Arabic music (Arabic: الموسيقى العربية, written in the Latin alphabet: al-mūsīqā l-ʿarabiyyah) is the music of the Arab world, which includes many different types of music. Countries in the Arab world have a wide variety of music styles and many different ways of speaking, with each country and area having its own traditional music. Arabic music has a long history of sharing and combining with other musical styles from different regions. It shows the music of all the people who live in the Arab world today.

History

Before the time of Islam, Arabia was a place where many important achievements happened, like music, musical theory, and the creation of musical instruments. In Yemen, the main center for pre-Islamic Arab science, literature, and arts, musicians received support from the Kings of Sabaʾ, who encouraged the development of music. For many centuries, the people of Hejaz believed that the best Arabian music came from Yemen, and Hadhrami minstrels were considered the most skilled. Music in the Arabian Peninsula during this time was similar to music in the Ancient Middle East. Most historians agree that there were different types of music in the Arabian Peninsula between the 5th and 7th centuries AD. Poets from this time, called shu`ara' al-Jahiliyah or "Jahili poets" (meaning "poets of the period of ignorance"), would recite poems with high notes.

People believed that Jinns (spirit-like beings) revealed poems to poets and music to musicians. Choirs were places where educated poets recited their poems. Singing was not considered the work of these intellectuals. Instead, women with beautiful voices learned to play instruments like the drum, lute, or rebab and performed songs while following the poetic rhythm. Songs were simple, and each singer performed in a single maqam (a system of musical scales). Notable songs from this time included huda (from which ghina developed), nasb, sanad, and rukbani.

In traditional Arabic music, both composed songs and improvisations are based on the maqam system. Maqams can be used in vocal or instrumental music and do not include rhythm.

Al-Kindi (801–873 AD) was an early theorist of Arabic music. He worked with others, like al-Farabi, to suggest adding a fifth string to the oud (a musical instrument). He wrote about musical theory, including the connection between music and the universe. He identified twelve tones on the Arabic scale, based on how fingers are placed on the oud’s strings.

Abulfaraj (897–967) wrote the Kitab al-Aghani, a large collection of poems and songs that has over 20 volumes in modern editions.

Al-Farabi (872–950) wrote a famous book on Islamic music called Kitab al-Musiqa al-Kabir (The Great Book of Music). His system of tones is still used in Arabic music today.

Al-Ghazali (1059–1111) wrote a treatise on music in Persia, stating, "Ecstasy means the state that comes from listening to music."

In 1252, Safi al-Din created a unique way to write music using geometric shapes to represent rhythm. A similar method was not used in the Western world until 1987, when Kjell Gustafson published a way to show rhythm as a two-dimensional graph.

By the 11th century, Islamic Iberia became a center for making musical instruments. These instruments spread to France, influencing French troubadours, and later reached the rest of Europe. The English words lute, rebec, and naker come from Arabic words for oud, rabab, and naqareh.

Bartol Gyurgieuvits (1506–1566) spent 13 years as a slave in the Ottoman Empire. After escaping, he wrote a book called De Turcarum ritu et caermoniis in Amsterdam in 1544. It was one of the first European books to describe music in Islamic society.

In the early 20th century, Egypt was the first Arab country to see a sudden rise in nationalism. European songs were replaced by Egyptian music, and Cairo became a hub for musical innovation.

Female singers were among the first to use secular (non-religious) music. Egyptian performer Umm Kulthum and Lebanese singer Fairuz were famous examples. Both remained popular for many years and are considered legends of Arabic music. Moroccan singer Zohra Al Fassiya was the first female singer to gain wide popularity in the Maghreb region. She performed traditional Arab Andalusian folk songs and later recorded her own albums.

During the 1940s and 1960s, Arabic music began to include more Western-style sounds. Egyptian artists Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez, along with composers Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Baligh Hamdi, helped introduce Western instruments into Egyptian music. By the 1970s, Arabic pop music emerged, combining Western styles with Arabic instruments and lyrics. Melodies often mix Eastern and Western influences.

