Learning to Perform Music in the Hadhrami Arab Community

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this study is to explore the significance of learning to perform music and dance in the Hadhrami Arab society mainly in Singapore and the wider Malay world. More specifically, this research focuses on the proliferation of a specific music and dance genre known as sharah and its associated musical instruments, focusing on it as an important symbolic expression of the Hadhrami Arab consciousness. Sharah musical practices retain a strong Hadhrami Arabian cultural identity. Musical instruments such as the gambu, marwas, jidur, tabl fakhar, tombak, and kompang are specifically of Arabian origins and are commonly deployed in this musical genre. The author surveys the fundamental philosophical aspects of music and discuss the perceptions held about music in some Islamic tenets. This leads to an exploration of the delicate balance between the philosophies of music and the functionality of music in contemporary Muslim society.