Person says words about rythm in a series of consecutive images.mp4 Today we’re looking at rythm and how they’re conceptualised, felt and put into practice from a theoretical basis in the traditions of Anatolia, the Balkans, and the neighbouring eastern regions. 00:00 Intro 02:35 Complex usuls 04:32 Aksak 15:26 Usul as a foundational base 18:40 Classic regional patterns 26:14 Lack of rythm
Video is amazing. However I must know the names of the Iranian "bazaar music" Also I'm Punjabi and the Iranian counting system is literally most our numbers as well. Also Punjabi music is very similar to a lot of the usuls I've found, pretty interesting stuff tbh.
Λέγοιτο δ᾽ ἂν ἱκανῶς, εἰ κατὰ τὴν ὑποκειμένην ὕλην διασαφηθείη· τὸ γὰρ ἀκριβὲς οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς λόγοις ἐπιζητητέον, ὥσπερ οὐδ᾽ ἐν τοῖς δημιουργουμένοις. τὰ δὲ καλὰ καὶ τὰ δίκαια, περὶ ὧν ἡ πολιτικὴ σκοπεῖται, πολλὴν ἔχει διαφορὰν καὶ πλάνην, ὥστε δοκεῖν νόμῳ μόνον εἶναι, φύσει δὲ μή. τοιαύτην δέ τινα πλάνην ἔχει καὶ τἀγαθὰ διὰ τὸ πολλοῖς συμβαίνειν βλάβας ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν· ἤδη γάρ τινες ἀπώλοντο διὰ πλοῦτον, ἕτεροι δὲ δι᾽ ἀνδρείαν. ἀγαπητὸν οὖν περὶ τοιούτων καὶ ἐκ τοιούτων λέγοντας παχυλῶς καὶ τύπῳ τἀληθὲς ἐνδείκνυσθαι, καὶ περὶ τῶν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ καὶ ἐκ τοιούτων λέγοντας τοιαῦτα καὶ συμπεραίνεσθαι. τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ ἀποδέχεσθαι χρεὼν ἕκαστα τῶν λεγομένων· πεπαιδευμένου γάρ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον τἀκριβὲς ἐπιζητεῖν καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γένος, ἐφ᾽ ὅσον ἡ τοῦ πράγματος φύσις ἐπιδέχεται· παραπλήσιον γὰρ φαίνεται μαθηματικοῦ τε πιθανολογοῦντος ἀποδέχεσθαι καὶ ῥητορικὸν ἀποδείξεις ἀπαιτεῖν. It is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits; it is evidently equally foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician scientific proofs. In short for those with Western education (as you Farya would say): It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Life is the greatest teacher of them all. This includes the lives, loves and deaths of those of whom you are speaking. Just as your Μαμα loves you (and much respect to her always), our mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers loved us immensely. All mothers love to dance to the music that their fathers and now sons create. They also thank Christ and His Holy Mother they are alive to witness any of it, even though their fathers and forefathers aren't. And this isn't just ancient history, Smyrni being one clue and East and West Armenia another.
@@ptolemyisoter5959Oh yeah I also hear it alot in southern music like Telugu and Tamil folk! The Iranian songs are: Engaar na Engaar by Mansour, Dokhtar Irooni by Andy, and Asemoom by Rastak
Watched your video again (because I'm an idiot 😂 and didn't get it much the first time). I got a bit more yipee. Got more interesting too. I'm assuming this session is one pf the basics which would help understand this music better. Does some this remain constant or at least in the ball park with many of the compositions you post? What specfic compositions would have this theory? 🙊 i hope you didn't mind my asking because this really is alien to me. Alien in the sense of this music. Music as such is not alien to me 🤗❤🌷
@@ishanabhavsarSorry about the late answer! Basically if it’s a song from any of the traditions of these regions described here, then it applies a 100%
Another wonderful video on music from the Balkans: Nature's multiple personality disorder. Interesting note: Greek and Greek Cypriot music has a 12-beat which is quite common (which I heard endless times growing up, and dancing to at Greek school). In terms of an example, Antonis Remos "Monos Mou" has this but you find it in a lot of popular music.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the composer who introduced the name “Turk” to music during the classical period from which Turquerie emerged. He was impressed when he listened to Turkish Mehter troops arriving in Vienna with Ottoman envoys. So, he wrote many piano sonatas, concertos and operas in “Alla Turca” styles. Mozart, whose art encompassed magical tales of the East, added more percussion instruments to his works under the Mehter's influence and created a "Turkish music" according to his own understanding. In this way, he took listeners out of the air of classical Western music and dragged them into an exotic atmosphere. “Rondo-Alla Turca,” the last part of the Piano Sonata No. 11 (K. 331), which he wrote in Paris in 1778, and “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”), which he wrote in 1782, are among his most famous works in this style. In addition, Turkish musical motifs are seen in his many other operas. Johann Wolfgang Franck (1644-1710), Carlo Francesco Pollarolo (1653-1723), Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806), Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Niccolo Piccini (1728-1800), Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (1786-1826), Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) and Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) are among the most famous composers who produced works in the Alla Turca style. In these compositions one can remark on the static harmonies, commutes between major and minor, rattling timbrel and thundering bass chords trying to reflect the Mehter's percussive elements.
More recently, Dave Brubeck's Blue Rondo à la Turk, also inspired by the Turkish 9/8 aksak time signature. Brubeck heard this unusual rhythm performed by Turkish musicians on the street. Upon asking the musicians where they got the rhythm, one replied "This rhythm is to us what the blues is to you." Hence the title "Blue Rondo à la Turk. The rhythm is an additive rhythm that consists of three measures of 2+2+2+3 followed by one measure of 3+3+3 and the cycle then repeats.
@@yanniszacharopoulos4939 Mozart intepreted turkish music elements to enrich his western music style. The connection is indirect and cannot be sensed without proper analysis.
