Afghan music

A rabab is an old traditional instrument found mainly in Afghanistan. It is a piece of wood that is hollow with a membrane across the opening. Nylon or metal strings are pulled across a bridge that is played with a bow. This instrument is referenced in old Afghanistan texts, but is not as common in present day Afghanistan. Like most other Afghanistan instruments, the rabab was deemed un-Islamic and banned. Traditional instruments would not become popular again, even after the fall of the ban on music. The history of the musical development in Afghanistan mirrored that of the instruments. Afghani music has been influenced by Radio Kabul, the Taliban, and the Western impact on Afghanistan music.

In a country whose history has been destroyed by war, the radio in Kabul is one of the few surviving treasures. The Taliban destroyed the ancient stone of Buddhas of Bamiyan and warlords demolished the Kabul museum. Radio Kabul was the focus of popular, modern and innovative music for Afghanistan from the 1940s to 1978, when the civil war began. It was the treasure trove of Afghanistan music. There were over 50,000 tapes that must be wound and rewound one a year to keep them from becoming brittle. William Reeve, a BCC correspondent in Kabul, reported, “In room after room there were endless shelves of radio tapes, all neatly catalogued on the spines of their boxes.” One section, Reeve said, was filled with historical tapes such as recorded speeches of former Afghanistan leaders. Another section was packed with Afghan drama and music, performed by favorite singers and artists. Mohammad Siddiq, the man in charge of looking after the archives, took care to save the tapes from the Taliban’s rampage on Afghani music (2002).

Rising ...

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...an artists need support as well as the archive of Kabul to salvage what little the country has left to identify with their ancestors.

Works Cited

Baily, John. "British Ethnomusicologist: 'It Isn't Actually Correct To Say Taliban Have Banned Music'" Interview by Abubakar Siddique. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. RFE/RL, Inc, 22 June 2009. Web. 07 May 2014. .

Courtney, David. "RABAB." Rabab. N.p., 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 07 May 2014.

Farmer, Ben. "Taliban Behead 17 Caught Dancing to Music at Party." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 27 Aug. 2012. Web. 05 May 2014.

Qazizai, Fazelminallah. "Musical Afghanistan." - Music. OnIslam.net, 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 05 May 2014.

Reeve, William. "Kabul's Radio Treasure Trove." BBC News. BBC, 16 May 2002. Web. 05 May 2014.