The category Middle Eastern music refers to music from the Middle East and its different regions such as North Africa, the Levant and the Persian Gulf States. Music classified as "Middle Eastern" includes, but is not limited to, music from the Arabic-speaking countries, Israel, Iran, and Turkey. Middle Eastern music also has similarities to Greek and Indian music, and its influence has reached Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Balkans, as in chalga. The Arabic scale is very different from the Western (from the U.S. and Europe) scale. On a Western piano, for example, there are 7 "white keys" and 5 "black keys". This octave (from middle C to high C, for example) then has 12 notes. In Arabic classical music, music can be played with 17 notes, 19 notes, or 24 notes in an octave. Therefore, the human voice and stringed instruments can more easily get these notes that are "halfway between" the notes on the piano's octave. These halfway between notes are called "quarter tones." A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... North Africa is the Mediterranean, northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... The Levant The Levant (IPA: /ləvænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Chalga (Чалга) is a form of Bulgarian popular music drawing from Balkan folk traditions and incorporating Arabic, Turkish, Greek, and Roma (Gypsy) influences, as well as motifs from Balkan traditional music, flamenco and klezmer music. ... A quarter tone is an interval about half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which is half a whole tone. ...

See also

• Arabesque music
• Arabic music
• Egyptian music
• Lebanese music
• Turkish music
• Israeli music
• Persian music
• Syrian music
• Armenian music
• Assyrian music
• Kurdish music
• Azeri music
• Jordanian music
• Palestinian music
• Iraqi music
• Greek music
• Raï
• Berber music
• Central Asian music
• Turbo-folk
• Skyladika [σκυλάδικα]
• Music of Afghanistan

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Arabesk. ... Arabic music includes several genres and styles of music ranging from Arab classical to Arabic pop music and from secular to sacred music. ... The region around the Nile is one of the oldest continually-inhabited areas in the world. ... Beirut, the largest city in Lebanon, has long been a thriving metropolis, known, especially in a period immediately following World War 2, for its European-style art and intellectualism. ... Turkish music includes the music of modern Turkey, together with related musics in neighbouring regions that once lay within the former Ottoman Empire, and closely related ethnic variants in Central Asia stretching as far as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. ... Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by its constituents, which include Palestinians (see Palestinian music) and Jewish immigrants (see Jewish music) from more than 120 countries around the world have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a global melting pot. ... Moosiqi Asil or Persian music is the traditional and indigenous music of Persia and Persian-speaking countries: musiqi, the science and art of music, and moosiqi, the sound and performance of music (Sakata 1983). ... Syrias capital and largest city, Damascus, has long been one of the Arab worlds centers for cultural and artistic innovation, especially in the field of classical Arab music. ... Armenia is in the Caucasus Mountains, and its music is a mix of indigenous folk music, perhaps best_represented by Djivan Gasparyans well-known duduk music, as well as light pop similar to nearby Middle-Eastern countries, and extensive Christian music, due to Armenias status as the oldest Christian... Assyrian music is divided into three main sections or periods, The Ancient Period that is of (Ur, Babylon and Nineveh), The middle period or Tribal and Folkloric period, and the Modern Period. ... Kurdish Music (Kurdish: Muzîk û strana kurdî) referes to music performed in Kurdish language. ... Azerbaijan is in Caucasus but, musically, it is more closely linked to Persian culture. ... The music of Jordan can be distinguished from that of its neighboring countries like Syria and Saudi Arabia by its strong Bedouin influence. ... Palestinian music ;Arabic,موسيقى فلسطينية is one of many regional sub-genres of Arabic music. ... Iraq is known primarily for an instrument called the oud (similar to a lute) and a rebab (similar to a fiddle); its stars include Ahmed Mukhtar and the Assyrian Munir Bashir. ... Greek music is a mixture of influences from its own indigenous culture with Western and Middle Eastern cultures. ... Raï (Arabic: راي) is a form of folk music, originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African-American and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s and has been primarily evolved by women in the culture. ... The Berbers are an ethnic group in North and West Africa. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Turbo-folk is a music genre originating in Serbia in the early 1990s. ... Since the 1980s, Afghanistan has been involved in near constant violence. ...

External links

• An introduction to Middle Eastern music