Influences on Music?!
I noticed that something we didn’t really focus on in class was Islamic contributions to music, which is probably because our class focus was mainly Islamic contributions to science. Anyways, I was really surprised to find out that a lot of classical musical instruments are actually derived from Arabic instruments for example:
– the qitara gave rise to the guitar
– the qanun gave rise to the harp
– the rabab gave rise to the rebec, which is an ancestor of the violin
There are numerous other examples but these are the ones that really stood out to me. I honestly doubt that a lot of people know about this and I just found it really awesome. Anyways if you want to find out more about it, check out the book I referenced below by Henry George Farmer.
Farmer, Henry George (1930), Historical facts for the Arabian Musical Influence, Ayer Publishing, ISBN 040508496X, OCLC 220811631