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756 music and musical instruments: further reading to improvise effortlessly, able to write good prose and verse, and having a wide general cultural knowledge During the Abbasid Dynasty (749–1258) Muslim music reached its zenith At that time music in al-Andalus began to attain a character that was distinct from Arabian music Politically, Abbasid hegemony began its decline in the 11th century, ending in the Mongol invasion in 1258 In al-Andalus the Spanish captured Granada in 1492, effectively ending the golden age This split the Muslim world into smaller, independent states Musical life, however, continued Although it was less fertile and less original than before, it benefited in some ways from decentralization At the various smaller courts music was encouraged by rulers anxious for prestige and was able to assimilate new local contributions, leading to greater diversity The Sufi orders, primarily in Turkey and Iran, contributed the most to developing art music at that time They did this by promoting music for their own religious needs and by creating conditions for a wider musical culture in general Many varied musical instruments were in use during the medieval period One issue with the written sources is that they may use several different names to refer to one instrument, or conversely one name may be used to refer to several different instruments For example, the term mizmar could refer to wind instruments in general, double- or single-reed instruments, or even the psalm Idiophones included metal castanets, cymbals attached to a dancer’s thumb and middle finger; wooden spoons; copper plates; and oil containers The Bedouins used a wooden coffee grinder (mihbaj), which consisted of a 1-foot-tall base and a 2-foot-long pestle The mihbaj served a dual purpose of being a household item and, in the hands of an artist, a percussion instrument Membranophones were circular or rectangular frame drums (duff ) Some had jingling disks, while others had strings stretched under the skin One type of vase-shaped drum (darbukkah or tablah) was made out of earthenware The zarb was placed under the left arm or between the legs and beaten in the middle and near the edge with both hands Cylindrical drums (tabl) with two skins from the player’s neck and were beaten with two flexible sticks These were typically used at processions and open-air ceremonies Kettledrums (naqqarat), hemispherical with skin stretched on top, came in pairs (a large one and small one) These were played during pilgrimages During the late Abbasid and Fatimid (909–1171) dynasties kettledrums were beaten before the daily prayers Aerophones included reed instruments, flutes, and horns Oblique reed flutes (nay) did not have a mouthpiece and came in different lengths They usually had five or six holes on the upper side and one hole on the bottom side Notes could be modified by blowing more or less forcefully Double-reed instruments (zurna or ghayta) were similar to the oboe These were made out of wood and widened at the bottom into a bell shape The reed, enclosed in a small brass mouthpiece, was held entirely inside the player’s mouth as the lips pressed on a small metal ring These instruments had seven or eight finger holes A great variety of single-reed instruments had two pipes, some with pipes of equal length and others with one pipe longer than the other Other aerophones were the horn (buq) and the long trumpet (nafir) Chordophones were string instruments, most of which were plucked, not bowed The most prominent string instrument was the short-necked lute with a pear-shaped body, called the ‘ud or the amir al-tarab (“the prince of enchantment”) Initially it had four strings and frets, but later versions had five double strings and were fretless Long-necked lutes were widespread The sitar had four strings and 25 movable frets It was plucked with the nail of the index finger The tar had a figure-eight body and was covered with skin It had three double strings and was plucked with a plectrum, or a pick Others—such as tambur, komuz, and dombra—had two, three, or four strings The two main types of instruments were essentially trapezoidal boxes (cithar) The qanun had 24 triple strings, under the end of which were little movable bridges to allow the player to modify the tuning It was held on the player’s knees and was plucked with a plectrum attached to each index finger The santur had 72 strings grouped in fours and supported by 18 movable bridges in two rows of nine, which divided the whole into three registers It was struck with two sticks The only bowed instrument was the rabab A simple one was either rectangular or round, covered in skin, and strung with a single string Another kind was oval or spherical and had two strings A more complex type (kamanja) had three or four strings and a wooden body ending in a peg All these were played by holding the bow steady and moving the instrument See also adornment; art; calendars and clocks; crafts; death and burial practices; drama and theater; education; empires and dynasties; festivals; health and disease; household goods; inventions; literature; occupations; religion and cosmology; sports and recreation; trade and exchange; writing Further Reading Arthur Llewellyn Basham, The Wonder That Was India: A Survey of the History and Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent before the Coming of the Muslims, 3rd ed (Columbia, Mo.: South Asia Books, 2000)
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