ARABIAN MUSIC. The influence of the Arabs upon modern music- is distinctly felt in many of our orchestral instruments. Their music-al system, however, has left no traces, be cause it was rather a philosophical and mathe matical speculation tlfan a practical system. Although in early times the Arabs had primitive instruments and characteristic melodies, we can not speak of a distinctly Arabic system of music until after the conquest of Persia by the Arabs in the Seventh Century A.D. With won derful rapidity the conquerors assimilated the musical art of the conquered. so that in a short time the pupils rose to the position of masters. Since then the music of Persia and Arabia is like two great streams flowing side by side and frequently intermingling. Already in the Eighth Century we kind theoretical writings on music by Arabic authors. When Al Farabi, in the Tenth Century, attempted to supplant the Arabic sys tem by that of the Greeks. he failed, because the Arabic-Persian system had already reached a high development. The theoretical founder of the Arabic-Persian school is Sifa al-Din, an Arab by birth, who lived in the Fourteenth Century. The Arabic system constructed a scale by join ing together a tetrachord (D, E, G), and a pentachord (C. A. B, c, d ), so that the semi steps are between the third and fourth and sixth and seventh degrees. Each whole tone was divided into three third tones, so that the octave contained 17 third tones. These third tones were not regarded as chromatic alterations of a fundamental tone, but were denoted by the theorists by separate numbers, so that the first tone of the second octave was 18. of the third octave 35. Octaves and fourths are regarded as consonances, thirds and sixths as disso nanees. The fifth was a disputed interval. Out
of a possible number of 84 scales, the theo rists selected 12 as practicable. These were called Mt/km/int. Besides these complete scales there were recognized six slaws/a, combinations of from five to nine third tones, which stood in the same relation to the scales as the tropes of the Plain Chant stood to their respective modes. While the theorists continually introduced new systems of wonderful ingenuity, the practical musicians were guided chiefly by their ear, and this led them to conceive their melodies in a scale corresponding exactly to our D major. The principal instrument of the Arabs was the lute (q.v.), which they adopted from the Persians.
The tanbur had a circular or oval body, a very long neck and three strings. 'The kanun was a kind of cembalo with seventy-five gut strings (three to end) tone) over a square resonator. Among the instruments played with a bow the principal one was the rehab or rebie, which has developed into our violin. The kemangeh was made of a cocoanut over which was stretched a membrane. The strings were fastened on an excessively long and thin neck. 'The chief wind instrument was the zamr or zurna, a kind of oboe. The nefyr is a trumpet similar to ours. The nakarich is our kettle-drum. The number of instruments used by the Arabs is enormous. There are 32 kinds of lutes, 12 kinds of kanuns, 14 instruments played with a bow. 3 kinds of lyre. 2S kinds of flute, 22 kinds of oboes, S kinds of trumpets, and drums. Consult Land, Over de Toonladders der Arab. Musick (Amst., 1880).