Cool Stuff: Arabic and Indian Music

1.    I've come upon an idiophone that originated from India in the 17th century and is known as the Jal tarang. Jal tarang in translation is  "waves in water" and is one of the oldest and rarest instruments! It  could also be known as Jaltarang or Jalatharangam and is considered both a melodic percussion and a non-percussion instrument! The Jal tarang is categorized as a Ghan-Vadya instrument, in which are idiophone instruments. It serves both as a solo instrument accompanied by a Tabla or as an instrument that is used to accompany.  It consists of a set of beaters (similar to drum sticks) and bowls of water that come in various sizes and can be made of metal, ceramic, bronze, or porcelain. It is usually arranged in a semi circle in front of the performer.  The volume of water determines the pitch in each bowl and requires skill to tune! I found my information from these two links Link 1  Link 2 and I also have a video below that demonstrates on how to play the Jal tarang!

2. I've discovered a genre in Arabic music known as, Sawt Al-Khaleej, meaning voice or sound of the Gulf. It is popular all the Arabic Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain. In Sawt music everyone participates and generally occurs in the evening gathering of men. The men sit in a circle on the ground clapping, singing, or playing percussion instruments around the performers or dancers. Sawt has a different tone from Arabic music in Egypt, Iraqi, Syria, Jorden, and Palestine. Because Arabic music had been influenced by Turkish Ottoman music, there is no instruments like the longa. Below I found two YouTube videos demonstrating and explaining Sawt music.

3. I have come across an interesting YouTube video about different things in the Indian culture. Indians normally eat with their hands because it makes them feel connected with the food! After Indians eat a meal they eat a handful of jeera (herbal seeds) to put a delicious taste in your mouth. Mustaches in India are a symbol of power and masculinity, so the majority of men have mustaches. In fact, the longest beard measures up to 18 feet! Cows are considered a holy animal and because of that there are millions of cows in India and millions of homeless cows. Cows are often seen on the road and causes traffic blockages! Another thing I found very interesting is the chalk drawings in front of many houses. They resembles accepting the goddess prosperity into their house and is very rude and disrespectful to walk over them. Below is a entertaining video where I found my information!