Research topic: Arabian music

Arabian music classical musical tradition of the Islamic peoples of Arabia, the Fertile Crescent, and North Africa. Characteristics, Forms, and Instruments The chief characteristics of Arabian music are modal homophony, florid ornamentation, and modal rhythm. The melodic modal system of Ibn Misjah (d. c.715) contained, in its final form, eight modes. This system lasted until the 11th cent., when the modes were increased to 12; by the 13th cent. these had come to be called maqamat. Until this time the Arabian gamut had consisted of 12 tones roughly equal to the chromatic scale of We... Read more