@@Sk0lzky I feel as though movement thru air in a linear fashion would be more sensitble than the fluctuation of positive and negative sound waves w regard to how soundwaves are generated to an audible degree. All in all, we don't even know if cats have the same logarithmic sense of octaves
Holy shît you explained so much of the "scholar" Iranian music and a whole other dimension of musicality, I didn't understand and seemed alien to me. Now that I seem to understand the basic usul it feels majestic and liberating. Once again thank you Farya for your ingenuity. You never cease to amaze 🙏 Ps1: I absolutely love the 7 beat Bulgarian usul. Feels regal Ps2: you absolutely had me on Iranian 3/6 rofl
The 'get ready for the tribalists' comment made me LOL because as a Canadian of Armenian descent I was instantly thinking about all those comments that instantly appear on any music or dance videos from the Caucasus 🤣 One of my other faves was in the comments of a video about Uighur dance, someone bitching about how the Uighurs were traitors to their fellow Turks because they had sided with the Han Chinese like 1000 years ago. UA-cam commentors have no chill.
Fascinating. Finally something in English 😂 ...Though i love all the music on this channel. Your cat understands more than i do I'm sure 😍😁 On a serious note, because of your channel i started to read a lot of history surrounding your videos. Thank you for your time and energy you put in this channel.
Your amazing music knowledge, just made me proud of my ancestors and history . Thanks ! I am an Alevi bektashi from Turkey who came to Anatolia from Khorasan Iran about 5-6 hundreds years ago .
Re 04:13 There's a a tune composed by Sultan Abdulaziz in maqam Hijjâz called sirto, that spread to the whole Eastern Mediterranean basin, with each larger or smaller Greek island having its own variation. The piece is called in the Greek speaking world either Σουλτανής-Soultanis (after Sultan), or Αζιζιές-Azizies/Ατζιδιές-Adzidies (after Abdulaziz): The original piece: /watch?v=_pk8ezQA7tE The Cypriot variant: /watch?v=lrsLUjpcPoQ Τhe variant from the island of Lesbos: /watch?v=DabO1-saDoY The most famous being the variant from the island of Naxos: /watch?v=_pKtIyNMvps (the famous blind virtuoso Stathis Koukoularis plays the violin). Once more amazing content mr. Faraji 👍
@@D19DMO128D No need to talk down to us like we are stupid. We know perfectly well about the culture of our neighbors, and don't mean to rob ourselves of achievements out of ignorance. It's fine to have an argument on the tune. But for the sake of sharing it with others, it is right to use the names and understanding that is wide spread amongst ourselves. Besides, we have maintained many of our names, and we were not under the Ottomans when Abdulaziz was sultan, so it seems unlikely that accepting a 'story' would have been forced on us...
Sounds like traditional greek island music to me. According to Britannica the syrtos predates the Sultan's version:Syrtos, ancient chain dance of Greece. It was described by Lucian (c. AD 125-190) and is still danced today in many varieties in the Greek islands
Thank you Farya for breaking down the complexity of rythm in music from Anatolia and the Balkans. From now on I´ll just show this video as soon someone asks about music from these regions. I am a Bosnian who plays the turkish ney and most of the compositions I play are either Ottoman compositions or Mevlevi ones during semazen. I´ve also met Alevis and heard their kind of music in their cemevis. They tend to focus alot on the saz. One of their most popular ones are "Bugun bize pir geldi". I would recommend that you also look into Anatolian Zeybegi music.
Hey Farya, would you consider doing a video like this about Persian dastgah theory? I read some of Hormoz Farhat's "Dastgah concept in Persian music" and watched Sahba's videos on UA-cam, but am still a bit confused about Radif, thanks. UA-cam algorithm really figured out what to suggest me with your channel lol
Oh god I hate the Dastgāh and Radif system as an Iranian hahaha. They’re needlessly complicated in my opinion but that actually would make a fun video, great suggestion
yo my mom also said to me well boy looks like you returned to your 'black sean' roots when she overheard your belisarius but i dont know much about music and i think she said that because she thought it was tulum that was playing which makes me to cast that masterpiece to the whole neighborhood. good luck with your job mate, a fan of your works.
Merhaba Farya, long time no see! Aksak is near and dear to my heart so very happy it gets covered. As a composer I love using odd metres and different rhythmic patterns, not just time signatures. The third usul that you used for Από ξένο τόπο (also you said later it's extensively used in rebetika and anatolia) screamed 'Uyghur' to me as I played quite a lot of Uyghur pieces, and I'd sing it in 'Chinese' as 'dong da - da dong - da - ', with dong = low and da = high. I'm sure it has names all over the modal province but it's fascinating how strong my association between it and Uyghur music is. You should dig into Central Asian music if you have a chance!
Also taksim is equivalent to 散板 'Scattered Tempo', basically non-rhythmic, which comprises of the vast majority of Ancient Chinese music. It ties into the Chinese philosophical idea of 留白 'leaving blanks' - don't fill everything in, and silence is music too. Guqin always soothes me because you pay close attention to the silences that sound randomly distributed but actually meticulously arranged. That's the great joy of Chinese music compared to more western traditions.
First: I absolutely must see a lecture by a great specialist in Ottoman classical music, Jon Snow :) Second: I am in love with all of your music history videos. Thank you very much for your wonderful videos and brilliant music! ^_^
There is even a documentary about that song ("Whose is this song?") where they travel across the Balkans to look for its origins. It's a study into national identity. Thanks for the video!
I didn't think I'd recognize much of this by ear, but as soon as I heard nine metre, I was like "I heard this in the opening of a Turkish historical drama I remember." A few minutes later, "Oh, there's the Xena theme."
Bavarian and Austrian folk music sometimes has 5 metres for a dance called Zwiefacher. In the song "Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter" you have it too. Just an interesting exception for asymmetrical rhythm in Middle European music
Funny, I just ordered a Tar, highly inspired by your channel. I must thank you, because I know a lot of Sephardic songs from my grandma, but I lost so much confidence with voice teachers who really wanted me to stay on a single pitch... hearing you say the exact words "We sing in cursive in the Orient" restored so much confidence, I'm forever grateful!
