Register and absolute pitch
Arabic music, unlike classical music of the western
hemisphere, does not tend to establish a link between
the note and an absolute pitch level with a specific
number of vibrations.
Especially in the performance of traditional Arabic
music, the impact of regional musical schools in the
interpretation of the Arabic maqamat is still clearly
perceptible. Even if the maqam is fixed by notation
through corresponding accidentals, the implementation
underlies individual regional practices.
Setting text to music and pagination
Setting text to music gives rise to a specific Arabic
problem. Whereas the notation, because of its European
origins, is written from left to right, the Arabic
text has to be written in the opposite direction.
This problem has no satisfying solution up to now,
especially as the Arabic script does not know single
letters, but only ligatures, which cannot be broken
up easily. Thus the first-time reader of such a songbook
is usually confused and unable to read prima vista.
Likewise, the pagination of musical notation faces
similar difficulties. There are even editions of scores,
where the pagination of the music goes from left to
right, following the notation, whereas the pagination
for the text goes from right to left, following the
direction of the Arabic script. Thus, each page has
two different page numbers, which again is very confusing.
Rhythm: presentation of iqaat and
metre (bar scheme)
When writing Arabic rhythms in notation, the problem
of dealing with rhythmic embellishment occurs. These
embellishments are usually improvised and different
in every performance. Therefore, rhythmic notation
has been limited to the infrastructure of the rhythm
which does not reflect the musical reality. If a bar
line is used to describe one unit of an Arabic rhythm,
further problems arise because the bar scheme, due
to its origin in European instrumental music, differs
in many respects from the system of Arabic rhythms.
Substantial evidence of misunderstanding of the bar
used in Arabic music can be found in numerous academic
Most importantly, preservation of musical identity
must be top priority for users of musical notation.
Notation is essentially a medium of transmitting thoughts,
and thus the musical thoughts are the pivotal element
which must be attended to and kept up, with all the
other constituent elements placed in its service and
not the other way around. What can be noticed nowadays
in many recording studios is the misuse of notation
as nothing more than a convenient short cut. The musician
or player in the studio is performing his duties through
musical notation only, without any idea of the musical
work as a whole; often he does not even know whether
he is supposed to play music for a belly dancer, a
love-song or a national anthem. Unlike folk musicians,
this type of player does not have any personal share
in his performance; he also lacks contact with the
other musicians in the group, takht in Arabic, because
the instrumentalists and the singer usually do their
recording separately, whenever their agendas permit.
The instruments and the voice are recorded on different
tracks and afterwards mixed together electronically.
Thus, the original substance of Arabic music is lost.
Many of today's commercial productions suffer from
these blemishes as they hardly take the musical basics
into account. Like medicine, notation is a mixed blessing.
If used properly and opportunely, it may produce good
effects. Otherwise, it may produce futile results
which should be avoided.