The Middle East Music Ensemble | University of Chicago

'Ud
Also spelled oud, it has a deep, pear-shaped body; a fingerboard; and a relatively short neck and somewhat less acutely bent-back peg box. Its strings are plucked with a plectrum and are fastened to a tension bridge on the instrument's belly. The instrument musically and technically evolved during the Islamic period in Spain (711-1492) and gained its current characteristic appearance. Modern 'uds are fretless and are not completely standardized in size or number of strings; five courses of string-pairs are common, six and seven pairs are also found.

Nay
Nay is an urban instrument and the only wind instrument used in Arab classical music. It appears alongside the '?d (lute), the qanun, the daff and the darbukkah. It’s an open tube that has six finger-holes in front and one thumb-hole in the back. The edge of the tube at the top is lightly bevelled. Nay varies in length and each one is designated by the name of its fundamental note (given by opening the first hole): nay Mahur (C), nay Dukah (D), nay Buselik (E), nay Chargah (F), nay Nawa (G), nay Husayni (A), nay 'Ajam (B ), nay Kardan (c), and so on.

Riqq
Riqq is a small, circular frame drum with jingles. It is dominantly used in North Africa, Iraq, the Levant and Sudan. It is between 20 and 25 cm in diameter and is played in takht ensembles of Egypt, Syria or Iraq where it goes beyond the simple rhythmic requirements of the other percussion instruments in terms of ornamentation and color.

Darbukka
Darbukka is a single-headed goblet drum. It is made from pottery, wood or metal; the bottom is open and the skin head is directly attached by nails, glue or binding. It is found in a range of sizes, particularly in North Africa, where several may be played together in ensembles.The origin of the term darabukka is somewhat obscure but probably lies in the Arabic word darba (‘to strike’), or durub (‘rhythmic cycles’), darbukka could mean, therefore, “your strike,’ or ‘your rhythm’.

Buzuq
Buzuq, (long-necked lute), is found in both folk and urban contexts throughout the Levant and especially played by Gypsies. It comes usually with two or three double courses and a variable number of movable frets. Its metal strings produce a bright sound and are well suited for drone effects. In recent years, several Palestinian groups integrated the instrument in the classical takht as part of a growing interest in exploring its possibilities. See the National Conservatory of Music in Palestine.

Qanun
Qanun is one of the classical instruments of the Arab world, known in both oral and written traditions. It is the plucked box zither or psaltery of the Middle East. On the modern Arab q?n?n, there are two to five levers for every string (in triples). Intervals can be minutely adjusted by rotating the levers, which control the tension of the strings; this permits a full range of keys. Arab performers play in octaves or double octaves. The right hand is notated in the treble clef and the left in the bass.

Bendir
Also called mazhar or duff, tar is a circular frame drum, found throughout the Arab world. Successive migrations have brought the instrument to the borders of the Indian Ocean and to parts of the African continent and to Malaysia.It varies in diameter from 12 cm to 70 cm. Tarat (plural), are usually covered in goat or calf skin, but other industrial materials have been in usage in recent years. A tar and can be played alone, in pairs, in larger groups or in ensembles with other instruments.

Baglama
Turkish long-necked lute of the Tanbur family. The pear-shaped bowl resonator is carved or carvel-built. The soundtable is of wood, usually coniferous. The neck has a variable number of movable frets. Traditionally these were made of sheepgut or copper wire but nylon line is now used. The instrument, dating from the 17th century, has movabile frets that allow the setting of scales to include microtones. There are three double courses of metal strings tuned with wooden pegs. The baglama is generally played with plectrum, though formerly the fingertips are widely used. It is still played in the dervish ceremonies of some sects, including the Alevi. It is also the prime melody instrument of entertainment and dance music in both town and country.

Violin
The European violin had replaced the spiked fiddle by early 20th century. The violin, or Kaman as it's called in the Arab world, is tuned G, D, G, D. In Arab ensembles, violins increased in number throughout the first half of the 20th century and played a role similar to their function in Western orchestras.

Viola
The viola was added to ensembles in the first half of the 20th century. It also grew in number so it would balance out the overall growth of the strings section. One of its most important charateristics are in its register which resembles the 'ud.

Violincello
The violincello was added to ensembles in the first half of the 20th century. It also grew in number so it would balance out the overall growth of the strings section.

Double Bass
The double bass was also added to ensembles in the first half of the 20th century, however this time plucked rather than bowed. It has become an essntial part of ensemble's rhythm section by highlighting certain notes that fall on strong beats in a particular rhythmic cycle and often played the melody all the way through.

Accordion
During the second half of the 20th century, the accordion was retuned to accomodate the maqam structure of Arab music, which requires having quarter tones in some scales. It became popular in night clubs, musicals and in popular music. Arab accordion players invested in exploring the melodic possibilites of the instrument rather thatn its capability to play Western chords and harmonies.

Santur
The santour, a native Persian instrument, is often defined as the box zither of the Middle East. In Iran the santour is an important instrument in the traditional orchestra. The santour consists of a trapeziform case made of walnut wood, approximately 90 cm wide at the broad end, 35 cm wide at the narrow end and 6 cm deep. The sides form an angle of 45 degrees to the wider end. The strings are fixed to hitch-pins along the left-hand side and wound around metal wrest-pins on the right by means of which they are tuned with a tuning key. Each quadruple set of strings rest on a movable bridge of hardwood (kharak). The right-hand rank corresponds to the bass strings and that on the left to the treble strings. In the center of the santour the low-pitched strings on the right cross the high-pitched strings on the left. The santour has a range of three and a half octaves. It is played by striking the strings with two hammers or mallets called mezrab which are held in three fingers of each hand.

Turkish Clarinet / Bb Clarinet
The Turkish clarinet is a metal Albert system clarinet pitched in G. Constructed in two sections, plus a barrel/tuning slide that holds the mouthpiece. Comes with a BON ebonite mouthpiece. Also includes a padded gig bag.

Bouzouki
Bouzouki is a Greek Musical Instrument. It comes in 2 forms: 8 stringed mainly and 6 six string. It became famous through music from Zorba the Greek and Never on a Sunday. By the early 20's, the influence of Italian mandolin making had altered the bouzouki into the basic form it is today, with a staved bowl back, machine gear tuners, oval or round soundhole. The first great use of the bouzouki was in the rebetiko music between WWI and WWII.

Tar
The tar is a long-necked, waisted lute found in Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, and other areas near the Caucasus region. The word tar itself means "string" in Persian. This is claimed to be the root of the names of the Persian setar and the guitar as well as less widespread instruments such as the dutar and the Indian sitar. The exact place of origin of the tar cannot be confirmed. However, the tar was invented in the territories of, or influenced by, the Persian Empire: Persia (Iran), Afghanistan, and parts of the former Soviet republics, such as Azerbaijan and Georgia. Wikipedia.

Instruments