I've changed my execution yet again and sticking to filming, not because I'm lazy to do graphics but because of my interest in film. Oh please anything that is digital and computerized is not difficult to do.
The concept will be Lateral Thinking in which requires a creative mind to think out of the box. The opposite is vertical thinking which means what you hear/see is what you get. This may not really suit my research but it doesn't matter because my purpose is not to flood you with history and information of middle eastern music, but whereas I want to experiment and escape from cliche patterns of showing information, and change the perception of how we see things, and also to think more!! Not just spoon-feeding the audience with information and nice graphics which at the end of the day, none will remember the content. Even if they do, I'm sure it won't be of a use to them. So I might as well introduce a technique that may be of a use to them in the future. But I have to do it good of coz.
I have come out with several ways to show lateral thinking, but I wont be posting now as I have not completed it yet. But I will post some of the pictures that inspired me and the ones I might be using.
I'm inspired by that flower because its just so beautiful. Maybe I could use it as a transformation of arabesque music from tasteless to colourful. Of course I wont this picture lah.
That website above shows various costume of a belly dancer (a dance that is popular in the middle eastern). I'm thinking of using the material as a main element in my film to tie every sequence. Right now I'm not making much sense but you'll see.
In this entry, I will summarize all the research I have done on Middle eastern music culture, picking up only interesting facts that I will use for my execution. I'll start with the instruments.
OUD Start with a definition: Literally, 'ud means 'twig', 'flexible rod' or 'aromatic stick', and by inference 'piece of wood'
Then the history: According to Farabi (the greatest muslim scientist and philosopher!), the oud was invented by Lamech, the sixth grandson of Adam. The legend tells that the grieving Lamech hung the body of his dead son from a tree. The first oud was inspired by the shape of his son's bleached skeleton.
Specialty or interesting facts: In Iraq, there's a saying goes that in its music lies the country’s soul. In the 9th century, Miwardi, the jurist of Baghdad, extolled its use in treating illness. 'The oud invigorates the body. It places the temperament in equilibrium. It is a remedy... It calms and revives hearts'
Misc.: The Arabs traditionally used thin piece of wood as a plectrum, later replaced by the eagle's feather by Zyriab in Spain. The profound and mellow sound is referred to by Virtuosos throughout the Middle East as the ‘King of all instruments’. Also, the increasing fervor of Islamic militants who consider secular music to be haraam (forbidden) forced many Oud players or teachers into hiding or exile.
Secular music is non-sacred music that focused more on common law rather than religious terms. A lot of secular music were written during the Renassaince period.
QANUN Starts with a definition: The Arabic word ‘kanun’ comes from the Greek word ‘kanon.’ The term ‘kanon’ means law, administration, rule, regulation. It is basically a zither with a narrow trapezoidal soundboard.
Interesting facts on how its made: The KANUN is constructed by skilled craftsmen in workshops in Turkey. Everything is made by hand using up to seven different kinds of wood. The top is made of sycamore wood, the back of pine wood,the bridge is made of maple. The design on the sides and top is cut out of rosewood and white pine.The sound board is completed by using either fish or calf leather, giving the KANUN its rich resonance.
Misc.: In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the kanun was one of the instruments that were played by women. The kanun was quite popular in Istanbul. A professional music ensemble without a kanun was unthinkable.
The qanun is suitable for the display of virtuosity, the execution of fioriture and rapid scales. Interestingly, this traditional Arabic instrument, has been replaced by the less complex piano, itself an outgrowth of the harpsichord, an instrument which exchanged the zither's plectra with hammers.
NEY/NAY Definition: Persian for "reed" . It is the material from which the Ney is made. The end-blown ney of Turkey and Iran is made from the stem of a bamboo plant. The mouthpiece, generally made of buffalo horn, called baspare.
History and Uses:The ney is often used to create religious music in the Islamic traditions of Sufism. The music helps to induce a meditative state. Ney players are seen in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids. Thus, the ney has been played continuously for 4,500-5,000 years. It is one of the oldest musical instruments still in use.
