India and the Arab World!

I have always loved the flute. I seem to have a never-ending love for the sound of it.  That sounds weird I know, but the sound of it always sends me into a state of meditation and sometimes we just need that in our lives! 😊 Anyways, because of this, I wanted to know more about the Ney and its history. The Ney was very interesting to me and here is what I found during my research:

The Ney is an end-blown flute that is prominently heard and used in the Middle East. It is considered one of the oldest instruments, that is still in use, because it has been played for nearly 4,500-5,000 years continually. The Persian Ney consists of a hollow cylinder with finger-holes. It typically has six holes, one of which is on the back. Arabic Neys, however, have seven with six in front and one thumb hole in the back; just like the good ole recorders in elementary school!! Typically, but not always, will the Ney have a brass, horn or plastic mouthpiece that is placed on the top of the wood for protection. The mouthpiece also provides a sharper and durable edge to blow into.  A Ney is typically made with a hollow cane or a giant reed while a modern-day Ney is made from metal or plastic tubing. The pitches of the Ney vary depending on the regions and finger arrangements. A highly skilled Ney player, a Neyzen, can make the Ney reach to more than three octaves. It is more common, though, for there to be several players to help cover the different pitch ranges. (ensemble).

Often, Neys are constructed in various keys. In the Arab, there are seven common ranges: the longest and lowest-pitched is the Rast. This is followed by the Dukah in D, the Busalik in E, the Jaharka in F, the Nawa in G, the Hussayni in A and the Ajam in B (or Bb). The Dukah Ney is the most common, however. Attached is a relaxing video of the Ney being played. WARNING: you just might fall asleep listening to this but boy, oh boy, isn't it beautiful? 

This video is a technique video of how the Ney is played. Not quite as relaxing but still beautiful, just the same.


I got really interested with the konnakol tradition in India. It is such a neat concept and I really wanted to know more about it. Konnakol, or drum language, is the art of performing percussion syllables vocally. It is essentially the spoken component of solkattu- refers to a combination of konnakol syllables while counting the tala or meter with the hand. This is why we saw them clapping and saying the syllables simultaneously in the few videos we watched. Looking more into this, I found a few musicians who use this method as a compositional aid and teaching method. The most prominent musician was John McLaughlin who used konnakol as a compositional aid. Also, Dr. Joel, Subash Chandran's disciple, is known for incoporating konnakol into his rock and western classical music. Arun Luthra and Steve Smith are also notable musicians who use Konnakol methods.
I am attaching a video of Arun Luthra who is a jazz artist. He incorporates the Konnakol rhythms into his music and I think that is really cool. He is also one of the small group of American jazz musicians, of Indian heritage, who have continued to explore the possibilities of fusing indian classical music with the modern post-bop sound of jazz.

Neha Kakkar is an indian playback singer who specializes in the Bollywood genre. This particular song, O Saki, Saki, has a very popish vibe and that happens to be my favorite genre. :) I really enjoyed her music so I thought I would share it with everyone! Also, you can definitely hear the Indian vocal tradition shining through the very american style. Enjoy!

Haifa Wehbe is a Labenese singer and actress. She represents Arabic pop music! I couldnt find that much information on her but her music is so fun and definitely something I would continue to listen too. So, without further ado, here she is!