Instruments of Arabic/Asian muisc



Not knowing much of anything about either Arabic or Asian music I was excited to begin researching these topics and expanding my knowledge. I started my research wanting to learn more about the instruments of these countries and there importance not only in there fields but also there influence on other music's of the world. I started my journey wanting to learn more about instruments in Arabic music. Then I changed paces to go to India to discover the instruments they have to offer and finally I decided to find an instrument in China that I found interesting and holds a lot of meaning in there culture. 






The oud, having from 10 to 13 strings is a plucked Chordophone that is the ancestor to the lute. The first record of an oud appears in the old testament from a story by Lamek, the sixth grandson of Adam from Genesis. The story states that Lamek hung his sons remains in a tree and made the first oud from his desiccated skeleton. Regardless you believe this or not this proves that the oud is one of the oldest instruments in the world. Originally the Oud spread across the world through the influence of Arabic culture because of how deeply rooted in its history it is. The oud spread to the west through the influence of Alfonso X who was the king of Castile. (modern day Spain) and that is how it spread and evolved during the Medieval times to a lute. (Source)


 

The tambura is an instrument from India that is a plucked drone instrument. The instruments originates from the 16th century India and is used as an accompaniment to a piece. There are believed to be two theories on how the Tambura came to be and the first one is that it grew from indigenous instruments from the region and the second is that Muslims who were travelling from Arabic countries could've had influence upon the instrument. No matter what you believe you can see by the way it looks that it has similarities to that of a oud or lute. The way that they go about building this instrument is well thought out and is done with precision and care. I leave with you a video that I hope you watch on the intricacies of a tambura and how they are made. (Source)












The guzheng is actually not one word but two words meaning Gu-ancient and zheng-zither. It is a plucked zither which is a stringed instrument that has the same length of strings as the soundboard.  There are many accounts on how the Guzheng originated and although we do not know exactly who invented it we can assume it was invented in the Qin dynasty dating back to 200 B.C. The instrument is usually adorned and decorated with artistic cultural content. The guzheng is one of the most important instruments for chinese culture and can be compared to the guitar for Americans. The guzheng is usually played with picks that attach to each of your finger to help resonate the sound. In the video that I leave you with it talks more about the history and how to play a guzheng. (Source)






Thank you for reading my blog and I hoped you enjoyed. Be sure to leave a comment!








Comments

  1. Aidan O'DonnellJanuary 24, 2022 at 4:35 PM

    This was really cool, Ethan. One of my favorite parts of this class is getting to learn more about all these different instruments from different countries, so I was excited to read about all these instruments you talked about. I was really interested in the GuZheng specifically. It's an instrument I've always heard but never seen. I liked the use of the finger picks to help resonate the sound.

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  2. Allana FarmerJanuary 24, 2022 at 11:24 PM

    Ethan – I found the part about the tambura having two theories of origin really interesting. It’s crazy to me that each of these instruments are that old and that people have a hard time placing them or knowing where/when they came from. On top of that, the video you included about how they’re made was very detailed (even going as far to talk about what condition the wood must be in before making the tambura). Great work!

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