Beyond the Classroom: Arabic and Asian Music

Taiko Drumming

Many times in class we've talked about the role of women in music. All across the world, men are almost always the ones who play the drums and women are usually vocalists or dancers. In my free time, I like to research different genres of music and instruments, specifically those in Asian cultures, and I happened to find this video:

This is Japanese Taiko, the word taiko meaning 'drum', refers to the art of Japanese drumming. It was predominantly used in a military context for many centuries. Historically, it has existed in many other environments such as in theater or the imperial court. As it has evolved over the past few centuries, Japanese Buddhist and Shinto religions have taken the Taiko on as a sacred instrument. Today, Japanese Taiko is also known as Kumi-Taiko, which is the name for the act of performing on Taiko as an ensemble. The ensemble is usually choreographed and involves very intricate, elaborate stage productions. Taiko is played with sticks called bachi, which are made out of white oak or Japanese Magnolia. As you might notice in the video, it takes the whole hand to fully grasp it in order to get a clear, powerful sound. The drums themselves are traditionally carved from a single log or tree trunk and involves a really long drying process, carving, polishing and the fitting of an animal hide to the drumhead. One Taiko drum made traditionally can take years to finish and its costs can vary, some being as much as a typical family car. 

Dabke 

Dabke is a type of Arabic folk dance that originates in many Middle Eastern cultures including Palestine and Lebanon. They are usually seen at weddings, parties or festivals, any kind of social function. It's a very exciting and happy dance that will have line dance with people interlocking their hands, stomping and tapping their feet, singing and chanting. At larger events the line dance will be surrounded by another circle of dancers/onlookers. Dabke is an art form that links history with heritage, signifying the aspirations, struggles and history of Middle Eastern people.

In looking for the how the dance came about, I found one common story. People in these regions would build houses with tree branches and mud, however with weather changes, the mud would crack. Members of the community and family in response would go to whoever's house needed fixing and patch it up by performing a line dance along with joining hands, to stomp the mud back into place.

Traditional Uzbek Music- Shashmaqam

Shashmaqam is Classical Central Asian genre meaning six modes in Persian. It is known to originate from the city of Bukhara in the late 16th century, played by artists from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The music is refined, historically played in the court, contains lyrics derived from Sufi poems about divine love and various dances. The history of Shashmaqam is also intertwined with Central Asian political history as the development of the maqam art form was dictated by the elites in their societies.

Shashmaqam performances in the past are much like the ones performed today which include two tanburs (a type of bowl lyre), a dutar (two-stringed lute), a gidjak (stringed bow instrument), doira (tambourine, percussive instrument) and two or three singers. This genre is really inclusive of both men and women as they both lay active roles in the ensemble. Before the Soviet Regime in the 1930s, performing Shashmaqam was strictly for men. That goes to say that men were the ones who could perform it publicly. The performances of Shashmaqam would happen on the "female side" of the house which was private. Women who preform Shashmaqam can also be seen playing the different instruments, including the percussive ones!