Yes, in Middle Eastern and Oriental traditions in general you will get more authentic results playing the guitar by going up and down on one or two strings. Many of their native instruments work like that. Chords and chord progressions are not something belonging to these types of music. However you can find chords and build progressions with these tunings.
Hey James! Thanks for the comment. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. You can find some more videos like this in my channel. If you are a guitarist, there are also some videos explaining how to play Arabic music on a regular guitar. And you can find even more resources in my website: www.fernandoperezguitar.com Cheers,
My pleasure! You also find many scores and tabs fot playing Arabic music on guitar at www.fernandoperezguitar.com Lots of world music guitar material there. Thanks so much for commenting. Cheers!
@@FernandoPerezGuitar Believe me it’s way easier than the piano once you get to it it just took me a few days to pick up. And the ability to break down to comas within miliseconds is amazing. Even one step further; playing the Kanoun with right hand and the piano left hand simultaneously. We should meet. I’m in Florida 34145. Peace!
@@enginarat yes, I have tried the Qanun before when I was living Egypt. But eventually I am a guitar player, so if I wish to get a little deep in the subject I have to keep it close to what I know and build on that foundation. And yes, definitely microtones become very easy to follow when playing qanun. When I need to have them like that I go for fretless guitar. And yes again, it would be interesting to meet.
A pleasure! Thank you for commenting. If you are interested in the topic there is lots of learning material in my website: www.fernandoperezguitar.com And I am here if you have any questions or comments. Cheers!
Interessing. Sounds like Oud with this tunning. The Dad modal is like i use in long neck baglama. With d drone in smal neck it could be DCG But the cgf ?
You mean the GCF on the last three strings? that comes from one of the Egyptian oud tunings. It is a common combination of intervals in oud tuning. Even Turkish oud has it but in a lower key. In Baglama and similar instruments the tradition is more tuning in fourths and fifths. Ouds from different reguons have a different approach to tuning. More spread and not so limited to fourths and fifths. On the other hands many instruments like baglama, persian and kurdish tanbur, tar, setar, etc, use tunings based on fourths-fifths with some variations according to the Makam, Magam, Dastgah, etc, used.
Everything goes according to your instrument. In terms of tension I always recommend normal (medium) and in few cases high. Low is more for weak instruments such as some vintage ones which due to their conditions might be dangerous to use to much tension to not break anything. But then feel and types of sound vary according to the maker. My recommendation is to find a tone you like from a certain maker and then you choose a brighter or darker version of those strings (speaking soundwise) in order to compensate the sound of your guitar. Meaning… if your guitar construction and type of woods create a dark tone compensate it with brighter sounding strings and the other way around. Personally I use different types of Knobloch strings in all my guitars.
Hi Jessica, it does not have to be a classical guitar. You can use any guitar. I have several videos in my channel explaining how to play Arabic music in fretless guitar as well as standard fretted guitars (nylon, acoustic and electric). You will probably enjoy watching the videos dedicated to using fretlets on any type of guitar in order to play Arabic, Turkish and similar styles of music. In my website you can find a book called "Arabic Music for Guitar". It was originally written for fretless guitar but you can apply everything to a normal guitar. You can fin it at: www.fernandoperezguitar.com If you have more questions please feel free to write. 🙂
There's a fretless classical acoustic for sale on eBay right now for $189.99 Do I need _another_ guitar?! But it's different- it can do things that my other guitars can't... Hmmm...
Well, don't over or understimate a fretless guitar. At first sight it looks like there many things you can only do with a fretless however, it is not like that. There are many "out of the beaten track" techniques on the standard guitar which help you achieve what you are doing on the fretless. Fretless guitar sound can become very limited. It is beautiful of course, but limited. Dynamic range goes down big time on a fretless guitar. Even with a well made high quality fretless guitar you still don't get a confortable sound pressure so you can play with other musicians and listen your instrument well. And the moment you use a pick up (like many players end up having to) you loose the beautiful acoustic sound of the fretless. You loose lots of chords and positions because of the tuning issue. You trade a new sound-tone and a more prominent glissando effect for lots of chords, tricks, techniques, etc. The sacrifce is quite big compared to what you get. Don't get me wrong, I love fretless guitars and have used them for many years. Although personally, the moment I figured out how to get those sounds and tricks on my standard guitar I quitted playing fretless. Think also that the moment you go fretless you loose lots of the things you already can play. It is a dedicated instrument. Personally I believe that when you learn something new on a guitar should be to build up on what you already have. That is how artists create new things. Having said this. (I could add plenty more). If you feel like it, just get it and enjoy it. But let me put it down using an electric guitar analogy. When you get a fretless guitar it is like adding a new preset to your multieffects, not like getting an upgraded one.