Interesting facts: The ney’s mournful tone is reminiscent of a man’s voice during supplication. Additionally, the drum and the tambourine are representative of the lover, “for without the touch of the beloved’s fingers, the drum would be silent”. In Sufism, their music is believed to have healing powers, and their dancing has the power to achieve spiritual ecstasy.
Conclusion: I can create a metaphor and use humans and emotions to represent the instrument NEY. KOMUZ Definition:It is often used in the Kyrgyz Music in the Kyrgyzstan culture.
Interesting facts: This instrument was thought to have magical powers and was brought to wars and used in military bands. The names of parts of the komuz are often allusions to body parts, particularly of horses. For example, the neck is called IPA: [mojun] "neck", the tuning pegs are called IPA: [qulɑq], or "ear"s. The Kyrgyz word кыл/qyl means "string of an instrument" or "horse's hair".
MYTHS: Various myths exist about the komuz. One tells that the hunter Kambarkan was wandering in the forest when he heard a beautiful sound. He looked for the source and found the intestine of a squirrel tied between two tree branches, which he took and fashioned into a musical instrument. It is also said that the nightingale learned to sing by copying the komuz. The name is believed to have been derived from the ancient Turkic words "gop" meaning height and "uz" meaning voice, or magic music sound.
Now lets take a look atDARBUKA Darbuka (kup, or goblet drum) is a goblet shaped hand drum used mostly in Hebrew, Arabic, Assyrian, Persian, Balkan, Greek, Armenian, Azeri and Turkish music. Its thin, responsive drumhead and resonance help it produce a distinctively crisp sound. It is of ancient origin, and is believed by some to have been invented before the wheel. It is originally made of red clay. The goat or cow hide stretched across the mouth creates a pleasing sound, especially when heated. The darbuka is known by several names throughout Anatolia, including dümbelek, deblek, dömbek, deblek, güpgüp.
HISTORY OF DARBUKA In the past, the darbuka was made of leather (fish skin or animal hide) and burnt clay. However, leather gets cold quickly and loses its quality. So it was necessary to invent an instrument that can keep up with the development of other musical instruments. Therefore, the darbuka was modified and made of aluminium, plastic and screws to enhance the sound of the instrument to match the quality of other instruments. The purpose of a darbuka is to establish metres and measures and since folk music and Andalusian music rely on metres and measures, the darbuka was brought in to fulfill this role.
Modern Darbuka
HOW TO PLAY DARBUKA To play the darbuka, you should hold the instrument from the edge with the left hand while striking the darbuka with the right hand. The movements of the hand should be semi-circular and should maintain the rhythm. You have to use both hands to play the darbuka, which should be placed on your thighs since it is a heavy instrument. Its role is to maintain rhythm.
For more techniques, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darbuka
And there is an excellent history on darbuka filled with pictures here http://www.khafif.com/rhy/his.html
Now lets take a look at some videos!!!
A woman dancing to a darbuka solo!
RIQ (daff) Riq is a type of tambourine used as a traditional instrument in Arabic music. It is an important instrument in both folk and classical music throughout the Arabic-speaking world. It traditionally has a wooden frame, jingles, and a thin, translucent head made of fish or goat skin. It contains cymbals surrounding its circular body which click together making sounds similar to its cousin instrument, the tamborine. Riq players are capable of great subtlety and virtuosity.
USES OF RIQ (To put in complez owrds) Exploding in a burst of imaginative freedom to colour the orchestra with gleaming sounds. The riq is also related to worship, as in upper Egypt.
KOMUZ An ancient fretless string instrument used in Central Asian music, related to certain other Turkic string instruments and the lute. It is often used in the Kyrgyz Music in the Kyrgyzstan culture. The Kyrgyz are a Turkic ethnic group found primarily in Kyrgyzstan.
A traditional Kyrgyz Manaschi performing part of the Manas epic poem at a yurt camp in Karakol
KYRGYZ MUSIC
The main feature of the distinctive style of Kyrgyz music is the images it conjures in the mind. There is a very wide picturesque range: from heroics with dramatic (epic) effects, to the beauty of natural scenery (mountains, trees and streams) and domestic themes.
