The saxaphone's lonely, wailing sounds made it a popular

baladi music
instrument
since the
40's.With
the
onset of
Jazz
and its
African
overtones jazz
instruments
and
composition
styles also
blended well
with the
uptempo
orchestral
sounds
of
Egyptian
music
as it
emerged
from the streets of Cairo streets and found its way onto
television and into clubs. The saxaphone and trombone have
become popular instruments for Egyptian and Turkish musicians
since their introduction earlier this century.

Brass finger cymbals have been played since the days of the
Temple of Artemis was a sancturay for dance, and Artemis was
reputed to call them "the drums of the air". Known as sagat in
Arabic or zills in Turkish, the four cymbals are played by the
dancer and the larger toura are played by male percussionists
in the orchestra. Turkey is especially famous for its zills, coming
in all shapes and sizes, including cymbals for drum kits, which
are also now often used in the Middle Eastern Oriental
orchestras.

A 'dom' is a bass beat and a 'tak' is a treble beat. There

are various other techniques used to strike the tabla or
tambourine to produce various rhythms, like the strong, sudden
'cut', but the rhythmic structures revolve mainly around the
assembly of doms and taks - the way they are spaced and the
sound patterns they create. They are often, but not always
played in groups of 4 - but sometimes 2 or 8

The zither is known as the 'qanoon'

made of walnut and has 48
hair strings which are strummed
using tortoise shell picks fixed
the musicians fingers. It is
seated and produces a
tremolando sound.
master
usually
improvised

in Egypt. It is usually
sets of horse
and plucked
to metal rings worn on
played on the lap, or
melancholy, emotive
A
instrument, it is
played as an
solo for taqsim.

The coconut shell rebaba is part of the oud family, and

typically has 2 or 3 strings. The word rebab is an Arabic term
translated as "bowed string instrument". It is closely associated
with Islamic culture, and dates back to at least the 8th century.

Its roots are probably in Arabia or Persia, and its influence has
reached from Indonesia to Europe and Africa (it is thought to
be the earliest ancestor of the violin).