Arabic Popular Song
In the Arab world, Islam is highly influential on musical production, but Euro-American popular styles are recognized as part of the region’s musical soundscape. These outside traditions, however, are generally viewed as if they were a foreign language: good to know, but not a substitute for local music. Classical song maintains a strong “popular” appeal throughout the Middle East. While the instrumentation of the modern classical compositions is heavily laden with Western instruments, particularly strings (e.g., violin), traditional instruments, such as the oud, kanun, ney, and various percussion, are still fundamental to performance. Classical performers of these instruments continue to be highly regarded by the general public, and the names of iconic figures from decades, even centuries, ago are still recognized by people of all ages. Though contemporary artists have updated the popular styles with drum machines, synthesizers, and electronic sounds to cater to the youth culture and nightclub dance scene, the “classic” sound of purely acoustic instruments continues to be at the heart of the Arabic world’s most popular music.