BACK TO KOMUZ: INFORMATION The komuz is generally made from a single piece of wood (usually apricot or juniper) and has three strings traditionally made out of gut, and often from fishing line in modern times. The golcha gopuz is made from a leather covering which covered around two-thirds of the surface, and the other third is covered with thin wood along with the sound board.
MYTHS ON KOMUZ Various myths exist about the komuz. One tells that the hunter Kambarkan was wandering in the forest when he heard a beautiful sound. He looked for the source and found the intestine of a squirrel tied between two tree branches, which he took and fashioned into a musical instrument. It is also said that the nightingale learned to sing by copying the komuz.
FACTS: This instrument was thought to have magical powers and was brought to wars and used in military bands
QANUN/KANUN A string instrument found in Near Eastern traditional music based on Maqamat. The kanun is one of the kithara class of instruments, which besides Turkey is used in North Africa and the Middle East, Iran, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Macedonia, Kosovo and Greece. Almost all musicologists agree that the Arabic word ‘kanun’ comes from the Greek word ‘kanon.’ The term ‘kanon’ means law, administration, rule, regulation.
The sound is produced by the vibration of taut strings arranged "openly" from short to long. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the kanun was one of the instruments that were played by women. In the second half of the 19th century, the kanun was quite popular in Istanbul. A professional music ensemble without a kanun was unthinkable.
For more information on the structure of the Qanun/Kanun, visit this awesome website! http://exoticmusicshop.com/sf-articles-of-Kanun_zither_-aid-16-tp-1_10.htm CHANGES IN THE KANUN Coming into use in Ottoman music in the 15th century at the latest, the kanun underwent changes to its structure, and its size was sometimes increased, sometimes decreased. The kanun used in Istanbul in the 16th century can be considered identical to that used in Iran and Mesopotamia. This instrument was most likely constructed entirely of wood, with metal strings, an assumption supported by several miniatures. The kalun used today by the Uygurs is the only modern instrument resembling this kanun.
HOW TO PLAY It is played on the lap by plucking the strings with two tortoise-shell picks, one in each hand, or by the fingernails, and has a range of three and a half octaves, from A2 to E6. These small levers, which can be raised or lowered quickly by the performer while the instrument is being played, serve to change the pitch of a particular course slightly by altering the string lengths. The player uses ivory picks.
Now lets see some videos shall we!
Now lets take a look at a woodwind instrument, the NEY! On previous entry I have mentioned this but now lets uncover the interesting facts of a Ney. I called this the Father because its the oldest instrument to date.
The current name is the word "Ney" which is Persian for "reed" . It is the material from which the Ney is made. The end-blown ney of Turkey and Iran is made from the stem of a bamboo plant.
Woman playing the ney in a painting from the Hasht-Behesht Palace in Isfahan Iran, 1669
The ney is often used to create religious music in the Islamic traditions of Sufism. The music helps to induce a meditative state. Sufi musicians aim to create heavenly sounds through abstract rhythms and patterns of notes, in contrast to the shakuhachi, which typically mimics sounds from nature.
THE NEY IN SUFISM The ney’s mournful tone is reminiscent of a man’s voice during supplication. Additionally, the drum and the tambourine are representative of the lover, “for without the touch of the beloved’s fingers, the drum would be silent”. Evidently, Sufi instruments are regarded as far more than instruments; they are almost like separate beings, in and of themselves.
For the Sufi Muslims, music has an even greater power: to forge a connection with God. Their music is believed to have healing powers, and their dancing has the power to achieve spiritual ecstasy. By integrating song and dance with prayer and meditation, Sufi mysticism is perhaps one of the most musical religions in the world.
Conclusion: I can create a metaphor and use humans and emotions to represent the instrument NEY.
Now for the most interesting part of all, the instruments!!!!
I have decided to chunk the different types of instrument at one entry or 2, because all these instruments were used in the different kind of middle eastern music. You can't say that Turkish music uses the Ney but arabesque no. NO ITS NOT LIKE THAT!
