As commonly stated, the scale in characteristically Mohammedan lands involves a primary division of the octave into seven steps, derived from a theoretical division into seventeen, each equal to about one-third of a whole step. The exact method of determining these latter is disputed. There are some eighteen seven-tone scales, differing in the location of the shorter steps. The practical effects are not obviously akin to our modes, as they often emphasize tones that are irrational to us. But, even more than in Hindu song, exactness of interval and fixity of mode are disturbed by incessant slides, turns, grace-notes, shakes, and the like.
The rhythms and metric patterns are derived from those of poetry, and
vary greatly. Harmony is not cultivated, except in the rudest form. Only
a bare beginning of a notation in letters has been made.
Several attempts have been made to imitate or embody Arab melodies in modern composition—the most famous being Félicien David's symphonic ode Le Désert (1844).
What are called Arab instruments have interest
in several instances because they were
the prototypes of European forms in the Middle
Ages. In general, the Mohammedans
in the Middle Ages were the intermediaries
between Europe and the East, and what they
introduced was called Arab without distinction.
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Fig. 26.—Persian Guitar.
Foremost in interest is the ud,' a lute with a
broad, pear-shaped body, a rather short neck bent
back at the head, and four or more strings. This
was introduced into Europe by 800 A.D. at least, became
popular, was imitated in manifold lutes (the
word 'lute' being taken from el'ud), and still survives
in the mandolin. (See Fig. 54.) Another
similar type was the 'tambura,' with a smaller
body, a longer neck, and only a few strings. Of
viols, the 'rebab' and the 'kemangeh' are important,
because probably influencing the evolution of the
viol and the violin.
Many so-called Arab instruments are probably Persian. One of these is the 'santir,' a dulcimer or zither with many strings, akin to the 'kanoon' now found in Egypt and adjacent countries. (Concerning mediæval Arabic literature about music, see sec. 36.)
