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Oman is an Arab country located on the Arabian Peninsula. The country's coastal location has had an important effect on its musical heritage, with Omani sailors interacting with, and bringing back music from, Egypt, Tanzania and elsewhere. More recently, a Portuguese occupation has left its own marks, while geographic neighbors like the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran have also had a profound influence. In contrast to other Arab countries, Omani traditional music has a strong emphasis on rhythm.

Traditional music marks all the stages in the life of an Omani, including birth, circumcision, marriage and death. In contrast to many Arab countries, all Omanis participate in music, include both men and women, and young and old.

The Omani Centre for Traditional Music claims that Arabic music in Oman can be characterized by "tetrachords with typical Arabic intervals, including three-quarter tones taken from the Arabic musical scales; the maqamat" [1].

Contents 1 Traditional instruments 1.1 Mizmar 1.2 Rababa 1.3 Tanbura 1.4 Ud 2 References

Main article: Mizmar

The mizmar is a cylindrical double-reed wind instrument that requires a great deal of skill to play. The instrument is ancient, depicted on Greek vases. In Omani folk music, lewa is the primary use for the mizmar; it is also used in kunzak and sairawan.

Main article: Rababa

The rababa is rarely used in modern Oman, but is of great historical importance. The Oman Centre for Traditional Music claims that "in general (the rababa) is considered 'the mother of all the string instruments' in the whole world" [2].

Main article: Tanbura

The tanbura is the most important string instrument in Omani music. The precursor to the modern tanbura first appeared in Sumer in 2700 BC. The tanbura is unusual among string instruments in that it does not have a neck and its strings are free, and thus cannot be shortened to change the tone.

Main article: Oud

The ud is perhaps the most important Arab instruments, and is used across the Middle East. The ud is used in vocal genres like as-sot and is also a part of the bara of Dhofar; it does [3].

Middle Eastern music
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