prophet)
- primacy of the singer (even when instruments are involved)
- madh ensembles: kawala (reed flute), violin, ‘ud, tabla, riqq *show slide with pictures*
- zikr – gathering of Sufis to meditate on God
- mawwal – rhyming, through-composed song
-performance: goes from slow to fast, allows audience exclamations (e.g. “God is great”) or tipping of the performers!
*PAGES 54-56 and TRACKS 3-5*
Egyptian Art Music (looking in particular at Umm Kulthum & Muhammad ‘Adb al-Wahhab)
- genre: ughniya (song)- derived from taqtuqa, one single melody repeated throughout for verses and refrain
- over time grew into more complex “long song;” includes B or C melodies in a rondo- like way
- instrumental opening: muqaddima
- might include instrumental taqasim
- single composer responsible for piece, instead of older composite form (b/c of recording industries)
- over time (especially for Umm Kulthum) orchestra became larger and more Western (though mention the Kulthum’s adoption of the bongos)
*TRACKS 20-22 and PAGES 133-135*
Modern popular music (looking in particular at the performer Hakim)
- band: singers, keyboards, kawala, accordion, brass section, guitar, percussion
- gradual development from earlier, more traditional forms
- keyboard instruments must be altered so they can play Egyptian modes (more on that later)
- Sami al-Babili (trumpeter) could play quarter tones. “the 4th pyramid” of Egypt
- genres: shababi/jil (young people)- lyrical romantic songs, sha’bi (folk) – faster, grittier, for working class people
- short melodies, catchy tunes, clapping
- triumvirate of singer, lyricist, and composer
- not a full break with the past: still use words from common speech, instrumental intro, use maqamat (if a simplified form)
*PAGES 169-170 and TRACK 26*
Why is this important?
- Show diversity of forms (think about music in your own life!)
- Consider how engrained music is in Egyptian society
- Suggest where different aspects of Egyptian music are headed
Part Two – Melodic modes
BEFORE CLASS
- Have a copy of the Marcus Music in Egypt reference book, along with accompanying CD
- Have printed items for the overhead projector (p.19, 28, 30)
- WRITE on the board
- the solfège, the maqam rast (C, D, E h-b, F, G, A, B h-f), the C major and minor scales
Objectives:
- To explore the basics of the Egyptian modal system
- To give an introduction to microtonality
- To show the relevance of theory for a broader appreciation of all world music
Before we begin, some terminology:
maqam (pl. maqamat) – mode
taqasim (instrumental) or layali (vocal)– solo improvisational style
solfège – non-letter names of pitches *PAGE 19*
quarter step, half step, whole step
Egyptian (Eastern Arab) Music Theory
- Traceable back to Ancient Greece, branched off into more local traditions in the Middle Ages
- Many Egyptians consider the 1800s to be the beginning of Egyptian music
- *play the 7 Western modes for an example*
“I want all of you after class to go to a piano and play with the modes”
- Applicable for both sacred and secular music (including some pop music) SO PAY ATTENTION
1. 24 divisions of the octave (especially important for the notes E and B)
- musical example: track 28 (mention bagpipes after the clip)
- equal-tempered in theory, not really in practice
- most intervals in Arabic music are of 2, 3, 4, or 6 quarter steps *ask what 1+1 =*
2. each pitch is named (traditional words have been replaced by the solfège)
3. Scales are heptatonic, but are similar to the scales in Indian ragas
- both cultures explore aspects of a particular scale in performance
- unlike ragas, there can be modulations in the middle of songs
- each scale has unique qualities/emotions/character *e.g. major = happy, except in Renaissance”
- scales can be transposed to accommodate specific instruments
4. Scales built out of tetrachords
- conjunct vs. disjunct vs. overlapping tetrachords
- each tetrachord is named based on intervals (e.g. rast, nahawand, hijaz)
- musical example: TRACK 29 and PAGE 28
5. Accidentals within a key are used as added color in specific contexts – can also be used to modulate tetrachords
6. Specific ways to enter a maqam
- maqam rast usually begun: low G-A-B h-b- C
- if this is a taqasim in the midst of a performance, don’t have to start low
- if you’re exploring higher aspects of a maqam first, then don’t start low
- most musicians today don’t consider entrance important
- e.g. in the West “Joy to the World” and “Happy Birthday” used to be considered different modes
- *talk about the maqam rast* musical example: TRACK 27 and PAGE 30
- maqam rast is unique in that it uses multiple upper tetrachords
Why is this important?