Western pop music was also influenced by Arabic music in the early 1960s, leading to the development of surf music, a type of rock music that later inspired garage rock and punk rock. Dick Dale, a Lebanese American guitarist, was influenced by Arabic music he learned from his uncle, especially oud melodies, which he used in his surf rock recordings.

Baligh Hamdi composed many popular songs for Arab singers. He used ideas from Egyptian folk music and contemporary styles. His music had a classical feel because of the use of string orchestras, but he also included electronic keyboards and guitars. His best work was recorded under the names of singers like Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Shadia, Layla Murad, Najat Al Saghira, Fayza Ahmed, Warda, Sabah, and others. He also worked with Aziza Jalal, who promoted songs like "Mestaniak" and "Haramt El Hob Alaya," considered among the best Arabic songs of the 1980s.

In the 1990s, Arab artists like Amr Diab, Moustafa Amar, Najwa Karam, Elissa, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Nancy Ajram, Haifa Wehbe, Angham, Fadl Shaker, Majida Al Roumi, Wael Kfoury, Asalah Nasri, Myriam Fares, Carole Samaha, Yara, Samira Said, Hisham Abbas, Kadhem Al Saher, Ehab Tawfik, Mohamed Fouad, Diana Haddad, Mohamed Mounir, Latifa, Cheb Khaled, George Wassouf, Hakim, Fares Karam, Julia Boutros, and Amal Hijazi adopted this style.

In 1936, Iraq Radio was established by Iraqi Jewish musicians Saleh and Daoud al-Kuwaity. The brothers played a key role in modern Iraqi music. Saleh was considered the father of Iraqi maqam and wrote the first song. He also composed

Influence of Arabic music

Many musical instruments used in European medieval and classical music were influenced by Arabic instruments from the medieval Arab world. These include the lute, which is related to the oud; the rebec, an early form of the violin that came from the rebab; the guitar, which developed from the qitara; the naker, from the naqareh; the adufe, from the al-duff; the alboka, from the al-buq; the anafil, from the al-nafir; the exabeba (a type of flute), from the al-shabbaba; the atabal (a type of bass drum), from the al-tabl; the atambal, from the al-tinbal; the balaban; the castanet, from the kasatan; and the sonajas de azófar, from the sunuj al-sufr.

The Arabic rabāb, also called the spiked fiddle, is the earliest known bowed string instrument. It is the ancestor of European bowed instruments such as the rebec, the Byzantine lyra, and the violin. The Arabic oud is related to the European lute and is also considered an earlier version of the modern guitar. The guitar originated from the four-string oud, which was brought to Iberia by the Moors in the 8th century. A direct ancestor of the modern guitar was the guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar), which was used in Spain by the 12th century. By the 14th century, it was simply called a guitar.

Some medieval instruments with conical, hollow shapes may have been introduced or popularized by Arab musicians, such as the xelami, which comes from the zulami.

Some scholars suggest that troubadours, medieval musicians who composed and performed courtly love songs, may have had Arabian influences. Magda Bogin notes that the Arab tradition of poetry and music may have affected European courtly love poetry. Évariste Lévi-Provençal and others found that three lines of a poem by William IX of Aquitaine resembled Arabic. However, other scholars, like Istvan Frank, argue that these lines were not Arabic but were later rewritten by a scribe.

Some scholars, such as Ramón Menéndez Pidal and Idries Shah, believe that William IX of Aquitaine created the troubadour tradition after experiencing Moorish culture during the Reconquista in Spain. George T. Beech points out that William only fought in one battle in Spain, near the end of his life, and that his family had connections to Spain. However, others argue that William did not start the troubadour tradition and that his songs were examples of an already existing tradition.