I’ve rarely been more honoured by a comment, thanks alot! As for your voice, believe me, countless Western musicians told me I can’t sing. I often have some of them telling me my vocals are unpolished, bad, hazy, etc. They say the same about the greatest singers of the Balkans or the Middle-East because we simply don’t sing like they do. The advantage of growing up with non-Western music is that we’ll also inevitably be exposed to Western music, so we grow up inately understanding there’s more than one way to approach music. The disadvantage Western musicians suffer from is that unless they go out of their way to listen to other traditions, a vast majority of them live their entire lives never listening to anything outside their bubble. They’re not malicious or insensitive, they’re just not as lucky as we are to be exposed to different forms of music. It’s why they’re the only people on earth who call their ethnic music “Music Theory,” and don’t preface it with a geographical or ethnic specifier. Those coaches of yours were simply too limited to one form of world music to understand that any approach outside of Western vocals isn’t “singing wrong.” It’s simply singing using a different approach. You do you
@@faryafaraji You have a way of wording things in ways that immediately shatters cognitive dissonance. Growing up in the West, I still felt my culture was beautiful but I didn't think it anymore, if that makes sense. It means a lot that you'd type this eye-opening reply. So again, thank you! For making moms from the Black Sea dance, for making this Sephardi woman find joy in singing again, and I'm sure many other things!
That's so interesting you say that. I live in the UK and used to be in a choir singing Georgian songs. When a performance was coming up, I asked for a bit of help from my Dad, who had singing lessons, but none of the advice was relevant! For example, the vowels I was singing in the Georgian language were the "wrong" way of singing, and the tone was not the standard way of projecting in Western singing. Thankfully he realised it was just a different singing tradition he couldn't help with, rather than talking it down :)
@@popsandwormSuper cool anectode! It’s a great example; Georgian vocal aesthetics do differ alot from typical Western ones, especially female ones in my experience
@@faryafaraji I love it and was doing my best to emulate! If you're interested, the Georgian women's vocal group "Ialoni" ran some sessions for us. I really recommend their back catalogue.
Arythmic improvised vocalisations on top of Usul has such a soulful quality to it. Perfectly put "the notes discover eachother". Another banger, Farya 🫡
so are usuls kind of like the concept of "aires" in hispanic music? for example when you went over the different rhythms behind the greek vocals, applying those different rhythmic patterns reminds me of like the vallenato conjunction of styles. Where there's different rhythmic versions of the style like, paseo, son, merengue (not to be confused with the dominican one), puya, tambora, and then even others like romanza and etc. Or like in salsa which in itself is a frankenstein genre, so it often interchangeably will apply a whole buttload of different cuban rhythmic genres as it pleases within one song. Another example would be like in flamenco of course where theres also different genres "aires" within flamenco that one can pick and choose from. Also about the dum dek thing, it reminds of in brasil where when you want to learn how one of their many rhythms play out. That they say this where instead of learning it via time signature like the europeans or us citizens do, they do the exact same dum dek sort of approach to teach the rhythms with their own wording and whatnot. I remember learning a number of usuls without even knowing what they were, like malfuf, saidi, beledi, etc, and I kept wondering if these were like bases for genres on their own right. I would end up looking up on youtube but only finding tutorials on how to do the rhythms only instead of any particular song that was using said rhythm as a base lmao. I guess this is sort of where the difference lies, the aires and different rhythms in hispanic music though may belong in a bigger bubble are often reffered to as genres of their own accord. While in eastern music usuls are not considered genres but only really rhythmic styles? edit: just got to the reggaeton part lmao. The funny part about reggaeton is that its tresillo pattern has no hispanic roots whatsover, at least not in any traditional capacity. The first reggaetons in panama were actually hella lot closer to the jamaica reggae which is where it all originated from. Jamaican music was just really popular in the 90s for no particular reason lmao. It's also why caribbean styles nearby that aren't reggaeton like Soca, Chutney, and Zouk all have a tinge of the infamous tresillo pattern. It also shows up in the neo-modernist take on the san juanito genre in ecuador for no particular reason, I think that one is funny because traditional san juanito has a pretty unique rhythmic pattern relatively speaking. So to think they're putting tresillo over instead lmaaoo. edit 2: oh my goodness the 6/8 rhythm. I always wondered why it sounded so familiar. In ecuador and in peru there's this rhythm used for "cumbias" (in ecuador they just call it albazo as in its actual proper name), and its literally the 6/8 pattern that the irani use lmao. In peru we only know it as cumbia because in the north of peru they'd take the genres from ecuador, and bring it to the whole country labeled as just cumbia lmao.
Please, please, make a video where you elaborate more on the concepts of time in music versus rhythm/ beats. My (Greek folk) dance teacher makes everything sound too complicated, and said I'd better ask a musicologist ;-)
What I find interesting is the whole Aksak concept of odd meters. I had a friend who is really into Balkan music (we actually have "Balkan Camp" here on the West Coast of the USA, and she attended it) and mentioned they just kind of approached it in "long/short" beats depending on the rhythm (Kopanitsa, Horo, etc.). That's how I wrap my own head around odd meters to this day. Your Rachentiisa example would be "Short Short long x4" (caps being emphasis beats, and lower case being passive,) with the pulse as 7 beats. As you demonstrate however, the actual musical phrase is based on that Usul, which kind of is both obvious, and confusing unless you understand that long/short "beat" difference. Kinda mind-blowing actually, and it almost seems like the concept in Hindustani music of the "Alap" where you have a specific cycle of beats of various measure lengths, but with an overall rhythmic feel/pulse, though I'm alas not super familliar with at concept. I wonder what your take on that is? Outstanding and enlightening as always!
21:45 we have the same thing here in Azerbaijan, I was a little shocked by how familiar it all sounds to me, well nothing surprising as we are neighbours
I know John Snow doesn't know anything... But we can always teach him music theory... If he starts an UA-cam channel call the FBI. Or me so I can make money off of it also
So in Dune we learn that usul is "the base of the pillar". Is this what the word means in reality? It does provide the base for the music to lay upon, in a way. Also, wouldn't you know, in Greece we call this kind of music "dabar-doobar" too. Like, anything with a toumberleki in it. But, above all and most importantly: ERMAHGERD CAT
I humbly thank you for these videos about music theory, music is one of the key features of mankind and the fact it has so many varieties interests me a lot
Many traditional Greek dance rhythms make a lot more sense to me after watching this video. Notably, the karsilama (a Greek/Turkish dance from Asia Minor). I should also commend you on your style of presentation -you have a special talent in transforming boring theory into a fascinating story that even a layperson such as myself can follow. [On a different note, it didn't go unnoticed that you sang the politically incorrect lyrics to the "Apo kseno topo" song :)]
7 has to be my favorite beat count, followed by 11. What they have in common is that they are one beat short of a conventional multiple of 4, adding a sense of hastiness and aggression.
