Arab and Asian Music

1. I have a crazy obsession with Ancient Egypt, so I thought this would be a fun time to do some research to see if any modern Arabic instruments came from Ancient Egypt. And not just ancient instruments that evolved into modern ones, but instruments that are basically the exact same as they were back then. Obviously, that seems impossible, since Ancient Egypt was 5,000 years ago, but wouldn't you know it, there is one: the ney. 

These bad boys have been playing music in the streets since around 3000 BC (give or take a few hundred years). There are some things that have changed overtime -- for instance, nowadays they are often plastic or metal -- but all in all, the basic concept, method of playing, and shape are all the same as they were back then. 

Below are pictures to compare. The top picture is the one from Ancient Egypt, and the bottom one is the modern one.

2. When I took my Mythologies and World Religions class in high school, we briefly touched on an Ancient Egyptian holiday called Sham el-Nessim, which marked the start of spring. People would salt fish (called Feseekh) and make offerings of food to the gods. It was a festival, and music was played all the time. A lot of events that occurred during Sham el-Nessim are still seen in todays modern holiday called Sham Ennessem. But obviously that's not the focus of this. The focus is the music.

Out of all the songs played, there are 2 specific ones that are favorites among Egypt that get played all across the country during the holiday: El Donya Rabea and Al Rabea (Rabea means "spring-y"). El Donya Rabea talks about being happy and carefree, because spring has arrived and the world is beautiful. Al Rabea uses spring and the changing seasons to metaphorize the singer's relationship with the woman he loves. 

Music isn't the most important thing during the festivals, but it's a big part of it. The songs played repeatedly across the country for everyone to hear promotes unity and nationwide celebration. The entire holiday is a way to connect with their ancestors and culture -- as music was a way to celebrate the gods in Ancient Egypt -- but the songs add a little something extra to it.

Here are the lyric translations for El Donya Rabea and Al Rabea. 

3. Steering away from Egypt (because I didn't want to make the majority of my post about the country, but Egypt is just so darn interesting), apparently there is a thing such as Mongolian rock. As an avid, die-hard rock fan, I thought it was my duty to dip my toes into it.

And oh boy. Did I ever.

The first thing that came up when I typed "Mongolian rock" into Google was a band by the name of The HU. And they are quite the heavy-metal/rock band. Mongolian rock (or at least, The HU) use a lot of different traditional Mongolian instruments, such as horse fiddles and the guitars called tovshuurs. Their singing is deep and "guttural," and they sing in their native tongue. 

The basic gist of the roots of the genre is that Mongolians wanted a way to keep their culture, but also find a way to branch out and experiment with music from other cultures and influences. Thus, Mongolian rock was born.

I was totally vibing with the music and honestly, I added it to my general Spotify playlist. Probably shouldn't add it to my driving playlist, though. I'd headbang to the song and go careening into a ditch. But man -- what a way to go.

http://www.mideastweb.org/culture/ney.htm

http://www.shira.net/culture/sham-el-nessim.htm 

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/01/05/680528912/how-a-mongolian-heavy-metal-band-got-millions-of-youtube-views