Arabic music has definitely a special sound, at least as contrasted with Western music.
You hear only a simple drumbeat, with no other musical or vocal accompanying, and think, ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂThat is a real rhythm of Arabic music!ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Or you could hear someone's humming the tune of a song, you will recognize it as a typically Arabic.
What makes Arabic music so exotic and so different from Western music? Instruments, the beat or language?
Maybe, because it's driven by the rhythms, which are not constant, varying throughout. The tempo of Western music is absent in Arabic music.
Arabic songs begin with an arrhythmical, or free rhythm introduction, which is called the taqassim (division).
The vocalist vary free in tempo or rhythm, especially when a rhythmic instrument is absent.
The basic components in a rhythm of an Arabic music are two variants of beat and stillness. The downbeat (dumm) is a deep sound made by hitting the drum near the center. The upbeat (takk) is a distinct, penetrating sound made by tapping the rim of the drum.