Im not sure what happened to my original comment, it's no longer in the comments section but as I had mentioned previously, I really look forward to you doing a version of the Ottoman Mehter song Hücum Marşı with your style one day.
The rythm at 24:53 has some similarities with the tarantela pizzica which is sang by the the greek minority of south italy. What is the title of the song?
My fav video so far. I've always been fascinated by balkanic music, but have very little musical knowledge. Thanksfully, you always manage to break it down to simple theory and understandable exemples :)
Agreed, it's pretty cool how the words for "5" and "6" sound almost identical in Polish & in Farsi, Kurmanji, Sorani etc. Our languages have drifted pretty far from each other over the millennia, so seeing that our Iranic cousins and us still share some common words makes me happy. :)
The guy in Doxaria kai Skarophtera clip is Antonis Martsakis if anyone's interested :) (my dad was) PS 25:00 I'm not but I've learnt lezginka and it do be like that. Can't get that horrible accordion sound out of my head and legs just wanna move kek
Quick question: I always wondered what purpose the bandage around your right forearm serves, does it cover up a wound? Or maybe it helps you musically? Please tell, I'm bursting with Curiosity!
Superficial aesthetics haha, I just like the way it looks. Although I’m also an animal person and will literally play with every dog/cat I cross on the street, so I can unwrap it and dangle it around haha
@dezato9839 I had the same question as well! Joke aside, my best guess is that this bandage serves the same purpose as the wristbands some guitarists wear - it offers better grip and also protects the instrument from sweat, oils etc.
I am from creta ad i love your videos. I want to learn more about the balkanic and the ottoman music. I would loke to ask where can i find more material in tegards to rythm ans melodies of greece and asia.
I do it on purpose; those texts are useless for understanding the video as a whole, and only optional remarks. I make them quick so people who want to read can pause the video while those not interested won’t be taken hostage by it for 45 seconds
this was a cool overview of this topic. I play, to varying degrees, music from different parts of the Balkans/Anatolia but my special fascination is with Albanian music. They have some crazy rhythmic structures there, one of my favorites being a 12-beat pattern that's subdivided into something like a 5 + 7, but even that's fairly simple compared to others. Like one song where the instrumental interlude between verses is 12 + 10, then the verses go ~12 + 15, though these have subdivisions in them as well. Then there's a northern genre played on a 2-sting çifteli called melodi, b/c it's instrumental, that is generally through-composed and has crazy non-repeating structures that change "usul" (totally not the word for them, but idk what is and I'm sticking with your formulation since I'm talking to you :P ) at the drop of a hat, every few "bars". IDK how they come up with these but it's like nothing I've heard from anywhere else!
Great video, as always. Your videos take me onto a journey and make me want to understand more about music and its different forms. Also I thought you might explore Yemen a bit more when it comes to rhythm. From my understanding especially in Yemeni Jewish music rhythm is THE thing.
Person says words about rythm in a series of consecutive images.mp4
Today we’re looking at rythm and how they’re conceptualised, felt and put into practice from a theoretical basis in the traditions of Anatolia, the Balkans, and the neighbouring eastern regions.
00:00 Intro
02:35 Complex usuls
04:32 Aksak
15:26 Usul as a foundational base
18:40 Classic regional patterns
26:14 Lack of rythm
Video is amazing. However I must know the names of the Iranian "bazaar music"
Also I'm Punjabi and the Iranian counting system is literally most our numbers as well. Also Punjabi music is very similar to a lot of the usuls I've found, pretty interesting stuff tbh.
Λέγοιτο δ᾽ ἂν ἱκανῶς, εἰ κατὰ τὴν ὑποκειμένην ὕλην διασαφηθείη· τὸ γὰρ ἀκριβὲς οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς λόγοις ἐπιζητητέον, ὥσπερ οὐδ᾽ ἐν τοῖς δημιουργουμένοις. τὰ δὲ καλὰ καὶ τὰ δίκαια, περὶ ὧν ἡ πολιτικὴ σκοπεῖται, πολλὴν ἔχει διαφορὰν καὶ πλάνην, ὥστε δοκεῖν νόμῳ μόνον εἶναι, φύσει δὲ μή. τοιαύτην δέ τινα πλάνην ἔχει καὶ τἀγαθὰ διὰ τὸ πολλοῖς συμβαίνειν βλάβας ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν· ἤδη γάρ τινες ἀπώλοντο διὰ πλοῦτον, ἕτεροι δὲ δι᾽ ἀνδρείαν. ἀγαπητὸν οὖν περὶ τοιούτων καὶ ἐκ τοιούτων λέγοντας παχυλῶς καὶ τύπῳ τἀληθὲς ἐνδείκνυσθαι, καὶ περὶ τῶν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ καὶ ἐκ τοιούτων λέγοντας τοιαῦτα καὶ συμπεραίνεσθαι. τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ ἀποδέχεσθαι χρεὼν ἕκαστα τῶν λεγομένων· πεπαιδευμένου γάρ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον τἀκριβὲς ἐπιζητεῖν καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γένος, ἐφ᾽ ὅσον ἡ τοῦ πράγματος φύσις ἐπιδέχεται· παραπλήσιον γὰρ φαίνεται μαθηματικοῦ τε πιθανολογοῦντος ἀποδέχεσθαι καὶ ῥητορικὸν ἀποδείξεις ἀπαιτεῖν.
It is the mark of an educated man to look for precision in each class of things just so far as the nature of the subject admits; it is evidently equally foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician scientific proofs.
In short for those with Western education (as you Farya would say): It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Life is the greatest teacher of them all. This includes the lives, loves and deaths of those of whom you are speaking.
Just as your Μαμα loves you (and much respect to her always), our mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers loved us immensely. All mothers love to dance to the music that their fathers and now sons create. They also thank Christ and His Holy Mother they are alive to witness any of it, even though their fathers and forefathers aren't. And this isn't just ancient history, Smyrni being one clue and East and West Armenia another.
