Arabic and Asian Music
1) My Armenian friend, Arman Naghavian, told me about the duduk. I was really interested in this instrument because it is very similar to the oboe. It is the worlds oldest double reed instrument and due to the simplicity of it, it seems as if it would be extremely hard to play. Funny enough the duduk is actually used in many of the songs in Avatar: The Last Airbender. For example, the tsungi horn played by uncle Iroh is actually a combination of the duduk and the trombone. We also hear a lot of these sounds when they are in the desert at the end of book 2.
2) Keeping with this idea of Avatar, one of the dopest instruments that is in the last agni kai is the erhu. A lot of people call it the Chinese violin and it is a two stringed instrument played with the bow in-between both strings. Since the bow is in between both strings you have to use both sides of the bow and change the direction that you are applying pressure. I think that this instrument much like the duduk is full of soul and can be something sad yet also pleasing. Also enjoy this video of Brett and Eddy trying to learn how to play the erhu.
3) I really wanted to look more in to the kanun. I found a performance by Maya Yousseff, a popular Syrian musician, playing the kanun and a song from her album Syrian Dreams. I thought that the instrument was just played with the fingers that have the fingerpicks on them but as I watched this video it looked like all the fingers are really used to play the instrument. This instrument is really beautiful and reminds me a lot of the hammer dulcimer or the santoor which is also a Persian instrument. I hope you enjoy her performance.
It’s awesome what you found out about the duduk. Avatar: The Last Airbender was and kind of still is one of my favorite shows, so learning more about the music is really cool. I had never heard of an erhu, but I can imagine it would be difficult to learn to play. I still struggle playing in one direction, never mind having to switch. Great post!
ReplyDeleteMy first thought about the duduk was "wow, that reed is huge!" The duduk has a very particular timbre that is calming, yet at other times is gut wrenching. Loved the ATLA reference by the way, I never looked into the instrumentation of the soundtracks, but I do know art the erhu is. It's kind of difficult to play because the technique is completely different from upper strings. Although maybe you would have it easier as a cellist, the technique is more similar to it.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Josh! It was really cool learning about the duduk because I'm a huge fan of Avatar! I never actually did know what instrument it was being played so it was cool to get an answer to that. The Kanun was also really cool. It felt like a mix of a harp and a mandolin to me. It sounded awesome though and it was cool to see the technique used to play it with the finger picks and all.
ReplyDeleteNot me reading your blog and getting ready to exposed my nerd self… I absolutely loved Avatar and I binged watched it on Netflix… multiple times. I never knew that that instrument played a key role in that show, nor did I even know the name of it. I just left Aidans blog where he mentioned the Erhu also, I think it is so cool that this seems to be a well-known instrument across some asian cultures.
ReplyDeleteAwesome blog! I found it really cool how you used a dukduk and how distinct the sound is compared to a normal reed instrument. I love avatar and found it really interesting that you used the Erhu which ive never heard before but now love the sound it gives off. Overall really cool!
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