Elementary Students Experience Arab Music
October 14, 2009
On Tuesday, October 13, 2009, the students in the elementary school were treated to an assembly by Karim Nagi-Mohammed. The Young Audiences of Northeast Ohio sponsored his performance. Karim is originally from Egypt and is in our country to help us understand Arab music and culture. Karim is a percussion professor with the New England Conservatory of Music.
During the assembly, the students were entertained and introduced to several musical instruments, words and styles of dress from the Arab world. The assembly started with a performance on a hand drum which held everyone's attention. While Karim played the drum, he spun the drum and danced. He explained that this drum would be played at celebrations where dancing and eye-catching drumming would help make the party more exciting. Karim then played a tambourine and really impressed the audience. We were very surprised at how many different sounds he was able to produce on the tambourine. During the assembly, Karim changed into the clothing of a Bedouin tribesman and played a string instrument for us. This instrument introduced us to a different sound in music because Arab music is not always tuned like American music. They include half-sharps and half-flats in their songs. Near the end of the show, Karim played a special Arab drum for us. This instrument uses two different tones. He then taught the audience a "silent" dance of the Arab people. We had a great time listening, learning and dancing with Karim!