@@ptolemyisoter5959Oh yeah I also hear it alot in southern music like Telugu and Tamil folk! The Iranian songs are: Engaar na Engaar by Mansour, Dokhtar Irooni by Andy, and Asemoom by Rastak
Watched your video again (because I'm an idiot 😂 and didn't get it much the first time). I got a bit more yipee. Got more interesting too.
I'm assuming this session is one pf the basics which would help understand this music better. Does some this remain constant or at least in the ball park with many of the compositions you post? What specfic compositions would have this theory?
🙊 i hope you didn't mind my asking because this really is alien to me.
Alien in the sense of this music. Music as such is not alien to me 🤗❤🌷
@@ishanabhavsarSorry about the late answer! Basically if it’s a song from any of the traditions of these regions described here, then it applies a 100%
It's crazy to learn that Farya's chest is actually made out of drums. Really took me by surprise.
I am honored to meet such a great scholar in music and compatriot ❤🎉
Another wonderful video on music from the Balkans: Nature's multiple personality disorder.
Interesting note: Greek and Greek Cypriot music has a 12-beat which is quite common (which I heard endless times growing up, and dancing to at Greek school). In terms of an example, Antonis Remos "Monos Mou" has this but you find it in a lot of popular music.
I love that you are basically Greek at heart, and you just sneak Greek songs and traditions everywhere XD
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the composer who introduced the name “Turk” to music during the classical period from which Turquerie emerged. He was impressed when he listened to Turkish Mehter troops arriving in Vienna with Ottoman envoys. So, he wrote many piano sonatas, concertos and operas in “Alla Turca” styles.
Mozart, whose art encompassed magical tales of the East, added more percussion instruments to his works under the Mehter's influence and created a "Turkish music" according to his own understanding. In this way, he took listeners out of the air of classical Western music and dragged them into an exotic atmosphere. “Rondo-Alla Turca,” the last part of the Piano Sonata No. 11 (K. 331), which he wrote in Paris in 1778, and “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”), which he wrote in 1782, are among his most famous works in this style. In addition, Turkish musical motifs are seen in his many other operas.
Johann Wolfgang Franck (1644-1710), Carlo Francesco Pollarolo (1653-1723), Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787), Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806), Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Niccolo Piccini (1728-1800), Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (1786-1826), Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) and Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) are among the most famous composers who produced works in the Alla Turca style. In these compositions one can remark on the static harmonies, commutes between major and minor, rattling timbrel and thundering bass chords trying to reflect the Mehter's percussive elements.
Wassup bro
Found the Goat🗿🗿
More recently, Dave Brubeck's Blue Rondo à la Turk, also inspired by the Turkish 9/8 aksak time signature. Brubeck heard this unusual rhythm performed by Turkish musicians on the street. Upon asking the musicians where they got the rhythm, one replied "This rhythm is to us what the blues is to you." Hence the title "Blue Rondo à la Turk. The rhythm is an additive rhythm that consists of three measures of 2+2+2+3 followed by one measure of 3+3+3 and the cycle then repeats.
Is Mozart's music related to ?
@@yanniszacharopoulos4939 Mozart intepreted turkish music elements to enrich his western music style. The connection is indirect and cannot be sensed without proper analysis.
I love Farya's genuine naïveté in declaring with conviction that cats do not understand music.
I actually wonder how they perceive organised sets of sounds like this given their whisker super sense noticing tiniest movements of air
Anti-cat propaganda 😮💨
@@Sk0lzky I feel as though movement thru air in a linear fashion would be more sensitble than the fluctuation of positive and negative sound waves w regard to how soundwaves are generated to an audible degree. All in all, we don't even know if cats have the same logarithmic sense of octaves
Now I finally understand the meaning behind Hadise's Eurovision song, "Dum tek tek."
Holy shît you explained so much of the "scholar" Iranian music and a whole other dimension of musicality, I didn't understand and seemed alien to me. Now that I seem to understand the basic usul it feels majestic and liberating. Once again thank you Farya for your ingenuity. You never cease to amaze 🙏
Ps1: I absolutely love the 7 beat Bulgarian usul. Feels regal
Ps2: you absolutely had me on Iranian 3/6 rofl
Hahaha all Iranians feel that 3 beat rythm, it’s in our blood ❤️
The 'get ready for the tribalists' comment made me LOL because as a Canadian of Armenian descent I was instantly thinking about all those comments that instantly appear on any music or dance videos from the Caucasus 🤣
One of my other faves was in the comments of a video about Uighur dance, someone bitching about how the Uighurs were traitors to their fellow Turks because they had sided with the Han Chinese like 1000 years ago. UA-cam commentors have no chill.
Mehmet Jon snow be like: winter is coming, kardeş.
Fascinating.
Finally something in English 😂
...Though i love all the music on this channel.
Your cat understands more than i do I'm sure 😍😁
On a serious note, because of your channel i started to read a lot of history surrounding your videos. Thank you for your time and energy you put in this channel.
I’m honoured, thank you!
Your amazing music knowledge, just made me proud of my ancestors and history . Thanks ! I am an Alevi bektashi from Turkey who came to Anatolia from Khorasan Iran about 5-6 hundreds years ago .
nerelisin gardas
@@ankdirhorasanlı Türk olma ihtimali yüksek.
Какой шикарный кот!
Re 04:13 There's a a tune composed by Sultan Abdulaziz in maqam Hijjâz called sirto, that spread to the whole Eastern Mediterranean basin, with each larger or smaller Greek island having its own variation. The piece is called in the Greek speaking world either Σουλτανής-Soultanis (after Sultan), or Αζιζιές-Azizies/Ατζιδιές-Adzidies (after Abdulaziz):
The original piece: /watch?v=_pk8ezQA7tE
The Cypriot variant: /watch?v=lrsLUjpcPoQ
Τhe variant from the island of Lesbos: /watch?v=DabO1-saDoY
The most famous being the variant from the island of Naxos: /watch?v=_pKtIyNMvps (the famous blind virtuoso Stathis Koukoularis plays the violin).
Once more amazing content mr. Faraji 👍
@@D19DMO128D You're a troll account with nothing to contribute, I'm sorry I even bothered replying to you.
@@D19DMO128D No need to talk down to us like we are stupid. We know perfectly well about the culture of our neighbors, and don't mean to rob ourselves of achievements out of ignorance.
