Gypsy music

Gypsies are well-known as talented entertainers - musicians, dancers, acrobates and jugglers. The wandering Gypsy musicians and dancers were moving from country to country bringing with them new songs, rhythms and instruments.
Here we show the musical instruments which are traditionally played by Middle Eastern Gypsies. Some of them are specificaly "Gypsy" as,for example, buzuk from Lebanon, others were widely spread throughout the Arab world long before the arrival of Gypsies.
In 1855 the Austrian Jewish poet Ludwig August Frankel wrote about the moving experience of hearing the music of the Dom next to the Nablus Gate in Jerusalem. He compared the fate of his own people (Jews) to that of the Gypsies - while the former were chosen to spread the word of God to the ends of the world, the latter were chosen to spread Godly music throughout the world, never resting.

I.     Wind instruments

II.    String instruments

III.   Percussion

IV.   Discography

W i n d   i n s t r u m e n t s

Mijwiz

Double clarinet type. Known as "mijwiz" (lit. "double") in Palestine and Lebanon or "mitbiq" in Iraq. The instrument is made up of two pipes bound together with strips of cloth and small ropes coated with resin and wax. This instrument consists of two identical reed-tubes, each having five or six holes. Fitted into each tube is a smaller tube, slit in a manner enabling it to vibrate and produce a sound. The musicians use technique of "circular breathing" to produce continuous sound: air is inspired through the nose while the cheeks are used as an air reservoir.

Arghoul

Double clarinet type. Origin: Egypt. Known as "yarghul" in Palestine. Comparable in blowing technique and construction to mijwiz arghoul has, instead of two , one melodical pipe and a longer pipe without holes, used for producing a sustained accompanying sound or drone. This is one of the oldest wind instruments, dating back to the 5th and 6th Egyptian dynasties. The arghoul differs from other double-reed clarinettes because extension pieces can be added to one of the pipes to alter the key. The melodical pipe, pierced with six holes, is named "badan". Three types of arghul exist : the big arghoul (arghoul alkebir) whose drone and three segments can reach 2m50, the medium arghoul (arghoul alsoghayr), the small arghoul (arghoul alasghar).

Shabbabah

The open-ended, end-blown reed flute. This flute type has a limited melodic range, but produces a distinctly ornate and breathy tone, often combined with the performer's intermittent humming. Similar to the urban nay.

Mizmar

Double-reed wind instrument alike a popular conical oboe. Known as zurna in Turkey, Iran, Kurdistan. The mizmar performers usually play in a duo or trio and are rhythmically sustained by the double-sided bass drum(tabl beledi in Egypt). One of the mizmar performers plays drone (sustained tone) while others play melody. The continuous breathing technique is essential. Mizmar has a sharp, piercing sound.

Bagpipe

Known as zukra or mizwid(lit."bag") in North Africa. Consists of a reservoir made of goat skin into which are fitted two pipes - a wooden blowpipe and a double wooden chanter with two horn bells at the end. We can see Gypsies playing bagpipe in the pictures of the XIX-XXth centuries made in Syria and Palestine but today it is not played anymore in this region.

S t r i n g     i n s t r u m e n t s

Rababa

A two-string spike fiddle once was used by the poets-tellers to accompany folk epics. It has a round or square sound box made from wood or a coconut shell and covered with a fish skin. The two strings, made out of horsehair, are generally tuned to a fourth interval, and stretched by means of large pegs screwed on the upper part of the neck. They are played with a big bow made out of horsehair.

Buzuq

The buzuq, typically used as a solo instrument, is not considered a member of the standard Arab orchestra. It is found in both folk and urban contexts in Lebanon and Syria, and is associated with itinerant Gypsy musicians.
A long-necked fretted lute, the buzuq is usually furnished with two courses of metal strings, a double (C) and a triple (G), played with a thin plectrum made of horn or plastic. Today sometimes the bass (C) string is added to these two courses. The metal strings give the instrument a bright sound quality while the fret distribution (24 movable frets) offers many microtonal possibilities. In its folk form, the buzuq has a body carved from a single piece of wood. In its modern, urbanized form, the body is constructed from separate ribs and has mechanical, rather than wooden pegs. It appears to have been derived from turkish saz.

Oud

Middle-Eastern pear-shaped lute played with a plectrum - often a trimmed feather. The instrument has eleven nylon strings set in pairs and a single bass string. The neck is short and fretless. It unables both the intonation of microtonal intervals and the creation of a vibrato and portamento with the left hand.
Today the oud remains the most widely-used instrument in the Arab world, the favored tool of composers, and the essential instrument in virtually every art and popular ensemble.

P e r c u s s i o n     i n s t r u m e n t s

Tablah

The tablah is a small hand-drum also known as darbukka or dumbek . One of the most commonly played of the percussion instruments, the tablah is a membranophone of goat or fish skin stretched over a vase-shaped drum with a wide neck. Usually made of earthenware or metal, it is placed either under the left arm or between the legs and struck in the middle for the strong beats and on the edge for the sharp in-between beats.

Tabl beledi

A two-sided bass drum played with sticks.

Sagat

Set of four brass finger cymbals worn on the thumb and middle finger of each hand. The sagat are played improvisationally to support rhythmic phrases, usually played by dancers for self-accompaniment.

Riqq

Middle Eastern tambourine. It consists of a round frame, covered on one side with goat or fish skin. Pairs of brass discs are set into the frame to produce the jingle when struck by the hand.

Tar (Def)

Middle Eastern frame drum with traditional goat skin head and a laminated hardwood shell. It can add a powerful rhythm to any music, from ritual to folksong.


Compiled by Ilia Mazia and Rachel Valfer.

The Gypsy Circus in Damascus, 1893.
One of the musicians is holding tar, other - bagpipe.

Discography

Listen to Salwa Al 'As, the Jordan's earliest radio singer here.

Listen to Saadun Al Bayati with Ghajar (Iraqi Gypsies) Songs I and II .