Most scholars believe that Guido of Arezzo’s Solfège musical notation system, which uses syllables like do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti, originated from a Latin hymn. However, some suggest it may have come from an Arabic solmization system called Durr-i-Mufassal, which used syllables like dal, ra, mim, fa, sad, and lam. This idea was first proposed by Meninski in 1680. There is no written proof of this connection, and no Arabic musical manuscripts using Arabic alphabet sequences are known. Henry George Farmer states that there is no clear evidence for either the Arabic or hymn origins of the Solfège system, so both theories remain possible.

Improvisational music in the Arab world

Ethnomusicologist Ali Jihad Racy explains that improvisation in music is common in many parts of the Arab world. He notes that some communities in the Middle East view improvisation as informal or untrained music-making, while others see it as a natural artistic skill that expresses the musician’s emotions in the moment. These views vary across regions and communities. Some believe improvisation goes beyond traditional musical styles like the classical maqam. Others think improvisation shows a lack of formal musical training. Racy does not name specific groups with these views but emphasizes that opinions about improvisation in the Arab world are not the same everywhere. Some groups believe improvisation is learned over many years through practice and is performed only by skilled musicians.

A respected tradition in improvisation is called Taqsim. This style uses a maqam and changes the structure of a song, creating strong emotional reactions in listeners. Improvisation in Taqsim also includes the use of quartertones, which are musical notes between standard pitches. Historically, Taqsim was performed as a chant. Today, it is played on instruments like the oud (a stringed instrument), violin, or nay (a flute). This style can deeply affect listeners, causing them to laugh, cry, or shout during a performance because of the powerful emotions it evokes.

• A type of Arabic chant uses a melismatic style, meaning the melody flows smoothly with many notes per syllable. It is long, highly decorated, and includes free rhythm and improvisation. Syllabic chant, in contrast, has a regular rhythm and is often performed quickly with a drum called al-durbkkeh. Listeners usually clap their hands to keep the rhythm.
• Ethnomusicologist Jargy describes another improvisation style called Median. This music combines elements of syllabic chant and melismatic style. Median uses more extreme improvisation techniques and is usually faster than syllabic chant.
• The final style discussed by Jargy is the recitative style, which is sung mostly by women. It is based on oral traditions passed down through listening and imitation.

Genres

Franco-Arabic music is a type of music similar to today's Arabic pop music. This genre became popular through artists like Dalida from Egypt, Sammy Clark from Lebanon, and Aldo from Australia. Franco-Arabic music includes songs in many languages, such as Arabic, Italian, French, and English.

Since the early 2010s, Arabic R&B, reggae, and hip hop have grown in popularity. These songs often include a rapper in a traditional Arab pop song, such as Ishtar's song "Habibi Sawah." The Moroccan singer Elam Jay created a modern version of the Gnawa genre combined with R&B, called Gnawitone Styla. Another version of contemporary Gnawa in Morocco was introduced by the band Darga, based in Casablanca. This group mixes Gnawa and reggae in some of their songs.

Political reggae artists, such as TootArd from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, gained popularity in Palestine in 2011 after releasing a song about the Arab Spring, specifically the Tunisian revolution, called "The Green Revolution." The song was performed by TootArd and a group of Palestinian artists, including Mahmoud Jrere of DAM. Another well-known Arab artist is Shadia Mansour, a Palestinian British rapper known as "The First Lady of Arab Hip Hop." Much of her music focuses on the Palestinian cause.

Starting in the 2010s, artists like Darine began using R&B and reggae beats in their songs. This approach has received mixed reviews and had uneven success.

A mix of electronic music with traditional Middle Eastern instruments has been popularized by Richii with songs like "Ana Lubnaneyoun."

