Naqr Family: plucked instruments
| Oud is a fretless short-necked lute with 6 double strings and a warm sound played with a long flexible plectrum. | |
| | Bouzuk a long-necked lute with a small body and no frets, it has fewer stings than an oud. It is different from the Greek bouzouki, which has fixed frets and cannot play Middle Eastern Maqam. |
| Kanoun/Qanun a trapezoidal instrument with 26 sets of triple strings played with picks that attach to the fingers. It has a tighter metallic vibration sound. | |
| | Keyboard electric keyboards can be modified to play Arabic quartertones that are not found on the piano. It can be programed to mimic (sometimes with exciting results, sometimes tragic) other Arabic instruments. It’s very handy for small bands because of this trait. |
Percussion is also part of the Naqr family
| Tabla/Doumbek/Darbeki/Darbouka is the goblet drum that is pervasive in Middle Eastern music. The Turkish name is Tabla and it has a more pronounced bowl which produces longer reverb, just like Turkish zills, you are also more likely to see tuning pegs on the outside. Turkish drummers might use either style of drum. The Arabic drum’s head is more smoothly joined with the body and was traditionally made from ceramic. The edges are always rounded and might use synthetic or goatskin heads. It makes a punchier sound than the Turkish version; Arabic drummers don’t really use the Turkish style of drum. | |
| | Doholla is a bass doumbek. It is bigger and sounds deeper. Both are played over the knee/under the arm, not between the legs, as an African djembe would be. |
| Finger Cymbals In Turkish they're called zills and in Arabic they're called sagat. Both words mean finger cymbals, and until modern manufacturing methods came around both were made with one hole. As we know, the American bellydancers in the 60’s&70’s were heavily influenced by the Turkish style. Now a'days Americans often prefer two holes for the elastic, which keeps the cymbals steadier, and a deeper bell shape lets them ring longer and sound clearer. They are also called Champarat or Jambarat in Iraqi dialect. In Egypt the preferred sound comes from a flatter rim and small shallow bell, usually only one hole for elastic. This creates a clattery sound and they have to be played in a different style. Karim Nagi performs with them in this clip, which illustrates the wide range of pitches and sounds a good sagat player can get out of them. A third type of cymbal found in Egypt is called tourra, these are played by musicians, not dancers. They are very large and not meant to be danced with. There's a myth that Egyptian dancers don't/didn't play finger cymbals, but that is just a by-product of the limits of old film technology: old films had difficulty synching the sound, and often added the music in during post production. Because it would be very obvious when the cymbals and sound didn't match dancers didn't use them during their film appearances, but still employed them for live shows. | |
| | Riq Arabic tambourine. The riq was the main rhythm instrument in classical music and it gives the percussion a subtler feel, allowing the artistry of the melody and/or singer to stand out. |
| Duff a deep, large frame drum traditionally made with goatskin and often used as a backup drum to the doumbek. It is also used in Zaar rituals. | |
| | Tar is a thinner frame drum than the duff also with goatskin, used in Zaar rituals. |
| Tabl Beledi found in both Sa’idi music and Lebanese dabke, a very large round drum held by a strap from the shoulder with a large beater in one hand and a switch on the other side. The player will often move amongst the crowed, dancing around and kneeling to highlight particular dancers in the crowed. | |
SaHb: pulled instruments family
| Violin is the descendant of the rababa; it’s also called the Kaman/Kamanga in Arabic. Because it doesn’t have any frets it easily plays Arabic maqamat. | |
| | Rababa played upright with horsehair stings (2 or 4) and a horsehair bow. The body is made from a coconut and fish or goatskin. This is one of the instruments that give Sa’idi music its distinct sound. |
Nafkh: blown instruments
| Accordion is a Western instrument that was re-tuned to play Arabic maqamat. It is now very popular for the Ashra Beledi, AKA beledi taxeem or beledi progression. | |
| | Clarinet mostly found in Greek music, along with the bouzouki and a drum kit. Greek style music might accompany an American bellydance performance, thanks to the prevalence of Greek clubs that employed dancers. |
| Nai the Arabic flute made from bamboo reed. Each one is tuned to a different maqam, so the musician will have to switch instruments to modulate or change songs; they come in a set of 7. They have 7 holes, one of which is on the back, and produce the sound we usually associate with the desert, thanks to discovery channel’s liberal use of their music in documentaries about the region. They produce a breathy and moving sound. | |
| | Mizmar half of Egyptians love it, half hate it. Conical double reed instrument similar to the oboe. Traditionally played in a group of 3 (or 2 if one of the brothers in the band got a new job) with the least senior musician playing a drone, the second playing the main melody, and the most senior playing decorations. It is very loud. In Turkey they call it a Zurna. |
| Arghul a double clarinet with one long reed to play a drone note and a shorter reed to play the melody. This instrument is part of Sa’idi style music as well. | |
As mentioned, my focus is primarily on Egyptian music, with some instruments finding their way in from my experience with Greek night clubs. If you go here you can find a more comprehensive list of instruments of the MENAT region.
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