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This 62-page book contains sheet music for more than 80 songs which have been popular over the years in the Levant region (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Jordan). For each song, it gives only the melody line. This may look skimpy to someone who is used to U.S. sheet music with guitar chords and full arrangements for both hands, but it is appropriate for Middle Eastern music which does not use the same kind of harmonizing as European and American music. For the most part, the songs included in this collection were popular before 1980, including some traditional songs and songs made popular by Fairuz, Sabah, and Mohammed Abdel Wahab. The number of songs from Egypt included in this book is small. There are a few, but the emphasis is on songs from other sources. The songs included are:
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For most of the songs in the book, the book includes the Arabic script. Unfortunately, if you haven't learned how to read Arabic script, this doesn't help much, but sometimes it's easier to find someone who can help you decipher the script than it is to find someone who can tell you the lyrics offhand. The book includes more than 80 songs. This large collection is very helpful to musicians who are attempting to build an Arabic repertoire. Many of the songs don't appear to use quarter tones and therefore can be played on Western instruments such as piano. The spiral binding makes the book lie open easily, which is helpful when playing an instrument which requires both hands to be busy. |
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The lyrics are in Arabic script, which isn't very helpful to those of us who have not yet learned to read Arabic. The spiral binding makes it difficult to identify the book when it is on the bookshelf next to all the other annoying spiral-bound books on the shelf. Some of the spellings of the song titles seemed odd. It's always challenging to transliterate Arabic words into the Roman alphabet because both Arabic and English have many dialects with different pronunciations of the vowels, and this book did as well as other transliterations I have seen. But it takes a little getting used to, and you sometimes need to use a little imagination when trying to determine whether the song you're looking for is in this book. |
| If you're looking for sheet music for a variety of different songs that are popular in Arabic-speaking companies, particularly pre-1980 songs, this book is an excellent choice because it offers a large selection. |
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To purchase a copy, contact: Ishraq Phone: (+1) (919) 969-8989 Or you can purchase on the web through www.maqam.com. |
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