A question that I’m frequently asked is “what is the best music notation software for Arabic music?” Since it seems to be a perennial question, I thought I’d make a post to collect my thoughts on the question. Though not…
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Jan 29 2022
Hubbi & Raqset al-Atlas Sheet Music
Here are two great tunes that are a lot of fun to play, and very conducive to adding improvisations in performance.
"Raqset al-Atlas" is a famous tune by the Moroccan musician Abdelkader al-Rashdi (عبد القادر الراشدي). Listening to it recently…

Jan 23 2022
Talwin (Touyour) - Anouar Brahem Transcription
Here's another favorite from Anouar Brahems Thimar on ECM. This recording was a rearrangement of Brahem's earlier song "Touyour." This is a beautiful and rare example of Brahem's vocal music. For Thimar, Brahem took the instrumental interludes from the song…
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Jan 23 2022
Qasida La Ta‘dhili
This is a piece I heard recently and decided to transcribe. It has a really beautiful and fascinating rhythmic structure, a fact pointed out on Facebook by Faisal Zedan. Faisal is a master percussionist from Syria with a deep…
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Jan 18 2022
Arabian Waltz - Rabih Abou-Khalil
Here's one I've been asked for a number of times. For some reason, I never got around to it before. This tune first appeared on Rabih Abou-Khalil's album Tarab, and later on the album Arabian Waltz. It's the…
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Jan 16 2022
Conte de L'Incroyable Amour - Anouar Brahem
Continuing my look through Anouar Brahem's music, here's another old one.
An interesting thing about Brahem is that is recordings are often not perfect performances, and this tune is another example of that. The first time through the B section…
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Jan 14 2022
Sheet Music: Ana Wa Habibi by Mohamed Abdel Wahab
In 2001, I attended Simon Shaheen's Arabic Music Retreat and was exposed to a lot of "real" Arabic music for the first time. Up to that point, I had mainly been listening to what I could find at Tower Records.
…
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Jan 13 2022
Qurb - Anouar Brahem
This is a lovely piece by Anouar Brahem, one he has rarely performed. The main recording available is Thimar, with Dave Holland and John Surman.
This album was my first experience with Brahem's music; it came out in 1998…

Jan 12 2022
Taqasim Lesson: Rubato on the Beat & Polyrhythms
I thought I'd share a few thoughts about a general concept/technique in Arabic music that I think of as "rubato on the beat" or "out-of-time but in-time." I've never heard anyone use a specific term for this in Arabic, if…
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Jan 11 2022
Book Review: Inside Arabic Music by Johnny Farraj & Sami Abu Shumays
Inside Arabic Music is is an absolute treasure for anyone looking to learn more about Arabic music and maqam, specifically as it relates to the "Golden Age" of Arabic music from the 1930s-1970s where Arabic music moved away from the…
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Jan 10 2022
Parfum de Gitane (aka Itr al-Ghajar) عطر الغجر
Here's my transcription of one Anouar Brahem's most popular pieces, Parfum de Gitane. This sheet music is based on the version he plays on "Astrakan Cafe," which has some minor differences from the version he plays on "Barzakh."
This is…

Jan 9 2022
Oud Position Study - Etude for first course
This is a little exercise I wrote to practice the higher positions and achieving consistent intonation on the oud. The notes are all C major on the first string.
I suggest following the fingerings exactly to get the intended benefits…

Jan 8 2022
Lecon du Oud (Oud Lesson) - Anouar Brahem
I thought I'd repost some old transcriptions. Yesterday's post of Anouar Brahem's "The Astounding Eyes of Rita" reminded me of some older transcriptions of his music that I did ages ago.
I'd posted some of these ages ago on my…

Jan 7 2022
Anouar Brahem - The Astounding Eyes of Rita
I've always been a fan of Anouar Brahem. He's one of the first oud players I heard and is partly responsible for inspiring me to learn the oud in the first place (along with Rabih Abou-Khalil). After met Simon Shaheen…
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