Arabic jazz, which uses jazz instruments, has become popular. Musicians like Samir Suroor play the saxophone in a traditional style. Abdel Halim Hafez, Kadim Al Sahir, and Rida Al Abdallah also perform in this style. The first mainstream jazz elements in Arabic music were introduced by the Rahbani brothers. Fairuz's later work was mostly jazz songs composed by her son, Ziad Rahbani. Ziad Rahbani also started the modern oriental jazz movement, which includes singers like Rima Khcheich, Salma El Mosfi, and Latifa. Jazz music is also found in the songs of Mohamed Mounir, beginning with his 1977 album Alemony Eneeki. He is considered the "King of Arabic Jazz" and Arabic music overall. Another notable performer of this genre is the Palestinian singer Reem Kelani, who blends jazz with Arabic music in both her original songs and arrangements of traditional songs.

Arabic jazz has seen many new styles since the end of the 20th century:

• Modal forms with Anouar Brahem and Rabih Abou Khalil
• Mixed electric sound experiences with Dhafer Youssef and Kamal Musallam
• New pop jazz styles with Titi Robin and Toufic Farroukh
• Acoustic youth experiences with Hamdi Makhlouf, Amine & Hamza M'raihi, and Jasser Haj Youssef

There have been many Arab rock bands over the years that combined rock, metal, and alternative rock with traditional Arab instruments.

Arabic rock has gained attention in the Middle East since the early 2000s, with bands like Tanjaret Daghet, JadaL, Kayan, Autostrad, El Morabba3, Akher Zapheer, The Wanton Bishops, Mashrou' Leila, Adonis and Meen, Cairokee, Massar Egbari, Sahara, Wyvern, Cartoon Killerz, Khalas, Chaos, and Acrassicauda becoming popular.

Recently, a new wave of underground bands has emerged across the Arab world. These include Shaghaf, Khayal, Sada That, Code Masr, and Hawas from Egypt, and Ayloul from Lebanon.

Musical regions

Modern Arabic music has mainly been influenced by music trends that started in Cairo, Egypt. Cairo is often seen as a major cultural center in the Arab world. Popular music has changed a lot because of influences from other regions, like Morocco to Saudi Arabia. In recent years, Beirut has become an important place where singers can sing in many different Arabic dialects. Other musical styles that are popular throughout the Arab world include:

• Al Jeel (Egypt)
• Shaabi Music (Egypt)
• Mawwal (Egypt)
• Semsemya (Egypt)
• Andalusian classical music (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia)
• Malouf (Libya)
• Chaabi (Algeria)
• Chaabi (Morocco)
• Gnawa (Morocco and southwest Algeria)
• Haqibah (Sudan)
• Malhun (Morocco)
• Mezwed (Tunisia)
• Raï (Algeria)
• Sanaa (Algeria)
• Malouf (Algeria)
• Bedoui (Algeria)

• Adani
• Dan Hadhrami
• Ardah
• Ardham
• Bandari Khaliji
• Dazah
• Fann at-Tanbura
• Fijiri
• Hadhrami Music
• Khabayti
• Khaliji
• Khuwizaani
• Lahji
• Liwa
• Mizmar
• M'alayah
• Rumba Khaliji
• Samri
• Sana'ani
• Sawt
• Shaabi Khaliji
• Yanbaawi
• Yowlah
• Zafah Khaliji
• Music of Yemen

Sacred and Art music

Arabic religious music includes Jewish music, such as Pizmonim and Baqashot, Christian music, and Islamic music. Islamic music has a similar structure to Arabic secular music, while Christian Arab music has been influenced by Syriac Orthodox, Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Anglican, Coptic, and Maronite church music.

Secular art music includes genres such as maqam al-iraqi, andalusi nubah, muwashshah, Fijiri songs, qasidah, layali, mawwal, taqsim, bashraf, sama'i, tahmilah, dulab, sawt, and liwa.

Characteristics of Arabic music

Arabic music often focuses on melody and rhythm rather than harmony. Some types of Arabic music have multiple voices singing at once, but most music has one main melody with other notes following it.

