{"id":324,"date":"2019-05-03T09:33:38","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T09:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/student-voices\/?p=324"},"modified":"2019-05-03T09:33:38","modified_gmt":"2019-05-03T09:33:38","slug":"intricacy-complexity-beauty-of-traditional-arabic-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/?p=324","title":{"rendered":"“Intricacy, Complexity & Beauty” of Traditional Arabic Music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Our Arabic program at Loyola University Chicago was honored to welcome well-known Chicago-resident Palestinian calligrapher and musician artist, Majed Abu Ajameyeh to a special traditional Arabic music workshop with our Arabic students In March 2019. Abu Ajameyeh works extensively with several academic institutions, high schools, and Middle Eastern educational programs promoting awareness of Arabic cultures. With his colleague, ustaadh Wanees, we have been beautifully introduced to some classical Arabic instruments, their history, rhythm and beat and a comparison to western music. We are thankful to the department of Modern Languages and Lietratures for funding and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malik: It was a very\ndelightful experience seeing the instruments like “the khanoon” (the\nlaw) for the first time. Being already familiar with the “loot” as I\nhave seen this instrument once in Palestinian, I found it very informational to\nlearn about the different tones that aren’t heard from the classic guitar. I\nalso loved the musical performance at the end as it reminded me of the times my\nuncle used to play the “loot” to me as a child in Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadeq:\nModern, electronically based Arabic music neglects the core principles that\nonce defined music. The hand-eye coordination, skill, and sophistication\ninvolved in playing traditional Arab and Middle Eastern instruments is under\nappreciated in today\u2019s society, and this music event reminded me of that fact.\nIndeed, I have fallen victim to this ignorance, and I have never realized the advanced\ntones Arab\/Middle Eastern instruments are able to produce. For example, the riq\ndrum replicates a complete drum set when played correctly, yet, it is only a\nsmall, handheld drum. Overall, I am grateful to have attended this event\nbecause it has opened my eyes to the beauty of traditional Arab music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abubakr:\nAttending the music event and providing a\nrhythm for the musicians made me feel like I was experiencing a rich, deep\nhistorical culture unfold in front of my very eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Taha: The Musical Instruments that were played were very soothing and brought me peace. Towards the end when they played one whole piece I kept my eyes closed I felt as if I was transported me to the Middle East and could feel the music and the culture of the Arab world. I have been to a few Arab countries so listening to the music made me feel like I was back enjoying the experiences of the countries. Also there is a game I played a couple years back called assassins creed and this music performance reminded me of those simpler times of less responsibly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jose: Having the\nopportunity to hear live Arabic music was a really great experience —\nespecially since we had the opportunity to play some of the instuments\nourselves. The history and etymology of the instruments was insightful and I\nhope there will be more events like this one in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zara: The\nsignificance of music in transmitting culture, history, and tradition is often\nforgotten, and this music event reaffirmed the beauty and the power derived\nfrom song. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Iram: I enjoyed attending\nthe Arab musical instrument event yesterday because I was able to learn about\nthe unique instruments. I found it interesting how certain instruments were\nsimilar to or had originated from other Arab instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khadija: The\ncomplexity of each note in such instruments\u2013 qanoon, ‘uud, Taar, riq\u2013 is a\ndisplay of the complex beauty of Arab culture and history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lama: Through the\nArabic music orientation I was able to understand why Arabic melodies sound so\nmuch different from that of western melodies; I learned that Arabic music\nincorporates notes that do not really traditionally exist in western music\n(such as half flats and sharps), accounting for the beautifully distinctive\nsounds in Arabic music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edris: As someone\nwho tried to learn how to play both piano and guitar in the past I thoroughly\nenjoyed learning about these new instruments. Growing up I was exposed to\nArabic and Western music and I could always tell they were different, but I\nnever knew why. Now I know that Arabic music focuses less on the fingering and\nplays the third note at a lower octet giving it the classical deep sound that I\nam familiar with. I also learned that the violin is used in Arabic music\nbecause it is fret-less unlike the bass or guitar. My favorite fact that I learned was that the instruments they were using\nwere the ancestors of the guitar, which is my favorite instrument. I\nam very grateful to have been given the opportunity to learn more about my\nhistory and background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lynn: Through the\nArabic music orientation, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the\ncomplexity and fragility of Arabic music, and hence, a deeper understanding and\nappreciation for the beautiful sounds created by the unique Middle Eastern\ninstruments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy: I found myself\ncompletely mesmerized by the beautiful music of ustaadh maajid, and i could not\nbelieve all of the detailed music theory and logic that went into the beautiful\nand complex songs they played that were so different from the western music\nmany are uses to. This was my first time experiencing such a variety of\ntraditional middle eastern musical instruments, and I am sure I will remember\nit for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Emilia: For about 2 years, I did belly dancing and I was familiar with the sounds of classical Arabic music and the general instruments used in making the sounds but I was amazing to see and hear the history behind the music and hear the music being played live and not just from a recording. It was very enlightening to learn which of the instruments generated which sounds and tie it with the sounds I had spend hours dancing to!