It's fine to have an argument on the tune. But for the sake of sharing it with others, it is right to use the names and understanding that is wide spread amongst ourselves. Besides, we have maintained many of our names, and we were not under the Ottomans when Abdulaziz was sultan, so it seems unlikely that accepting a 'story' would have been forced on us...
Sounds like traditional greek island music to me. According to Britannica the syrtos predates the Sultan's version:Syrtos, ancient chain dance of Greece. It was described by Lucian (c. AD 125-190) and is still danced today in many varieties in the Greek islands
Thank you Farya for breaking down the complexity of rythm in music from Anatolia and the Balkans. From now on I´ll just show this video as soon someone asks about music from these regions. I am a Bosnian who plays the turkish ney and most of the compositions I play are either Ottoman compositions or Mevlevi ones during semazen. I´ve also met Alevis and heard their kind of music in their cemevis. They tend to focus alot on the saz. One of their most popular ones are "Bugun bize pir geldi".
I would recommend that you also look into Anatolian Zeybegi music.
Farya has done a cover on that song and its beautiful
Hey Farya, would you consider doing a video like this about Persian dastgah theory? I read some of Hormoz Farhat's "Dastgah concept in Persian music" and watched Sahba's videos on UA-cam, but am still a bit confused about Radif, thanks. UA-cam algorithm really figured out what to suggest me with your channel lol
Oh god I hate the Dastgāh and Radif system as an Iranian hahaha. They’re needlessly complicated in my opinion but that actually would make a fun video, great suggestion
25:32 Haha, you just made my day mentioning me and my mom! Love
I cannot understand as to why this man is only talking instead of singing, WHERE IS THE LYRE?
최고의 유튜브 채널입니다~ 사랑합니다~❤
"Please help" 🐈
Can you make an amazigh song please
All of his songs are amazing! 😜
seing the word "Usul" all I can think of is the book Dune.
Yo it's crazy how much turbofolk and chalga uses these rhythm systems
Azis + those rythms are what I live for
An expert who doesn't understand anything that he is an expert of??
Literally me
Edit: talking about the cat
I cant thank you enough. Your UA-cam videos have been my best musical education ever. 👏👏
yo my mom also said to me well boy looks like you returned to your 'black sean' roots when she overheard your belisarius but i dont know much about music and i think she said that because she thought it was tulum that was playing which makes me to cast that masterpiece to the whole neighborhood. good luck with your job mate, a fan of your works.
NEW VIDEO FUCK YEAHHHH 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Merhaba Farya, long time no see! Aksak is near and dear to my heart so very happy it gets covered. As a composer I love using odd metres and different rhythmic patterns, not just time signatures.
The third usul that you used for Από ξένο τόπο (also you said later it's extensively used in rebetika and anatolia) screamed 'Uyghur' to me as I played quite a lot of Uyghur pieces, and I'd sing it in 'Chinese' as 'dong da - da dong - da - ', with dong = low and da = high. I'm sure it has names all over the modal province but it's fascinating how strong my association between it and Uyghur music is. You should dig into Central Asian music if you have a chance!
Also taksim is equivalent to 散板 'Scattered Tempo', basically non-rhythmic, which comprises of the vast majority of Ancient Chinese music. It ties into the Chinese philosophical idea of 留白 'leaving blanks' - don't fill everything in, and silence is music too. Guqin always soothes me because you pay close attention to the silences that sound randomly distributed but actually meticulously arranged. That's the great joy of Chinese music compared to more western traditions.
Actually a very good idea to use your own music. This is a great talk.
First: I absolutely must see a lecture by a great specialist in Ottoman classical music, Jon Snow :)
Second: I am in love with all of your music history videos.
Thank you very much for your wonderful videos and brilliant music! ^_^
You have just explained to me why I like music from India, Balkans and Reggaeton. Thank you.
There is even a documentary about that song ("Whose is this song?") where they travel across the Balkans to look for its origins. It's a study into national identity. Thanks for the video!
I didn't think I'd recognize much of this by ear, but as soon as I heard nine metre, I was like "I heard this in the opening of a Turkish historical drama I remember." A few minutes later, "Oh, there's the Xena theme."
What a beautifoul man 🔥
Bavarian and Austrian folk music sometimes has 5 metres for a dance called Zwiefacher. In the song "Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter" you have it too. Just an interesting exception for asymmetrical rhythm in Middle European music
Funny, I just ordered a Tar, highly inspired by your channel. I must thank you, because I know a lot of Sephardic songs from my grandma, but I lost so much confidence with voice teachers who really wanted me to stay on a single pitch... hearing you say the exact words "We sing in cursive in the Orient" restored so much confidence, I'm forever grateful!
I’ve rarely been more honoured by a comment, thanks alot!
As for your voice, believe me, countless Western musicians told me I can’t sing. I often have some of them telling me my vocals are unpolished, bad, hazy, etc. They say the same about the greatest singers of the Balkans or the Middle-East because we simply don’t sing like they do. The advantage of growing up with non-Western music is that we’ll also inevitably be exposed to Western music, so we grow up inately understanding there’s more than one way to approach music.
The disadvantage Western musicians suffer from is that unless they go out of their way to listen to other traditions, a vast majority of them live their entire lives never listening to anything outside their bubble. They’re not malicious or insensitive, they’re just not as lucky as we are to be exposed to different forms of music. It’s why they’re the only people on earth who call their ethnic music “Music Theory,” and don’t preface it with a geographical or ethnic specifier.
Those coaches of yours were simply too limited to one form of world music to understand that any approach outside of Western vocals isn’t “singing wrong.” It’s simply singing using a different approach. You do you
@@faryafaraji You have a way of wording things in ways that immediately shatters cognitive dissonance. Growing up in the West, I still felt my culture was beautiful but I didn't think it anymore, if that makes sense. It means a lot that you'd type this eye-opening reply.
So again, thank you! For making moms from the Black Sea dance, for making this Sephardi woman find joy in singing again, and I'm sure many other things!
