Arabic Classical Music Arabic Classical Music Arabic classical music is one of the world's major musical systems. It has a long history, and some musicologists believe it is substantially similar to what was performed in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Roman era. Unfortunately, the truly classical forms are dying out, and there are few first rate performers left for purely authentic improvisation. This page is not comprehensive in any sense.
Arabic music is modal and monophonic.
Musicians modulate frequently, and indeed a performance which remained in a single mode would not be considered fully artistic in nature. Much of the art is in the way a performer will select and prepare his modulations, especially in terms of following a tangential train of thought and back again. Egypt produced some of the primarly classical treatises, and continues to have a strong music tradition. However, it is only a matter of degree, and I have kept this list extremely brief. This is one of the most compelling examples of the wasla suite on record, and shows a real dynamism in terms of synthesizing forms from the greater Arabic world.