Hey! Yes I do have several books full of scores, tabs and audio samples along with explanations about playing Arabic music on guitar. You can find them in the educational page at: www.fernandoperezguitar.com
You are most welcome. It is a real pleasure to share. By the way, if you are interested in the subject a new book just came up “Arabic Maqam Music for Guitar”. You can find it at: www.fernandoperezguitar.com Cheers,
First, thank you for your content. I found your channel from Tolgahan Çoğulu and have been excited to try out some of your techniques. Second, the riff you played at 2:55 reminds me of the solo in Taxman by the Beatles. If I remember correctly this is around the time they started experimenting with styles from Middle-Eastern and Brahminic cultures. I had kind of a mind blown moment because that iconic solo copies a common playing method in another region! Best of luck in your future videos and developments!
Hi @jumiduss! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yes, I do remember the Beatles stuff when they got influenced by Ravi Shankar, etc. I am curious now, I will check that song again to see the resemblance. Thanks also for your good wishes. As you probably saw I have lots of videos on this channel about playing music from different cultures on the guitar. If you like the subject you will find more stuff on my website, there is a page with lots of educational material too. www.fernandoperezguitar.com Cheers!
@@Thelastwarrior You can play some things on standard tuning and also use other alternative tunings depending on the Makkam. For instance you can try: EAEEAE (6th to 1s)
Hey! My pressure! Check this one out. It will help you much too: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fTzbTtK0LiI.htmlsi=9Q8YWYot0TlKrMyr And you have some interesting books about playing Arabic music on guitar in my website: www.fernandoperezguitar.com Cheers,
My pleasure! I recommend you to start with DADGCF. (A instead of G on the fifth string). It is closer to the guitar tuning and you can play the main Maqamat learnt at the beginning. There is also this book I wrote some time ago, it is for fretless but you can apply most of the stuff on standard guitar with frets. It is helpful to know the Maqamat, techniques and learn some tunes. fernandoperezguitar.com/product/357634 If you want to go the extra mile check out this video about how to have the microtones on a standard guitar using a little trick. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fTzbTtK0LiI.html Enjoy it Kyle! :-)
@@rainman7769 thanks! Yes, it is possible to play maqam music with a guitar. It is really enjoyable and different. I actually opened your perception to me musican worlds. 🙂
Hey! My pleasure! It is good to see other people interested in this kind of things. Thanks for commenting. There are more videos about this subject in my channel, in case you haven’t already watched them. And plenty more material in my website: www.fernandoperezguitar.com Should you have any questions or comments it will be my pleasure to do what I can to help. I am actually preparing more videos on the subject soon, so feel free to subscribe in order to know when I upload them. 🙂 And if you know about other people interested in the subject I would sincerely appreciate you sharing these videos around. 😉 Cheers and many thanks for taking the time to comment!
Well, I sincerely appreciate you saying that. It is very encouraging to read words like yours. My best wishes for you and remember where I am if you need anything.
Hey! Wow! Thanks so much. One of the best comments I have ever had. It is good to see I am not alone out there. I agree with you, there is lots of good stuff out there but we need to filler so much BS. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. More stuff on my website: www.fernandoperezguitar.com And should you ever have any questions, comments, anything I can help with, you can also use my email on the website. Cheers!
@@FernandoPerezGuitar just messing round with the tuning on the electric as I left my flamenco guitar round my mums but very much looking forward to trying it out on my Juan Salvatori!
@@FernandoPerezGuitar Well my dear Fernando, That riff with tuned up F takes me back to childhood when all my Eastern buddies were clicking their fingers, dancing for the groom and bride at weddings and bar mitzvas. But I'm just gonna chase a bunch of belly dancers instead. I bet you can get them going with that sound! .. Anyway... Jokes aside I love what you do. I wish your family and friends peace. Cath up soon on here.