That's so interesting you say that. I live in the UK and used to be in a choir singing Georgian songs. When a performance was coming up, I asked for a bit of help from my Dad, who had singing lessons, but none of the advice was relevant! For example, the vowels I was singing in the Georgian language were the "wrong" way of singing, and the tone was not the standard way of projecting in Western singing. Thankfully he realised it was just a different singing tradition he couldn't help with, rather than talking it down :)
@@popsandwormSuper cool anectode! It’s a great example; Georgian vocal aesthetics do differ alot from typical Western ones, especially female ones in my experience
@@faryafaraji I love it and was doing my best to emulate! If you're interested, the Georgian women's vocal group "Ialoni" ran some sessions for us. I really recommend their back catalogue.
Please consider making a song or symphony on the battle of Adrianople. I need something to go with Total War: Attila.
Arythmic improvised vocalisations on top of Usul has such a soulful quality to it. Perfectly put "the notes discover eachother".
Another banger, Farya 🫡
so are usuls kind of like the concept of "aires" in hispanic music? for example when you went over the different rhythms behind the greek vocals, applying those different rhythmic patterns reminds me of like the vallenato conjunction of styles. Where there's different rhythmic versions of the style like, paseo, son, merengue (not to be confused with the dominican one), puya, tambora, and then even others like romanza and etc.
Or like in salsa which in itself is a frankenstein genre, so it often interchangeably will apply a whole buttload of different cuban rhythmic genres as it pleases within one song.
Another example would be like in flamenco of course where theres also different genres "aires" within flamenco that one can pick and choose from.
Also about the dum dek thing, it reminds of in brasil where when you want to learn how one of their many rhythms play out. That they say this where instead of learning it via time signature like the europeans or us citizens do, they do the exact same dum dek sort of approach to teach the rhythms with their own wording and whatnot.
I remember learning a number of usuls without even knowing what they were, like malfuf, saidi, beledi, etc, and I kept wondering if these were like bases for genres on their own right. I would end up looking up on youtube but only finding tutorials on how to do the rhythms only instead of any particular song that was using said rhythm as a base lmao. I guess this is sort of where the difference lies, the aires and different rhythms in hispanic music though may belong in a bigger bubble are often reffered to as genres of their own accord. While in eastern music usuls are not considered genres but only really rhythmic styles?
edit: just got to the reggaeton part lmao. The funny part about reggaeton is that its tresillo pattern has no hispanic roots whatsover, at least not in any traditional capacity. The first reggaetons in panama were actually hella lot closer to the jamaica reggae which is where it all originated from. Jamaican music was just really popular in the 90s for no particular reason lmao. It's also why caribbean styles nearby that aren't reggaeton like Soca, Chutney, and Zouk all have a tinge of the infamous tresillo pattern.
It also shows up in the neo-modernist take on the san juanito genre in ecuador for no particular reason, I think that one is funny because traditional san juanito has a pretty unique rhythmic pattern relatively speaking. So to think they're putting tresillo over instead lmaaoo.
edit 2: oh my goodness the 6/8 rhythm. I always wondered why it sounded so familiar. In ecuador and in peru there's this rhythm used for "cumbias" (in ecuador they just call it albazo as in its actual proper name), and its literally the 6/8 pattern that the irani use lmao. In peru we only know it as cumbia because in the north of peru they'd take the genres from ecuador, and bring it to the whole country labeled as just cumbia lmao.
Please, please, make a video where you elaborate more on the concepts of time in music versus rhythm/ beats. My (Greek folk) dance teacher makes everything sound too complicated, and said I'd better ask a musicologist ;-)
Tell me of your homeworld, Usul.
What I find interesting is the whole Aksak concept of odd meters. I had a friend who is really into Balkan music
(we actually have "Balkan Camp" here on the West Coast of the USA, and she attended it) and mentioned they just kind
of approached it in "long/short" beats depending on the rhythm (Kopanitsa, Horo, etc.).
That's how I wrap my own head around odd meters to this day.
Your Rachentiisa example would be "Short Short long x4" (caps being emphasis beats, and lower case being passive,) with the pulse as 7 beats.
As you demonstrate however, the actual musical phrase is based on that Usul, which kind of is both obvious, and confusing unless you understand that long/short "beat" difference.
Kinda mind-blowing actually, and it almost seems like the concept in Hindustani music of the "Alap" where you have a specific cycle of beats of various measure lengths,
but with an overall rhythmic feel/pulse, though I'm alas not super familliar with at concept.
I wonder what your take on that is?
Outstanding and enlightening as always!
21:45 we have the same thing here in Azerbaijan, I was a little shocked by how familiar it all sounds to me, well nothing surprising as we are neighbours
I know John Snow doesn't know anything... But we can always teach him music theory... If he starts an UA-cam channel call the FBI. Or me so I can make money off of it also
So in Dune we learn that usul is "the base of the pillar". Is this what the word means in reality? It does provide the base for the music to lay upon, in a way.
Also, wouldn't you know, in Greece we call this kind of music "dabar-doobar" too. Like, anything with a toumberleki in it.
But, above all and most importantly: ERMAHGERD CAT
Yep usul is from Arabic and has a wide range of meanings around “root, base, origin.” In this case, the “base” or “pillar” of the music
@@faryafaraji well there we have it. Thanks.
Also, I remembered the turkish song in eurovosion 2009, titled Düm Tek Tek. It came fourth.
Anyone know what the Cretan song at 21:00 is?
It’s called λεμονιά or για το θεό μάνα μου
So much great info on your channel, nice one
AYYYYY I knew I’d find you here at some point
I can recognize these rhythms from Greek traditional music. I love eastern music
I humbly thank you for these videos about music theory, music is one of the key features of mankind and the fact it has so many varieties interests me a lot
I believe this to be not only one, but two of the Epic Talkings of all history; three, even.
Mehmet Kat!
Amazing
"Usul," also Paul Muad'Dib to his friends and worshippers.
Many traditional Greek dance rhythms make a lot more sense to me after watching this video. Notably, the karsilama (a Greek/Turkish dance from Asia Minor). I should also commend you on your style of presentation -you have a special talent in transforming boring theory into a fascinating story that even a layperson such as myself can follow.
[On a different note, it didn't go unnoticed that you sang the politically incorrect lyrics to the "Apo kseno topo" song :)]
7 has to be my favorite beat count, followed by 11. What they have in common is that they are one beat short of a conventional multiple of 4, adding a sense of hastiness and aggression.
