musifying

Practicing, studying with a great teacher of our instrument, studying music in general (theory, ear training, analysis), and listening to a lot of good music all the time, are the sure ways to improve the music we make.

Studying, practicing, and listening are activities that bring tremendous benefits to us from the outside. In this essay I would like to explore factors from within and that are within our control at any given moment, that limit our performance abilities.

Here are a few questions that are valid at any stage in our development as musicians.

1. Are we, at any given moment, playing the best music we can play?
2. Are we using all the skills that we already have or just a small fraction of them?
3. If not, how can we at any given moment produce the best music we can produce? Read the rest…

I am listening to ” Le Qanun Enchante’ “under the “Club Du Disque Arabe” label. This is probably the best thing one can do on a gloomy San Francisco morning. The first five tracks sound like the Mediterranean sun. The last two like Cairo summer evenings. Every track a masterpiece.

I was noticing that the post “As The Hard Times Hit” is quite popular. Another reason for listening to that CD. Music is flexing its muscles against the forces of nature and modern life, and it is winning. At least for now..

I continue to break the geographic and chronological order of the repertoire series and would like to recommend a few other CDs for a day like this: Read the rest…

The series aims to acquaint the new comer to Arabic music with the Arabic repertoire is it is reflected in the records available for purchase. This distinction is important because Arabic music being an oral tradition, a vast amount of repertoire is not recorded, or is not readily available for purchase. A lot is available, however, to purchase over the web. I have made a conscious decision not to recommend stores on my blog so that it remains non-commercial and for a few other reasons as well. Read the rest…

This question comes up fairly regularly: Are Arabic violins tuned differently?

The answer is yes. Here are answers to the most common string section questions. Read the rest…

Until now, in the first 5 parts in this series we discussed what is called “Urban / Classical twentieth century Egyptian music”. This was one of the central currents in Arabic music and has had an effect on the music in most of the Arab world through out the twentieth century. Today we conclude the Egyptian list. In the coming posts we move east and west from Egypt. Read the rest…

It is during times like this, when the talk all around is about the hard times to come or that are already here, that many of us question the intelligence of the decision to be a musician. One cannot help but wonder whether it is not smarter to have a “real” job, with a regular paycheck and a sense that what you’re doing is important on a tangible level. Read the rest…

We are still in Egypt. Riadh Al-Sunbati and Muhammad Al-Qasabgi both appeared a few days ago, when we discussed Umm Kulthoum. They are discussed here in a little more detail. Both have played a role in shaping Arabic music in the modern period and both are important oud players to study. Read the rest…

Farid El-Atrash (also spelled Atrache)

For the oud player, Farid is someone who needs to be learned thoroughly. Listening to his recordings, watching videos of his playing, and, no less importantly, knowing his life. Read the rest…

Continuing with Egyptian music..

Abdul Halim Hafez

In addition to the recordings that will be listed below, it is worth checking out “Halim”, the feature film about the great singer’s life. I believe it is now available on DVD with English subtitles. Don’t know about other languages. The film is fairly well made and true to the facts, as far as I know them. Read the rest…

More Egyptian artists:

Abdel Wahab

The great composer and singer, arguably the greatest in the twentieth century, has composed and performed a lot. The necessary listening list should reflect a variety of his works. Some were already mentioned: the songs he composed for Umm Kulthoum, of which five were recommended. His vocal works written for other singers (for example Abdel-Halim Hafez) will be listed under the sections for those artists. Read the rest…