Ahmad Al Khatib: Practice & Theory of Arabic Music

This workshop offers an in-depth look at the musical structures and stylistic nuances that shape traditional and contemporary Arabic sound. It provides both a theoretical and practical introduction to Arabic musical idioms, focusing on modal systems, rhythmic cycles, stylistic dialects from the Arab world, and ornamentation techniques. Participants will engage with melodic frameworks and rhythmical patterns characteristic of Arabic classical and popular repertoires, practice vocal or instrumental gestures of ornamentation and improvisation and explore how these elements inform expressive performance. 

In this context you will deepen your understanding of how micro-intervals and modal inflections give Arabic music its unique character, and how rhythmic articulation provides the dynamic drive. You will practise stylised ornamentations such as melismatic vocal lines, instrumental glissandi, modulated phrase-ends, and modal modulation. 

Suitable for both instrumentalists and vocalists, this seminar welcomes participants who wish to engage with the modes, rhythms, dialects and expressive techniques of Arabic music – whether for performance-practice or creative exploration.

Learn more about Ahmad Al Khatib