Im not sure what happened to my original comment, it's no longer in the comments section but as I had mentioned previously, I really look forward to you doing a version of the Ottoman Mehter song Hücum Marşı with your style one day.
The rythm at 24:53 has some similarities with the tarantela pizzica which is sang by the the greek minority of south italy. What is the title of the song?
I don't know the piece, but I think the dance is Lezginka
Who know what the music at 5:56 called? It’s just so good
J’aim sans penser laidure by Guillaume de Machaut, it’s indeed an excellent piece!
@@faryafaraji Thank you so much! ❤️
Can you give a link to the georgian music at 24:13 ? It sound so epic.
ua-cam.com/video/bz2ImaHqPkk/v-deo.htmlsi=gd1TZVndckGe2FEr There you go :)
I just found this channel today. The information is all facinating, but the cat and joke won me over completely. 🤣
Super
Great video as always. You considered doing a music theory video about certein movies ? Like in "Gawain and the green knight" or "Dune" ?
My fav video so far.
I've always been fascinated by balkanic music, but have very little musical knowledge.
Thanksfully, you always manage to break it down to simple theory and understandable exemples :)
Thanks alot!
This thumbnail looks so awesome 😄😅
You were hogging the conversation the whole time and didn’t let the cat speak. 😅
At 17 minutes "Üsküdara giderken.."
when you counting in farsi it sounds similar to polish.... pure evidence of eastern indoeuropean languages :-)
Agreed, it's pretty cool how the words for "5" and "6" sound almost identical in Polish & in Farsi, Kurmanji, Sorani etc. Our languages have drifted pretty far from each other over the millennia, so seeing that our Iranic cousins and us still share some common words makes me happy. :)
@@yesilgozluyum 1 to... jeden :-)
BTW this is almost similar for all indoeuropean languages.
Brilliant video! Really helping me wrap my head around Balkan rhythms especially. Do you have a link to the audio you used at 25:20 ?
ua-cam.com/video/9BZ4mobFCgo/v-deo.html Thanks alot! And there you go :)
@@faryafaraji thanks!!
The guy in Doxaria kai Skarophtera clip is Antonis Martsakis if anyone's interested :)
(my dad was)
PS 25:00 I'm not but I've learnt lezginka and it do be like that. Can't get that horrible accordion sound out of my head and legs just wanna move kek
Can you give us Arabic music, for example, during the golden age of Islam?
Absolutely, I’m working on it!
@@faryafaraji Thanks, that means a lot to me
I SAW A KITTY KOT!
Quick question:
I always wondered what purpose the bandage around your right forearm serves, does it cover up a wound?
Or maybe it helps you musically?
Please tell, I'm bursting with Curiosity!
Superficial aesthetics haha, I just like the way it looks. Although I’m also an animal person and will literally play with every dog/cat I cross on the street, so I can unwrap it and dangle it around haha
@@faryafaraji The simplest explanation really is the most elegant.
@dezato9839 I had the same question as well! Joke aside, my best guess is that this bandage serves the same purpose as the wristbands some guitarists wear - it offers better grip and also protects the instrument from sweat, oils etc.
Heyyy does anyone know what the song at 21:00 is??
Mikri mou lemonia mou, Farya did a cover on the channel!
@sal6695 Thank youuuu. It would also be nice to find that exact video as well but Farya's version is great as well
the singer is Antonis Martsakis. couldnt find that exact video but there are uploads of his performances live including this song
Is Mozart's music related to ? I THINK NO
The ending 😂
Is Mozart's music related to ? yes ?
Is Mozart's music related to ?
Most surprising ending ever😂😂.
BTW, I always could learn new things from your videos, you are great❤❤
Que lastima que no hay sudtitulos en español
Best music channel ever 👍
I am from creta ad i love your videos. I want to learn more about the balkanic and the ottoman music. I would loke to ask where can i find more material in tegards to rythm ans melodies of greece and asia.
Thank you so much!
You have a cat!!!!!
Is wonderfoul!
Never underestimate your cat
NEVER
süper
Best ending ever! - and not without rhythm!
Please, make longer pauses when placing text. It's impossible to read all of it before slide changes.
I do it on purpose; those texts are useless for understanding the video as a whole, and only optional remarks. I make them quick so people who want to read can pause the video while those not interested won’t be taken hostage by it for 45 seconds
@@faryafaraji Understood. But there are people with hands busy while still watching. :)
TY for the great explanation anyway!
@@nomad2635 you can always use your feet. XD
As always, thank you.
Fantastic video. Do you have a link for the audio that you used in 7:08 ?
Thanks! There you go ua-cam.com/video/p5vxcWsgXbo/v-deo.html
Amazing teacher, thank youuuuu very much for sharing your valuable information.
درود بر شما استاد بزرگوار و گرامی.
Bro misspelt rhythm 5 times
Lel thx for pointing it out. That’s my Francophone ass, we don’t have the first “h” in the word
Thumbnail: Me and the boys chilling we our Time Travelling Mazderani guy
bro is king of the north
5:55 Yesss Machaut!
thank you!
Epic Talking
this was a cool overview of this topic. I play, to varying degrees, music from different parts of the Balkans/Anatolia but my special fascination is with Albanian music. They have some crazy rhythmic structures there, one of my favorites being a 12-beat pattern that's subdivided into something like a 5 + 7, but even that's fairly simple compared to others. Like one song where the instrumental interlude between verses is 12 + 10, then the verses go ~12 + 15, though these have subdivisions in them as well. Then there's a northern genre played on a 2-sting çifteli called melodi, b/c it's instrumental, that is generally through-composed and has crazy non-repeating structures that change "usul" (totally not the word for them, but idk what is and I'm sticking with your formulation since I'm talking to you :P ) at the drop of a hat, every few "bars". IDK how they come up with these but it's like nothing I've heard from anywhere else!
Amazing
Great video, as always. Your videos take me onto a journey and make me want to understand more about music and its different forms. Also I thought you might explore Yemen a bit more when it comes to rhythm. From my understanding especially in Yemeni Jewish music rhythm is THE thing.
and again.A beautiful and rich video of this big music cultures.Now I can recognise the rhythms better