Music of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian Music has both traditional music and the famous western music and has a tradition that is known to date back to the Roman era. There is not a lot that is said about traditional Saudi music and the knowledge about it is very limited. This probably has to do with the migratory lifestyle that was followed by the Bedouin and they were not in favor of carrying additional baggage with them. This meant that there were no specialized musical instruments that were used by the Bedouin and the everyday objects were used as musical instruments. 

Some instruments like the stringed rababa or the double reeded ney were available in the country and Saudi people have used such instruments to make music. The instruments were not available in the rural areas and one has to come to the cities like Jeddah, Baghdad or Basrah to buy these instruments. The style of Arabian music is more built around the style that is very common among traditions that migratory and the use of instruments is very limited. Usually only one instrument is seen and the rhythm and beat is maintained by using objects that are used on an everyday basis in homes or by clapping the hands. 

There has been a lot of debate over whether music is sinful or not in Islam. There are many Muslims who have believed that any forms of art or music are distractions and tend to take the people away from God. This belief is fueled by a certain ahadith which has mentioned about music and art being against God and that it should not be practiced. This had led to a strong clampdown of music in the early state of Saudi and the religious authorities repressed music and the use of any musical instruments. Only the rhythmic percussion was spared and probably that is why we get to see it used extensively in contemporary Saudi Music.

The most popular style of music in Saudi Arabia is khaleeji folk and there have been many famous musicians in the Saudi music history like Tariq Abdulhakeem, Mohammed Al-Senan , Ghazi Ali, to name a few. The Saudi National anthem has been composed by Saraj Omar and there are a lot of famous musicians and composers who have emerged from Saudi Arabia. Arabic Music channels are very popular across the globe and provide inspirations for a lot of composers worldwide. The growth of Saudi Music started when radios, tapes and CD players were introduced in the Saudi market and now almost all music shops in Saudi will be buzzing with activity as music has gained an important place in the lives of the Saudi citizen.