A WORLD OF SOUNDS
Modal Music & Musicians in Canada
BY OMAR SHABBAR
Like most of us , I love
learning anything and everything about music . From bebop to Bach to Billie Holiday and John Cage , there is so much to explore .
One term , however , seems to come up in my studies more and more and it ’ s used to describe both Coltrane and Nusret Fateh Ali Khan . This term is “ modal music .” But what exactly does it mean and how can one word be used to describe such different genres ?
Based on my very surface-level understanding , I know that modal music is a different approach to music , contrasting with the western , harmony-driven approach we might be more familiar with . Instead of relying on chord progressions or harmony to convey emotion , modal music pits a series of notes , the mode , against a constant drone pitch , which creates a rich atmosphere to explore musically . But , like studying any subject , the more you learn , the more you realize how little you know .
I wanted to get to the bottom of this seemingly vague term , so I decided to interview three musicians with different backgrounds who are all a part of this rich modal tradition in hopes of finding connections between all modal genres and understanding the full scope of what modal music is .
After a little research , I stumbled across a group called Labyrinth Ontario , whose mandate is to promote modal music in Ontario . Who better to start with than Labyrinth ’ s Director , Araz Salek ? Not only is he the director of this group , but he ’ s also an accomplished traditional Iranian musician . Araz plays the tar , which is the quintessential traditional Iranian instrument . The tar is a stringed instrument with a bright metallic attack , accompanied by a rich resonance that is carried through the body .
CANADIAN MUSICIAN : WHAT IS MODAL MUSIC ?
ARAZ SALEK : It ’ s an umbrella term used to describe musical traditions from West Africa to West China and it refers to how we learn and teach music . All of these musical traditions are completely aural ; things are rarely written down and instead are played and mimicked by teacher and student . A makam , an Iranian and Arabic term for mode , is a complex grouping of notes . These notes are not played note-by-note like western scales ; it ’ s groupings of notes that make sense together with a strong emphasis on phrasing .
CM : HOW DO YOU COMPOSE MODAL MUSIC ?
SALEK : I try to create a musical atmosphere within a makam and slowly I get deeper and deeper into the makam . In makam music , you ’ re kind of limited in what comes next because phrasing is so important . You can also modulate from one makam to another . That ’ s a very important part – you need to know which modulations are possible for each makam . I record my improvisation and play it back . If an interesting theme or pattern came up , I ’ ll keep it and continue the process until I have a full melody .
CM : WHAT IS THE STATUS OF MODAL MUSIC IN CANADA ?
SALEK : What ’ s being presented as “ world music ” these days is two or three musicians from different backgrounds thrown on stage together . They have no time to dive deep into each other ’ s musical traditions and be able to speak fluently in each other ’ s musical language . There are thousands of opportunities for these interactions but there needs to be a platform for these musicians to learn from each other . Because of this , the medium that is used for “ world music ” is western music . Too often , “ world music concerts ” are a jam in A minor . Because we ’ re in Canada , we all know A minor but it ’ s too shallow for many musical traditions to fully express themselves . For my music , I use quartertones and these are often misheard because people don ’ t have the ear for it ; they think it ’ s “ off ” or out of tune . Do I compromise and take that out of my music to make it more accessible ? No . Labyrinth is trying to help the audience and musicians to play together to develop the ear to enjoy different kinds of music .
38 CANADIAN MUSICIAN