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Theory and practice at the ‘Arabic org’: digital technology in contemporary Arab music performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Anne K. Rasmussen
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Extract

The synthesizer is ubiquitous on the Arab–American musical scene. Heard at every party, and on every recording, the synthesizer sings the lingua franca of international popular music. While the facade and the body of the synthesizer consist of neutral, slick, black plastic and metal technology, the soul of the instrument, when played by Arab–American musicians, is capable of a completely indigenous, if synthetic, musical idiom. In this article I draw on my experience of six performers of the Arabic ‘org’, commonly known today as ‘keyboards’, to present a sketch of a modern musical tradition.

Type
Articles
Information
Popular Music , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , October 1996 , pp. 345 - 365
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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