Notes
Having studied the different blowing and playing Ney traditions, it was not easy to make reconciliation between them, yet, thanks to lots of listening and following lots of experiments, it was successful, to some extent, to develop a middle-eastern style which breaks all the barriers between these musical traditions. This is why the listener may feel a mixture of these schools in this style, as there is always a change between the different blowing techniques, the length of the musical phrases, and the method of ornamentation. Notwithstanding this modal variation, the oriental Arab musical theory is still in use here in dealing with the Maqam as the concept of Maqam differs from a Middle-Eastern musical culture to another. In most Arabic musical traditions, however, Maqam refers to the mood created through dividing a certain scale into tetra chords, and on that scale starting and ending points as well as the development mood are marked. In this recording, this humble experience is being presented through making improvisation in a traditional way on seven of the most important Maqams used in Egypt, the Levant and Turkey.
