The nomadic way of life had a profound effect on cultural life and especially on music. The songs of the nomad shepherds, the melodies sung in olden times on the occasion of festivities marking the departure for the ZOZAN (high mountains) or the return to the plains, or in the course of celebrations over the birth of lambs or the shearing of the wool, all of these still have an important place today in the repertoire of Kurdish music.
The bold ZOZAN is an ancient city located in Iran. Its listed as one of the world's heritage. I can't seem to find pictures of it.
Nomads are communities of people who moved from one place to another, rather than settling dowm on one location. Sad right
CONTINUE
The demarcation between the mountain culture (of nomad origin) and the sedentary culture of the plains is rather clear in the field of music. While the music of the mountain people makes use particularly of wind instruments, some of which, such as the dûdûk, have a special capacity for creating echo effects, in the instruments of the plains stringed instruments predominate and especially the tenbûr, a six-stringed lute.
INFORMATION ON DUDUK
Duduk is particularly one of the interesting instrument to me because its one of the earliest instrument made (around 1500 - 3000 years ago) and its still being practiced today! Duduk is a woodwind instrument originated from Armenia.
Earlier days, the duduk were made of bone or entirely cane. Till today, some duduks are still made of these as to preserved its origin form. SOOOO COOOOL!!! But most of it is exclusively made of wood with a large double reed. Armenian duduks are mainly made from aged apricot wood. The reed is made from one or two pieces of cane in a duck-bill type assembly. Unlike other double-reed instruments, the reed is quite wide, helping to give the duduk both its unique, mournful sound, as well as its remarkable breath requirements. The duduk player is called dudukahar (դուդուկահար) in Armenian.
Its sound is clean and pleasant.
Duduk (also called gemete)
Oh the duduk is famously used in the 2000 movie Gladiator. Below you can see a man playing the gladiator theme song using the duduk! Maybe I should contact him to steal his duduk from him!!
INFORMATION ON TEMBUR
Tembur is a fretted-string instrument. It is associated with the Ahl-e Haqq religion in Kurdish areas and in the Lorestān Province of Iran. It is currently the only musical instrument used in Ahl-e Haqq rituals, and practitioners venerate the tembûr as a sacred object.
The resonator is pear-shaped and made of either a single piece or multiple carvels of mulberry wood. The neck is made of walnut wood and has fourteen frets.
This is the best picture of a tembur I can find.
Lets take a look at how its being played.
Hmmmm, tembur is not an interesting instrument to be further studied and developed (based on information-wise). But it is one of the more popular insrtument used maybe because of the easy-listening sound and its cool and easy to play. Just like our guitar, whereby its one of the more popular instruments used because its easy to learn to play, but master it, HELL NO. Also, it does give an interested insights which is its linking with the Ahl-e Haqq religion.
AHL-E HAQQ RELIGION
AHL-E HAQQ means People Of Truth. They are members of a religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.
There is a long history of this religion. Shall I research on it? I scan through the history of it and nothing interesting really caught my eye, and its a bit too philosophical.
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