- Gives you a better understanding of how traditional Arabic music works
- if you choose to study music, you need to know not only social context, but theory
- Applicable to other regions (e.g. India, Bali, the West!!)
- Consider “Oriental” or exotic Western music. Is it as complex as the real stuff? Implications?
- “Now I think you’ve all earned a break, so listen to this piece of music in maqam rast and consider what we’ve just been talking about” *musical example: TRACK 12 and PAGE 28*
- listen for tetrachords, chromatics, style, heterophony
Part Three – Rhythmic modes
BEFORE CLASS
- Have a copy of the Marcus Music in Egypt reference book, along with accompanying CD
- Have printed items for the overhead projector (p. 61, 65)
- Open the youtube links
- WRITE on the board
- the maqsum (with dums and takks), the wahda and the zaffa
Objectives:
- To explore various forms of Egyptian rhythmic modes
- To draw connections both within the Middle East and with the world in general
*Before lecture begins, play opening scene of Disney’s Aladdin.*
Before we begin, some terminology:
iqa (pl. iqa’at) – mode
dumm/takk/iss – low sound, high sound, and rest
- dum is produced by striking the center of a drum, tak by hitting the rim
- Egyptian percussion instruments (ask the class to name some)
- tabla (large drum)
- riqq (tambourine)
- sagat (finger cymbals)
Eastern Arabic Rhythmic Modes
- comprised of main beats and offbeats
- ornamentation: in performance extra takks may be added (think of them as double-tonguing)
- more appropriate for lively music
- drumrolls are possible too; add even more variation
- some modes occur throughout the region, some in certain places; some are general use, most are specific to one occasion
Some examples:
- General examples
- maqsum, aka düyek in Turkish (PAGE 61 and TRACK 35) – most popular mode, quintessentially “Arabic” (refer back to video)
- when played fast it’s called bamb or fallahi.
- wahda (PAGE 65 and TRACK 21) – 3+2+2 pattern
- zaffa (PAGE 65 and TRACK 25) – 4 + 4, used for wedding celebrations
- do you notice anything about these modes?
- in general most modes rely on 4 (or 8, or 2) beats. BUT, do you think they all sound the same?
- CLASS EXPERIMENT – start out singing/counting the maqsum mode, then switch to wahda, then to zaffa. Thoughts?
- Regional examples:
- Lebanon (dabka), *show youtube clip*
- Iraq (jurjuna), *show youtube clip*
- Consider culture, cultural identity. Are there any rhythms you can think of which have significance for Americans?
- in popular music many of the more complex modes (e.g. 7, 13, 14 beat patterns) have been neglected since the 1930s
Why is this important?
- Just like the melodic modes, gives you a sense of how traditional Arabic music works (and by extension, how the popular forms of the music work too)
- consider relationship between traditional and pop music: how are they similar/not?
- Similarity vs. difference: there is no one “Middle Eastern Rhythm,” as much as movies might suggest the opposite.
- Compare Arabic rhythm to African, Balinese, and Indian. Which is most complex? Which is best? ;-)
Works consulted:
Bakan, Michael B. World Music: Traditions and Transformations. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007.
Marcus, Scott. Music in Egypt: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. (includes accompanying CD)
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Volume 6 - The Middle East, Virginia Danielson, Scott Marcus, and Dwight Reynolds, eds. New York: Routledge, 2002.
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