The roots of all Arabic music styles lie in Arabic poetry, which dates as far back as Jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic era). Arab poetry was recited with rhythm and tone, spoken in a highly musical manner, and instruments such as the lute, the drum and the Oud were used. A well-known example of these poets was the 7th century poetess Al-Khansa, who remains the best-known female poet in Arabic literature. These early song-poems were relatively simple compositions.
As the centuries went on after this early period, several important treatises and books were written by Arabic music theoreticians, including those authored by Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, and Al Ghazali. The system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, the maqām, was also developed during this time, in the 14th century, and in Andalusia, during the period known as Al-Andalus, Andalusian Classical Music developed from these Arabic music traditions.
One of the first European studies of Arabic music, De Turvarum ritu et caermoniis, was written in the sixteenth century by the Croatian musicologist Bartol Gyurgieuvits, based on his experiences as a slave of the Ottoman empire. The reign of the Ottoman Empire over increasingly vast areas of Arabic land meant that Turkish music flourished across the empire's lands.
However, when the Ottoman Empire ended in the early 20th century, many of the newly independent Arab countries underwent an emergence of nationalistic feeling, and local musical styles replaced Turkish musics in popularity. Egypt was the first country in which this occurred, and Cairo became a centre for developing Arabic musical styles, and it today remains an important area for Arabic Popular Music.
Arabic music refers to all the music of the peoples that make up the Arab world, the majority of which is marked by a focus on melody and rhythm, with less emphasis on harmony than Western music. The Arabic tone system, along with the rhymthic-temporal structures (and the awzan, or rhythmic patterns produced by said structuring) employed by musicians, also sets Arabic music apart from other music, along with the various instruments found only in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa. Arabic music is also usually homophonic in nature, and generally does not feature polyrhythm, polyphony, and motivic development. .
