I have the book, and I know next to nothing on the subject (I don't play the oud... yet), but I've certainly found it to be a helpful introduction to
the study of maqamat, and I imagine that it will be a helpful resource for many years to come. I still prefer pulling a book off the shelf to googling
for this kind of thing...Personally, I think his marginalizing of Ottoman and Iraqi references and approaches may have had to do more with presenting
a simple and consistent structure for complete novices to follow without getting them too far in the deep end all at once.
I'm not sure I'd agree with the suggestion that younger Jewish Israelis playing this music are "more connected to Turkish music than Arabic music."
There is a pretty significant surge in interest in Arabic and Judeo-Arabic music in Israel at the moment, fueled in part by the grandchildren of
immigrants from across the Arabic world. This often takes the form of Arabic songs cropping up in pop music, such as A-WA's chart-topping pop album of
songs learned from their Yemenite Jewish grandparents, or rock singer/guitarist Dudu Tassa's recent exploration of the Iraqi songs composed by his
grandfather and great-uncle Daoud and Saleh Al-Kuwaity. There are artists with a stronger traditional emphasis, such as the outstanding young
Moroccan-Israeli singer Neta Elkayam or the oud player and violinist Yair Dalal, whose music is largely drawn from the Iraqi tradition and his
extended time spent with Bedouin musicians in the Negev. As far as I know (any members on the forum from that part of the world please correct me if
I'm wrong), most organized Arabic music programs offered in say, universities, tend to be staffed by Palestinian citizens of Israel or Jewish Israelis
who have studied with them or with Judeo-Arabic tradition bearers and their pupils. I'm sure there are a number of opportunities for studying Turkish
music as well, but it's not something people I know from there have ever mentioned to me.
Ironically, the one exception that springs to mind is Mr. Muallem's son, Yinon, a percussionist and fine oud player himself. He focuses primarily on
Turkish music (he's cited a couple of times in the book), studied oud with Yurdal Tokcan, and frequently performs with Turkish musicians.
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