Instruments
Baglama (saz) musician from Barcelona
Baglama
The Baglama is one of the main instruments from the traditional Turkish music. Its origin takes us back to the ancient Persian civilization.
Composition
This instrument has an oval body and a neck with 2 double strings and a triple one. The frets are moveable so you can execute microtonal music.
A subversive instrument
The Baglama is considered, still nowadays, a subversive instrument and a symbol of endurance from the Kurdish people.
Versatility
The Baglama, even though being a folk instrument, is now used in all genres of music and used for different repertoire, in Persian, Sephardic or Indian songs.
Mediterranean music production: the Oud
Oud
This instrument is the king of the Arab, Turkish, and Sephardic music. It is build by wood ribbons and it has 5 pairs of strings tuned in unison, with a single one on the low end.
Types
The characteristics of each oud will depend on its origin: Egyptian, Syrian, Turkish, etc.
Micro-tonal music
The Oud is a fretless instrument (like the violin), and this allows the performance of micro-tonal music based on modes or makams. These modes or makams are music scales with different rules, characters, and behaviors.
Ottoman classical music
The Oud is one of the main instruments from the Ottoman classical music. This genre of music was performed in palaces, and it achieved great popularity due to its complexity and artistic development.
Folk music production: the Greek Bouzouki
Bouzouki
This very popular instrument from the Greek folk music is a descendant from the Baglama. It has been remade for western players: tempered frets, not suitable for microtonal music.
Types
In the Greek tradition, you’ll find the three pairs of strings bouzouki and the four pairs of strings version. It has a melodic role in a band, unlike the Irish bouzouki, which is usually in charge of rhythm and harmony.
Rembetiko music
The Rembetiko music was born in Pireo, a working-class neighbourhood in Athens, in the first decades of the XX century. After the Greek-Turkish war, a lot of Turkish people immigrated to Athens and brought a lot of their music tradition with them. For a long time, the Bouzouki was a clandestine instrument, persecuted by the government. It represented the fight and the revolution from the working-class people, and often related to the impoverished, drugs or crime world. The lyrics from these songs usually tell stories about fighting the police or the authorities, prison tales, drugs, etc.
Versatility
Even though is the most notorious instrument of the Greek folk music, the Bouzouki is sometimes used to recreate sounds from the Middle Ages.