Afghan Music Biography and information

Classic

The classical musical form of Afghanistan is called klasik, which includes both instrumental and vocal and belly dancing ragas, as well as Tarana and Ghazals.[4] Many Ustads, or professional musicians, have learned North Indian classical music in India, and some of them were Indian descendants who moved from India to the royal court in Kabul in the 1860s.[3] They maintain cultural and personal ties with India—through discipleship or intermarriage—and they use the Hindustani musical theories and terminology, for example raga (melodic form) and tala (rhythmic cycle).

Afghan ragas, in contrast to Indian ones, tend to be more focused on rhythm, and are usually played with the tabla, or the local zerbaghali, dayra or dohol, all percussive instruments.[4] Other Afghan classical instruments include the dutar, sorna, sitar, dilruba, tambur, ghichak, and Rubab.

Afghanistan's classical singers include the late Ustad Rahim Bakhsh (1924-1983), who is one of the Master singers of Patiala gharana in North Indian classical music and is also well-known throughout India and Pakistan as a contemporary of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. His composition "Pai Ashk" was used in the theme song of the Hindi film Mera Saya. Other classical singers are Ustad Qasim, Ustad Mohammad Hussain Sarahang, and Ustad Nato.

Rubab

The rubab is a common lute-like instrument in Afghanistan, and is the forerunner of the Indian sarod.[2] The rubab is sometimes considered the national instrument of Afghanistan, and is called the "lion of instruments";[5] one reviewer claims it sounds like "a Middle Eastern predecessor to the blues that popped up in the Piedmont 100 years ago".[6] The rubab has a double-chambered body carved from mulberry wood and has three main strings and a plectrum made from ivory, bone or wood.

Famous players of the rubab are Ustad Mohammad Omar his famous student Sardar Mado of Qargha-Kabul, now is Ustad Sardar Mado, while modern performers include Essa Kassemi, Homayun Sakhi, and Mohammed Rahim Khushnawaz