Arabic Music
On my search for cool things in Arab music, I began with searching Arab music artists. Immediately Fairuz came up, but another person who came up was Fayza Ahmed. She was born in 1934 in Sayda, Lebanon. She was a singer and an actress in the 1950's. She acted in 6 movies total. Her career was cut short at the age of 48. One of her most well known songs is Set El-Habayeb. The song is dedicated to mothers. In the song you can hear Arab music elements that we discussed in class. Her voice commands attention and the instruments never outshine her voice. She does a lot of sliding as well.
The next thing I wanted to know more about was dance in Arab culture. I came across belly dancing which always seemed so cool to me when I was a child. I decided to learn more about the origins because I have no prior knowledge on the subject. There are three theories on the origins of belly dancing. One of the theories is that it came from early Egyptian dances; another theory is that it came from the migration of gypsies from India. The final theory is that belly dancing was used to relieve the pains of childbirth.
The final topic I looked into was the Buzuq because I wanted to know a little more about it. It is a stringed instrument and it traditionally has "two courses of metal strings." A piece of plastic plectrum is used to play it. The more modern buzuq have 3 pairs metal strings. The instrument originates from the Eastern Mediterranean. This would include countries such as Lebanon and Syria. This video showcases the 2 pairs of metal strings very clearly. He also looks very passionate while playing.
Sources:
https://popularbio.com/fayza-ahmed/\
https://en.hibamusic.com/Egypt/fayza-ahmed/fayza-ahmed-150.htm
https://www.liveabout.com/history-of-belly-dancing-1007382
https://www.maqamworld.com/en/instr/buzuq.php
Hey Alycia! I was also very intrigued by belly dancing, I was just amazed at how the women moved their hips so elegantly and smoothly. It's mesmerizing, especially when you watch professional belly dancers. But I never knew that Belly dancing was used to ease the pains of childbirth I wonder if it works and who discovered that it does. Anyway, thank you for a great blog, Alycia!
ReplyDeleteI have also always found Belly Dancing really interesting! Any kind or style of dancing involves having rhythm which is something I struggle with! So it blows my mind that someone can move their entire body to the sound of a song like that. I also really like the costumes/outfits that they wear to belly dance, they are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHello! I really enjoyed your blog, I loved the way it was set up it made it so easy to read. I loved how you described Fayza Ahmed's voice by saying that it "commands attention" and that none of the instruments out shined her vocals. I also loved that you talked about belly dancing as a kid it was always interesting to me as well. It is very interesting that there is a theory that belly dancing's origin comes from helping with child birth pains.
ReplyDeleteHey Alycia! I enjoyed reading your blog. I loved how you talked about the belly dancers. I used to always love to watch belly. dancers, because I know I can not do that at all. I have always known for gypsies to belly dance.
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