afghan music

The Music of Afghanistan is somewhat similar to that of its neighboring countries. It has existed for a long time, but since the late 1970s the country has been involved in constant wars and people were less concerned about music. As such, music in Afghanistan has been suppressed and recording for outsiders minimal, despite a rich musical heritage.

During the 1990s, the post-Soviet and Taliban governments banned instrumental music and much public music-making. In spite of arrests and destruction ofmusical instruments, musicians have continued to play their trade into the present. The multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country. Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Dari (Persian) and Pashto.

                                                       classical

The classical musical form of Afghanistan is called klasik, which includes both instrumental and vocal and belly dancing ragas, as well as Tarana and Ghazals. Many Ustads, or professional musicians, have learned North Indian classical music in India, and some of them were Indian descendants who moved from India to the royal court in Kabul in the 1860s. They maintain cultural and personal ties with India—through discipleship or intermarriage—and they use the Hindustani musical theories and terminology, for example raga (melodic form) and tala (rhythmic cycle).

Afghan ragas, in contrast to Indian ones, tend to be more focused on rhythm, and are usually played with the tabla, or the local zerbaghali, dayra or dohol, all percussive instruments. Other Afghan classical instruments include the dutar, sorna, sitar, dilruba, tambur, ghichak, and Rubab.

Afghanistan's classical singers include the late Ustad Rahim Bakhsh (1924-1983), who is one of the Master singers of Patiala gharana in North Indian classical music and is also well-known throughout Indiaand Pakistan as a contemporary of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. His composition "Pai Ashk" was used in the theme song of the Hindi film Mera Saya. Other classical singers are Ustad Qasim, Ustad Mohammad Hussain Sarahang, and Ustad Nato.

                                                             rubab

The rubab is a common lute-like instrument in Afghanistan, and is the forerunner of the Indian sarod.^[2] The rubab is sometimes considered the national instrument of Afghanistan, and is called the "lion" of instruments;^[5] one reviewer claims it sounds like "a Middle Eastern predecessor to the blues that popped up in the Piedmont 100 years ago".^[6] The rubab has a double-chambered body carved from mulberry wood and has three main strings and a plectrum made from ivory, bone or wood.

Famous players of the rubab are Ustad Mohammad Omar and Aziz Herawi, while modern performers include Essa Kassemi, Homayun Sakhi, and Mohammed Rahim Khushna

                                                       dambura

The dombura is a popular folk instrument, particularly among the northern Tajiks and the Hazaras in the central part of the country. Notable Afghan dombura players include Dilagha Surood, Naseer Parwani, Mir Maftoon, Safdar Tawkloi and Rajab Haideri. The dombura is played with much banging and scratching on the instrument to help give a percussive sound. The two strings are made of nylon (in modern times) orgut. They cross a short bridge to a pin at the other end of the body. There is a tiny sound hole in the back of the instrument, while the top is thick wood. It is not finished with any varnish, filing or sanding of any kind, and as with all other Afghan instruments there is some