shiradotnet

I'm trying to organize info about music on my web site, and scratching my head over how to do so.

Some is easy:

For "classical" music, I think of the eras of Oum Kalthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Baligh Hamdi, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Farid al-Atrache.

For "shaabi" I think of Ahmed Adawiyya, Hakim, Saad al-Sogheir, etc.

For "al jeel" I think of Amr Diab, Nancy Ajram, Ehab Tawfic, Mohammed Mounir, Gawaher, Sherine, Nawal el-Zoughbi, Fella, Hanan, and others.

I think of shaabi and al jeel as both coming under the category of "Egyptian pop".

But where would you put Warda? To me, she sort of falls into an interim period between classical and pop. What do you think?

I'm trying to figure out what to do with Bassem Yazbeck and Emad Sayyah - their musical style is quite pop-ish, but I tend to think of them as creating "music for dancers" rather than being mainstream pop musicians.

And then there are the Lebanese legends - Rahbani Brothers, Feiruz, Sabah, etc. Feiruz sang a lot of muwashahat and debkes, but she also sang the popular music of her time such as Nihna wil Amar Jiraan. So how would you classify some of these musicians?

How would you handle someone like Farid al-Atrache and Fayza Ahmed who grew up outside of Egypt (in Syria) but rose to fame in Egypt's entertainment industry? Would you call them Egyptian singers because that's where their careers were based, or would you call them Syrian because of where they grew up?

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Caroline_afifi

Hi Shira,

This sort of things wpuld be very useful for people!

I really want to contribute to this one but have some thoughts and questions first..

It maybe helpful if you list some artists and then give the categories with your definition of those categories.

I know you gave examples but the definitions of the categories is the main thing for me and then we can discuss where they go!

i.e. what do you mean by classical?

Hakim for instance is also reffered to as 'Al Jeel' etc.

There are also others who are not old but may fit into the classical category like Marcel Khalifa, Ilham Al Madfai etc. where would Kazem El Sahar fit?

Caroline

shiradotnet

Here's my first draft of my thinking. I'm very open to feedback.

Muwashahat

Sample song titles such as El Bulbul Nagha and Lamma Bada Yata Thana. Sabah Fakhri recorded some. Feiruz sang some muwashahat as well as performing other musical styles. Instruments used to play them included ouds and kanouns.

20th Century Egyptian Classical

Sample singers include Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Farid al-Atrache. Song format is overture followed by vocal segment followed by instrumental interlude followed by vocal segment and then some repetition of this format. Sample composers include Baligh Hamdi (Alf Leila wa Leila, El Hob Kulu), Farid al-Atrache, and Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Instruments used are orchestras containing a mixture of East and West: violins, kanouns, ouds, accordions...

Folkloric

This varies by country, of course. Lebanon has debke, Egypt has Saidi, Morocco has schikhatt... Sometimes new compositions would be created in the traditional folk style - example being the Rahbani Brothers in Lebanon. Singers that come to mind include Feiruz and Sabah (who both recorded debke music in Lebanon), and Metkal Kenawe in Egypt. I would include baladi in this category.

Pop (Late 20th Century and Early 21st Century

Musical style tends to have a steady, consistent beat and constant energy level. It might be a high, bouncy energy level for get-up-and-dance music, or it could be more of the soft, flowing energy level of a ballad, but high energy tends to dominate. (Compare to classical which may have a variety of different energy levels and rhythms within the same song.) I'm thinking of describing that both al jeel and shaabi fall under this category, but they both fit together under the general idea of pop because the musical structure is similar even if the message of the lyrics is different.

I personally find it hard to sort out differences between Lebanese pop and Egyptian pop, because they use the same musical structures and instrumentation. About the only thing that's different is the origin of the singer and sometimes some geography-specific references in the lyrics. I'd mention that certain pop artists bring a musical flavor that is representative of their own region into their music - Gawaher from Sudan, Mohammed Mounir from Nubia, etc.

Music Composed Specifically for Raqs Sharqi

An example would be Princess of Cairo.

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www.shira.net and www.bellydanceplus.com, on twitter @shiradotnet

Yasmine Bint Al Nubia

Hi Shira, when I first began dancing years ago your site was a priceless trove of information. I still find myself referring to your site as my overall knowledge of the dance grows. In a way your site supplements vital information that live teachers leave out. With that being said, I thinks it's important to list the categories so brand new dancers and seasoned peformers can access the information alike.



Another category to add would the Gothic/Industrial music favored by tribal fusion dancers and the distinct stylings of American/European musicians that contribute to the OD dance scene...such as Solace ahd Transglobal Underground.

Great idea...I'm sure you would do a stellar job..as always.
Yasmine

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shiradotnet

I smiled when I read this comment because my web site contains a lot of info that I myself don't teach in class! There just aren't enough class hours to cover all the type of stuff that my web site contains, and when students come to a dance class, they typically want to do DANCE, not stand around hearing a lecture. Although, there have been times when someone has asked a cultural question, which I've answered, and then someone else speaks up with a related question, and the next thing we all know 10 minutes have elapsed!

I'm thinking of limiting the scope of such an article to music recorded in the Arabic language. Doing this would simplify how much territory I need to cover. Although there are certainly other interesting topics that could be covered such as Turkish Romany versus Turkish folk, composed-in-the-U.S. Armenian songs (such as Aman Aman and Jemilleh), and original compositions based on Middle Eastern rhythms but otherwise not necessarily very Middle Eastern (Desert Wind, Solace, Light Rain, etc).....

Whew, so many possible topics, so little time!

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www.shira.net and www.bellydanceplus.com, on twitter @shiradotnet

Caroline_afifi

Hi again,
here are a few thoughts

Muwashahat
I think this maybe difficult categorise, as I can only think of artists who sang some Muwasha.
It is a bit like using Mawwal as a gategory?

I dont know, my thoughts are.. it maybe tricky?

I think the folklore may need to be broken down to styles like you mentioned, folklore in itself is a very broad term.

How about classics and modern classics?

Aghani hadissa and aghani adeema are the terms commonly used in Egypt and they just 'modern songs' and 'old songs'.

Al jeel is not something which I have heard alot in Egypt and it is pronounced 'ageel'.

Where does the use of this term spring from? I have heard it used many times for music in other places?


I agree about the music specially for 'belly dance' as there is a big difference sometimes.


I fear I maybe just confusing matters!

Maria_Aya

Excellent thread !!!!