Habib Hassan Touma says five things help define Arabic music:

• The Arab tone system, which uses special interval structures created by al-Farabi in the 10th century.
• Rhythmic patterns called awzan that help shape vocal and instrumental music.
• Instruments common across the Arab world, built and played in similar ways.
• Music grouped by social settings, such as city, rural, or desert music.
• A shared musical style that unites tonal and rhythmic structures across the Arab world, whether in songs or instruments, and whether sacred or secular.

The foundation of Arabic music is the maqam, which is like a musical mode but different. The starting, middle, and ending notes of a piece are usually set by the maqam. Over time, writings have named between 90 and 110 maqams, grouped into larger categories called fasilah. These groups share the same first four main pitches.

Each maqam includes at least two ajnas, which are parts of the scale. The word jins comes from the Latin word genus, meaning "type." In practice, a jins can have three, four, or five notes. A maqam usually covers one octave (two ajnas), but sometimes more. Some maqams use different ajnas when moving up or down a scale. Because new ajnas keep appearing and scholars disagree on their exact number, no one knows the exact total. Most musicians agree there are at least eight main ajnas: rast, bayat, sikah, hijaz, saba, kurd, nahawand, and ajam, along with common variations like nakriz and sikah beladi. For example, Mukhalif is a rare jins used only in Iraq.

Unlike Western music, Arabic music uses microtones, which are notes between those in the Western scale. While Western notes are separated by semitones (half steps), Arabic music uses smaller intervals called quarter tones. Some theories suggest there are 24 tones, but in practice, fewer are used. In 1932, a meeting in Cairo showed that Arabic notes differ from a 24-tone scale. Also, the exact pitch of notes can vary slightly by region, such as Egypt, Turkey, Syria, or Iraq.

Because of this, experts said the 24-tone scale should not be used. Instead, they kept the Egyptian scale and allowed the Turkish, Syrian, and Iraqi scales to remain as they are. In modern music, different Es between E-flat and E-natural are used, depending on the maqam and region.

Musicians call these in-between notes quarter tones and use terms like "half-flat" or "half-sharp" for easier naming. Learning these exact pitches is usually done by listening. Unlike Western music, Arabic music does not use 12 different tonal centers. The most common quarter tones are found on E, A, B, D, F, and C.

Arab classical music is known for singers who perform long, highly decorated songs with many notes, creating emotional performances. This tradition began before Islam, when female singers entertained wealthy people, inspired soldiers, and performed at weddings. Many Arab female singers have deeper, richer voices than typical soprano singers.

In Egypt and Syria, the traditional group is called the takht, which includes instruments like the oud, qānūn, rabab, ney, violin, riq, and dumbek. In Iraq, the group is called the chalghi, with the jowza and santur as main instruments, along with riq and dumbek. The Arab world has also used Western instruments like the electric guitar, cello, and oboe, and blended styles like jazz.

Singers remain central to Arabic music, especially after the rise of recordings and films in the 1920s. Famous singers include Farid Al Attrache, Asmahan, Abdel Halim Hafez, Sayed Darwish, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Warda Al-Jazairia, Wadih El Safi, Fairuz, Sabah, and Umm Kulthum.

Research and documentation of Arabic music

Although music traditions in the Arab world were often passed down through spoken word, scholars such as Al-Kindi, Abulfaraj, Al-Farabi, and Safi al-Din wrote books about Arabic music in Arabic as early as the 9th century AD. In 1932, the first Congress of Arab Music took place in Cairo. At this event, experts from both the West and the Arab world shared knowledge about the past, present, and future of Arabic music. Their findings were recorded in written form and through audio recordings.

Today, universities around the world have departments that study Arabic music as part of their research in ethnomusicology. Growing interest in global music has led to more studies and re-releases of old recordings by researchers and companies.

Digital archives now allow people to access detailed information about the history of Arabic music online. For example, the Lebanese foundation AMMAR works to save and share traditional Arab music. It has published many historical documents to help preserve this cultural heritage.