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethan: I discovered\nthe complexity of Arabic music and how it utilizes notes in between those of\nWestern music to create unique, specialized works of art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veronika: I was very\npleased to be able to experience Arabic music live. Having no general knowledge\nof Arabic instruments I was stunned by the overall design and sound of the Oud\nand Qanun. Furthermore, I was able to learn that the distinguishing factor of\nArabic music is the addition of extra notes(quarter notes) that are\nnot played by instruments today. That being said, there is great thought and\nintricacy involved in the creation and the playing of such\ninstruments. This pattern of intricacy, complexity, and the beauty that\ncomes from it is shown in all aspects of Arabic culture – the Arabic language\nand calligraphy, science and mathematical advancements, literature, and\narchitecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bella:\nI really enjoyed this interactive event as I got to listen to (and help make)\nbeautiful melodies played on Arabic instruments while learning of their\nhistories and the uniqueness of Arabic sound!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samira:\nThis event reminded me of my childhood\nwhen I was young and my father would play Arab drums with me and my sister on\nSunday mornings. I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity and it helped bring me\nback to my roots and let me enjoy an aspect of my culture that I don’t get to\nexperience regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sabrina: As someone\nwho doesn’t know much musically, I found great interest in learning about\nMiddle Eastern music and the instruments used to make such beautiful\nsounds.  I appreciated the opportunity to engage in something outside of\nmy comfort zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nimrah: Attending\nthe Arabic music event helped me learn a lot about how Middle Eastern music\ntunes are created with instruments unique to the Arabic world and how the\nvariety of tunes differ greatly from those used in western music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alyssa: In attending\nthe Arabic music event, it was facinating to see and hear the instruments that\nhave been such an engrained apart of Arab culture for so long. The instruments\nthemselves were beautiful in craftsmanship and being able to hear professionals\nplay was a wondering experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sara: During today’s\nexperience enjoyed learning about the different instruments and listening to\nthe different pieces of music from the Arab world. I also found it really\ninteresting that you are able to distinguish Arab music from everything else\nbecause of the incorporation of quarter and half notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hajera: This event\nwas the first time I have sat down to listen to live Middle-Eastern music and\nit was very soothing and relaxing to listen to. I also didn’t know that there\nare various different instruments that are used for middle eastern music and it\nwas interesting to learn about them. I really liked the song that the\nmusicians played at the end because the two instruments sounded very different\nfrom one another, but the sound that they created together was very\nbeautiful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adrian: To start\nthis reflection, I would like to express my gratitude in having the amazing\nopportunity to attend the Arabic music event. It was quite interesting to see\nthe intersections between the functionality in western music instruments and\nmiddle-eastern music instruments. I learned so much simply by observing the\ninstructors perform and discuss the variations in pitch of the instruments. I\nwas able to connect with a great deal of the information presented because I\u2019ve\nplayed a few instruments since I was 10. It was a wonderful experience overall,\nand I am very happy for having been able to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ayesha: It was\ninteresting to learn about and hear the sounds of the different kinds of music\ninstruments found in Arab culture. Before this event, the only Arab musical\ninstrument I had any familiarity with was the ‘tabla.’ One instrument that I\nwas particularly intrigued with was the ‘qanoon.’ ‘Qanoon’ in Arabic means law.\nThe ‘qanoon’ looked kind of like a harp, and I found it very interesting that\nscholars in the Islamic world developed it through mathematical means. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wardah: “It was\nan absolute serene and gentle experience, to be in the presence of instruments\nfrom the Arabic world. The history of the Qanun, along with the translated\nmeaning of ‘law’ caught my attention. Given the complex scales the instruments\nhave; and to be able to hear distinct differences with a single note, played on\na different position; allows me to see the connections between art and\nknowledge.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew: As a\nstudent of Arab descent, I am familiar with the instruments demonstrated\nhowever even with my prior expierience it was an incredible sight to see true\nprofessionals show the true potential of the instruments as well as explain\nwhat makes them special compared to similar instruments played in the states\nand across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yameen: I enjoyed\nthe event very much. I found it very interesting to see how the Arab world had\nso much influence on music, for example, I learned that the guitar was actually\ninfluenced by an instrument, Al-Uud, which was invented in the Arab\nworld. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sydney: I greatly\nenjoyed the musical presentation! Even with my extensive history with music, I\nhad never considered that some cultures may approach music in drastically\ndifferent ways. I knew that sound profiles were different but never considered\nthat Middle Eastern music involved a large number of musical notes that you\nwill never find in Western music. I thought this was fascinating!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fabian: Everyday I\ntake your class I am reminded a little more about how I am connected to the\nArab world, when the first song was played I closed my eyes, and for a moment I\nwas in the Alhambra of Granada again, thank you for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan: The\ngentlemen\u2019s lecture was fascinating, putting a very large, complex topic into a\nwrapper from which even a person without any background in music or Middle\nEastern culture could take home valuable information. I was particularly\nintrigued by their explanation of the origin of the guitar \u2013 that al-oud was\nbrought to Andaluc\u00eda and evolved into the lute (predecessor of the guitar),\nfollowing the oud\u2019s example in both name and structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abaan: The event was\na great experience because it introduced me to both sounds and instruments that\nI had no experience with; learning about the rich history of Arabic classical\nmusic, listening to renowned musical pieces, and appreciating the knowledgeable\nbackground of the musicians was truly enjoyable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Arabic program at Loyola University Chicago was honored to welcome well-known Chicago-resident Palestinian calligrapher and musician artist, Majed Abu Ajameyeh to a special traditional Arabic music workshop with our Arabic students In March 2019. Abu Ajameyeh works extensively with several academic institutions, high schools, and Middle Eastern educational programs promoting awareness of Arabic cultures. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/studentvoices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}