Links:
Beyond the presence or absence of the voice in musical performance, the status and background of the performer is important in determining whether the performance is music or not. The main difference between a professional and an amateur musician is not one of professionalism but of birthright and the musical education that is assumed when one is born into a family of hereditary musicians. The amateur musician learns on his own or nds an ustad (master) professional musician willing to teach or share with him the deep knowledge of his art/profession. At opposite extremes of this spectrum of musicians are the non-musician shepherd who plays his homemade nai (end- blown reed ute) to entertain himself and his ock and a professional musician who plays his nely crafted rabab (a shortnecked, plucked lute with a deep, skin-covered body) in a public concert or televised program. Also included in this wide spectrum of performances are various regional folk songs and instruments of Afghanistan, as well as the urban classical/popular genres of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and other urban centers of the country.
In order to appreciate the music of Afghanistan, one should be aware of Afghanistan’s long history and place in the world known as the “Crossroads of Asia,” an important point along the Silk Roads, the great trade routes between Asia and Europe traversed by countless religious pilgrims and traders (including Marco Polo in the fourteenth century). Today, almost all of Afghanistan’s ethnic groups have historical, cultural, and linguistic ties to peoples living outside its borders. Their current neighbors of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China, and Pakistan not only share with them their musical styles, genres, and instruments, but also have an in uence on the regional styles of Afghanistan.
The music of southern Afghanistan is dominated by the music culture of the Pashtuns, who have a rich history of national pride and independence expressed in poetry composed by prominent Pashtun poets and warriors. Many of their songs are patriotic in nature, urging bravery and resistance against foreign domination. A major form of Pashtun folksongs is the landay, consisting of improvised couplets with a nine-syllable line and a thirteen-syllable line. The musical instrument most closely associated with the Pashtuns is the rabab, which is recognized and celebrated in Pashtun folk literature as a noble folk instrument. The rabab is featured in the story of Adam Khan and Durkhane, a Romeo and Juliet-like romance, in which the sound of the rabab—played by the hero, Adam Khan— rst attracts the attention of the heroine, Durkhane.1
Instruments:
Rubab, (strings) Ghaychak, (Strings) Tabla, (Percussion) Zirbaghali, (drum)