Music of Libya
Encyclopedia
Various kinds of Arab music
are popular in Libya such as Andalusi music, locally known as Ma'luf
, Chabi and Arab classical music.
The Tuareg live in the southern, Saharan part of the country, and have their own distinctive folk music. There is little or no pop music
industry. Among the Tuareg, women are the musicians. They play a one-stringed violin
called an anzad, as well as a variety of drum
s.
Two of the most famous musicians of Libya are Ahmed Fakroun
and Mohammed Hassan.
Among Libyan Arabs, instruments include the zokra (a bagpipe), flute
(made of bamboo
), tambourine
, oud
(a fretless lute
) and darbuka, a goblet drum held sideways and played with the fingers. Intricate clapping
is also common in Libyan folk music.
Travelling Bedouin poet-singers have spread many popular songs across Libya. Among their styles is huda, the camel driver's song, the rhythm of which is said to mimic the feet of a walking camel
.
Arab music
Arabic music or Arab music is the music of the Arab World, including several genres and styles of music ranging from Arabic classical to Arabic pop music and from secular to sacred music....
are popular in Libya such as Andalusi music, locally known as Ma'luf
Ma'luf
Ma'lūf is a genre of art music in the Andalusian classical music tradition of Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. It was revived in the 1920s by the French musicologist Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger.-References:...
, Chabi and Arab classical music.
The Tuareg live in the southern, Saharan part of the country, and have their own distinctive folk music. There is little or no pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
industry. Among the Tuareg, women are the musicians. They play a one-stringed violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
called an anzad, as well as a variety of drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s.
Two of the most famous musicians of Libya are Ahmed Fakroun
Ahmed Fakroun
Ahmed Fakroun is a singer and songwriter from Benghazi, Libya. He is a pioneer of modern Arabic World Music.John Storm Roberts, of Original Music, Allmusic, wrote that among rai singers, the pop-oriented Ahmed Fakroun stands out on two grounds. First, he is influenced by Euro-pop and French...
and Mohammed Hassan.
Among Libyan Arabs, instruments include the zokra (a bagpipe), flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(made of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
), tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
(a fretless lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
) and darbuka, a goblet drum held sideways and played with the fingers. Intricate clapping
Clapping
A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...
is also common in Libyan folk music.
Travelling Bedouin poet-singers have spread many popular songs across Libya. Among their styles is huda, the camel driver's song, the rhythm of which is said to mimic the feet of a walking camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
.
External links
Audio clips: Traditional music of Libya. Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.- Libyan music organization with sound samples available for download.