GUITAR ATLAS: MIDDLE EAST. Jeff Peretz. CD TABLATURE
LIBRO PER CHITARRA CON CD, IN NOTAZIONE E TABLATURE
Guitar Atlas: Middle East
By Jeff Peretz
SERIES: National Guitar Workshop
CATEGORY: Guitar Method or Supplement
FORMAT: Book & CD
The Guitar Atlas series is your passport to a new world of music. Learn the characteristic rhythms and techniques of some of the world's most remarkable guitar music, discovering the history, origins, and pioneering artists of distinctive styles from around the globe.
This introduction to the exotic music of Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Kuwait, Morocco, Nubia, and neighboring regions includes insights into cultural and religious influences and the major musicians of each locality. Discover unique plucked instruments, the Arabic tone system and exotic scales, and open your mind to new forms of improvisation that will forever alter your approach to soloing. The examples and compositions throughout all 48 pages are presented in standard notation and TAB and demonstrated on an enclosed CD.
An introduction to the exotic and exciting music of:
Algeria
Morocco
The Bedouins
Nubia
Egypt
Sudan
Israel
Turkey
Kuwait
and more
Examples in standard music notation and TABLATURE
JEFF PERETZ
Jeff Peretz, author of Zen and the Art of Guitar, takes you on a whirlwind tour of the exotic and diverse music of the regions of "The Dry World": Mashrig ("where the sun rises" in the Eastern Mediterranean), Mahgrib ("where the sun sets" in North Africa), the Arabic peninsula, and Asia Minor. The roots of the wonderful musical traditions from the Middle East are taught in a way the contemporary guitarist can understand, including cultural and religious infiuences, unique plucked instruments (predecessors of the guitar), the major musicians of the region, the Arabic tone system,and exotic scalesand forms. Discover the basicsofTaqsim, an improvisatory form that will open your mind to a new dimension in music,forever altering your approach to guitar soloing.
The CD demonstrates all the examples and compositions featured in the book.
INTRODUCTION
This book assumes that you are an intermediate guitarist with the ability to read guitar tablature and/or standard music notation. You should have a good grasp of basic music theory, including scales and chords. You should also have some experience using scales to improvise, although the style you prefer to play is not important.
With this book, you'll be learning to create new sounds that will stretch your imagination, and the imaginations of your listeners.
About the Written Music in This Book The written examples printed in this book are doorways into the performance of this music. The key that unlocks them, however, is the CD. The musics of the Middle East are aural traditions, and capturing them in writing is only partially possible. While the written music examples are not literal transcriptions of the performances on the CD, they will serve as maps to what you are hearing.
HISTORY
Music has been on the planet longer than humans have been recording them history.
Archeologists have discovered musical instruments dating back almost 30,000 years; many
believe that music may even predate human speech. Ancient Mesopotamia (modern day
Iraq) is believed to be where it all started.
The Middle East is the birthplace of many things in this world, from civilization and
religions to paper, our alphabet and recorded history (not to mention calendars and
time keeping). It should come as no surprise that the Middle East is also a birthplace of
improvised music. The music of the region that we call the Middle East is a tradition
that has been cultivated for thousands of years. It is mentioned in the Bible and has been
academically documented since the late 6th century. Many styles which are still played
today date back as far as the Sassanid Dynasty (Persia, 224-651 A.D.), the Byzantine
Empire (4th-5th century) and earlier. The concept of using a stringed instrument as a
vehicle for melodic improvisation comes from these ancient stYles.
To truly understand how the music of the region evolved, we must paint a picture of
what life was like during pre-Islamic Arabia. The era that predated Mohammed and the
birth of Islam was a time of tribal unions, trade routes and gypsies. From North Africa
through the Eastern Mediterranean coast up to the Caspian and Aegean seas, and as
far east as the Zagros mountains and the Iranian Highlands, life was defined by tribal
association. Its story was told through the sung poetry known as Laya/i. The sung poetry
was often accompanied by an ud (also spelled oud) or other string instruments that were
light and portable and could be carried easily in a trade caravan.
There were three ways in which people lived in the early days of the Middle East. One
either lived in an urban center such as Baghdad or Damascus, a rural region as a farmer
or a shepherd, or you were a nomad (Bedouin/Gypsy) and traveled the land according
to the seasons and trade. While each way of life had its own unique contribution to the
musical development of the region, the concept of using a group of notes (scale) as a basis
for free expression (solo) is a common theme in the ancient music of the Middle East.
The ud, along with the tanbar, saz, bazooki, tar and setar, all precursors to the guitar, are
the key instruments in the development of melodic plucked string improvisation. The
approach to playing these instruments is the genesis of the way we play the guitar today.
In other words, this is where the pre-historic Hendrixs and Wes Montgomerys came
from. It is the birthplace of the guitar solo.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE/GLOSSARY
CHAPTER I-Introduction
History
Geography: Four Regions
Musical Diversity of the Four Regions
Religious/Cultural Influence
The Guitar/Instruments
The Arabic Tone Systems
CHAPTER 2-The Maqam Phenomena
How the Maqam Are Created (Tetrachords)
Maqam Playable by the Guitar
Taqsim
Temple of Dum 15
Harmonic Major/Harmonic Minor Modulation
People of the Dark (Modulation)
Daftze's Dilemma
CHAPTER 3-Wasn Rhythm .
Basic Belly Dance Rhythms .
Belly Dance Excerpt .
Maqsum Belly Dance .
Morrocan 6 .
Cafl Shohor 9 .
CHAPTER 4-Musical Forms and Styles .
Sung Poetry .
Oriental Art Styles .
Sama-I. .
CHAPTER 5-Modern Middle Eastern Styles .
Rai .
2:30 A.M .
Other Styles and Artists .
Rosh Shel Lee (My Head) .
APPENDIX: Middle Eastern Tonal Systems .
The Persian Dhagsta System .
The author wishes to thank his wife, Neta, and his children Maya and Zohar, for their
patience and support.
A compact disc is included with this book. This disc can make learning with
the book easier and more enjoyable. The symbol shown at the left appears
next to every example that is on the CD. Use the CD to help ensure that
you're capturing the feel of the examples, interpreting the rhythms correctly,
and so on. The track number below the symbol corresponds directly to the
example you want to hear. Track 1 will help you tune your guitar to this CD. Have fun!
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