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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