Classic-Banjo
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Banjo of The Maghreb
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jody Stecher on
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Jody Stecher said:
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Permalink Reply by Paul Hostetter on
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Fretted oud?
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I've seen several such. On close inspection the "frets" turn out to be inlaid markers. My first five string banjo was like that. It was a 19th Century Gatcomb, made in Boston. The frets were strips of light colored wood. I wish I still had that banjo but it was stolen from me by a house burglar in Redmond Washington. 10 years later Microsoft set up shop in Redmond.
Paul Hostetter said:Fretted oud?
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Permalink Reply by TONY BRYAN on
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This could be a really fascinating discussion. The banjo (a local variety and of local manufacture) is played in local bands across North Africa, and I have come across them in Morocco and Libya. They can often be seen in bands playing on TV and can he heard in recordings of this type of music. But in all my years in Egypt and Jordan and the Eastern Mediterranean I never saw one. That includes Turkey (sorry Tapis). I doesn't mean they are not there, just that I never saw one. And as a banjo player I am permanently on the lookout for the sight and sound of banjos.
Is the banjo a regional preference in the Maghreb? Any ideas why that might be? Is there anybody out there who plays both Arab and European styles?
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There are 2 basic divisions of music in the Arab world. There is the music of the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and there is everything else. This Everything Else is characterized by Maghreb musicians as being Oriental. Eastern. This is contrast to their own music, the oldest layer of which is called Andalus because it formed its basic notions and even some repertoire amongst the Muslim Arab and Jewish populace of southern Spain. After the Expulsion and Inquisition in the fifteenth century, a large portion of these populations left the European continent and settled in North Africa. There are now many genres, styles and schools and the same situation applies to the Eastern music of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon etc. (Libya, being between Egypt and Tunisia, has musical characteristics of both neighbors). One of the unifying characteristics of the eastern Arab music is the use microtonal intonation and a mostly common body of modes, known as maqam. One of the unifying characteristics in the Maghreb is an intonation system closer to that of Europe. It is so close, that along with such instruments as the Oud, Oud Arbi, Kwitra, Rebab, Snitra, etc. they play piano, guitar, mandolin.... and banjo. (the whole Arab world plays violin, viola, and cello). There may be some of local manufacture —such as the six string banjos in the photos I posted —but some are five string banjos from Korea. But they are played with a plectrum. Turkey has its own music and its own fretless banjo. It's called Cumbus (pronounced something like "jumbush") and is popular with Turkish Gypsies.
TONY BRYAN said:This could be a really fascinating discussion. The banjo (a local variety and of local manufacture) is played in local bands across North Africa, and I have come across them in Morocco and Libya. They can often be seen in bands playing on TV and can he heard in recordings of this type of music. But in all my years in Egypt and Jordan and the Eastern Mediterranean I never saw one. That includes Turkey (sorry Tapis). I doesn't mean they are not there, just that I never saw one. And as a banjo player I am permanently on the lookout for the sight and sound of banjos.
Is the banjo a regional preference in the Maghreb? Any ideas why that might be? Is there anybody out there who plays both Arab and European styles?
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Right.
Mike Moss said:No banjos for Tapis? I guess a cümbüş qualifies as a banjo, right?
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Well, that would account for it, then. Thanks for the clarification. I guess Turkish Gypsies must be a bit thin on the ground! Can't find the heather?
Jody Stecher said:There are 2 basic divisions of music in the Arab world. There is the music of the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and there is everything else. This Everything Else is characterized by Maghreb musicians as being Oriental. Eastern. This is contrast to their own music, the oldest layer of which is called Andalus because it formed its basic notions and even some repertoire amongst the Muslim Arab and Jewish populace of southern Spain. After the Expulsion and Inquisition in the fifteenth century, a large portion of these populations left the European continent and settled in North Africa. There are now many genres, styles and schools and the same situation applies to the Eastern music of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon etc. (Libya, being between Egypt and Tunisia, has musical characteristics of both neighbors). One of the unifying characteristics of the eastern Arab music is the use microtonal intonation and a mostly common body of modes, known as maqam. One of the unifying characteristics in the Maghreb is an intonation system closer to that of Europe. It is so close, that along with such instruments as the Oud, Oud Arbi, Kwitra, Rebab, Snitra, etc. they play piano, guitar, mandolin.... and banjo. (the whole Arab world plays violin, viola, and cello). There may be some of local manufacture —such as the six string banjos in the photos I posted —but some are five string banjos from Korea. But they are played with a plectrum. Turkey has its own music and its own fretless banjo. It's called Cumbus (pronounced something like "jumbush") and is popular with Turkish Gypsies.
TONY BRYAN said:This could be a really fascinating discussion. The banjo (a local variety and of local manufacture) is played in local bands across North Africa, and I have come across them in Morocco and Libya. They can often be seen in bands playing on TV and can he heard in recordings of this type of music. But in all my years in Egypt and Jordan and the Eastern Mediterranean I never saw one. That includes Turkey (sorry Tapis). I doesn't mean they are not there, just that I never saw one. And as a banjo player I am permanently on the lookout for the sight and sound of banjos.
Is the banjo a regional preference in the Maghreb? Any ideas why that might be? Is there anybody out there who plays both Arab and European styles?
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Turkish Gypsies are plentiful, in the millions. The Sulukule district of Istanbul, on the western side, is said to be the oldest Roma settlement anywhere in Europe. Cumbus is played by non-Roma as well and not only in Turkey. I am pretty sure there are players in France. Certainly in Germany. There are thousands of players and the cumbus makers build thousands of instruments each year and sell them all.
TONY BRYAN said:Well, that would account for it, then. Thanks for the clarification. I guess Turkish Gypsies must be a bit thin on the ground! Can't find the heather?
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