BASIC INFO ON ARABIC INSTRUMENTS/MUSIC Early Arab musicians borrowed from the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Sumerians. Many of the instruments used today are direct descendents of those depicted in the wall paintings and carvings of those past civilizations. Helping to revive an interest in Greek music and literature through Arabic translations, Arab music filled the cultural void and contributed to the later European Renaissance.
Ok now we start off with the most famous musical instrument in middle eastern, the OUD!. Why is this famous? In my opinion, this instrument is like our guitar in which its easy to learn and cool to play. That's why it rose to fame just like our guitar which is one of the more popular instruments. Logic right? Now lets find more infos on the OUD.
MEANING AND USAGE OF THE WORD OUD Literally, 'ud means 'twig', 'flexible rod' or 'aromatic stick', and by inference 'piece of wood'. From another source, the words "lute" and "oud" are both speculated to be derived from Arabic, meaning a thin piece of wood similar to the shape of a straw, referring either to the wood plectrum used traditionally for playing the lute[1], or to the thin strips of wood used for the back, or for the fact that the top was made of wood, not skin as were earlier.
HOW THE OUD WAS SPREAD AND BECAME POPULAR The oud was most likely introduced to Western Europe by the Arabs who established the Umayyad Caliphate of Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula beginning in the year 711 AD. Tt was the royal houses of Al-Andalus that cultivated the environment which raised the level of oud playing to greater heights and boosted the popularity of the instrument. The most famous oud player of Al-Andalus was Zyriab.
HISTORY OF OUD According to Farabi (the greatest muslim scientist and philosopher!), the oud was invented by Lamech, the sixth grandson of Adam. The legend tells that the grieving Lamech hung the body of his dead son from a tree. The first oud was inspired by the shape of his son's bleached skeleton. This instrument appears many times throughout Mesopotamian history and again in ancient Egypt from the 18th dynasty onwards in long and short-neck varieties. This instrument and its close relatives have been a part of the music of each of the ancient civilizations that have existed in the Mediterranean and the Middle East regions, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Persians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Armenians, Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans.
OUD AS A SACRED OBJECT/INSTRUMENT The oud has a particularly long tradition in Iraq, where a saying goes that in its music lies the country’s soul. A ninth-century Baghdad jurist praised the healing powers of the instrument. In the 9th century, Miwardi, the jurist of Baghdad, extolled its use in treating illness, a principle allowed and defended in Arab Spain by the 11th-century theologian Ibn Hazm. The symbolism lived on until the 19th century: 'the 'ud invigorates the body. It places the temperament in equilibrium. It is a remedy... It calms and revives hearts' ---> WOW!!!! There is also evidence that it was played on the battlefield. However, the increasing fervor of Islamic militants who consider secular music to be haraam (forbidden) forced many Oud players or teachers into hiding or exile. Different tunings are used and the Turkish-style oud has a brighter tone than its Arab counterpart.
DEFINING FEATURES The websites below provides great detail of the features of an OUD. http://www.oud.eclipse.co.uk/history.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oud
PLECTRUM (PICK) The strings of the contemporary 'ud are twisted, or spirally reinforced. They are plucked with a plectrum (risha, 'quill') made of an eagle's feather and held between thumb and index finger; a shell or plastic plectrum may be used instead. The technique calls for suppleness of the wrist as the plectrum strikes the strings in a simple fall, or combines risings and fallings.
he Arabs traditionally used thin piece of wood as a plectrum, later replaced by the eagle's feather by Zyriab in Spain (between 822 to 857), other sources state that he is the first one to use the wooden plectrum.
To date the Arabic players use the historic name reeshe or risha, which literally means "feather" while Turkish players refer to it as a mızrap. Currently the plastic pick is most commonly used for playing the oud being effective, affordable and convenient to get.
Like similar strummed stringed instruments, professional Oud players take the quality of their plectrums very seriously, often making their own out of other plastic objects, and taking great care to sand down any sharp edges in order to achieve the best sound possible.
