CMUS 103: Introduction to Musics of the World

The first thing that struck me about these calls to prayer is that although Muslims do not consider them music and because of that it is debatable whether they are music, they all have certain musical qualities in terms of tone, pitch, structure, etc. What is interesting is that these examples, along with calls to prayer I have heard in documentaries and other media is that they all have slightly varying musical qualities. For example, here is an example of a call to prayer from Mecca that sounds slightly different from the ones we listened to for the lesson (which sound a bit different from each other to begin with):

My main question is, why the variation in their musical qualities? What is the purpose behind the fact that the length and tone of the notes and lyrics are different from one another? One thought I had is that since Islam is such a widespread religion, that these variances could be regional. For example, it is not at all difficult to believe that a call to prayer in Indonesia could sound to us radically different  from a call to prayer in Albania. Another question I raise is that do these calls to prayer sound different to Muslims throughout the world. If Muslims do not consider them music, do they only take into account the words, which are universal?  Not taking into account their musical qualities, these calls to prayer could certainly all be the same, or nearly so.

Student question:

I was surprised to hear you say that you did not consider the
Muslim piece to be music.  I realize that since you consider intention a
core part of music (and I agree with you), the fact that the
practitioners did not label it as music is compelling.  I wonder,
though, if the issue is only one of semantics.  How might those
practitioners consider music?  If they see it as something that is
relatively lighthearted and mainly for entertainment, then I understand
why such a term would not be applied to religious practice.  From my
perspective, however, it most definitely is music.  To me, music can
have any kind of atmosphere and emotional intention about it, including
deeply sober exaltation or enlightening transcendence.  Certainly, there
have been many, many songs written on the subject of divinity.  What I
heard when that was played was a manipulation of sound in a very
deliberate way that was most definitely infused with emotion. I was
hoping you could elaborate on why exactly you did not consider that music.

My response: I share my opinions not because I think they are “right” or the “truth,” but rather to give you a different perspective on the way ethnomusicologists approach such matters (though we certainly do not that all agree!). In discussions such as this, there is truly no right or wrong and it is essentially a matter of semantics, or what you label something. Let me try to explain my position on the qur’anic recitation example I played. Clearly there are all kinds of elements in the example that equate with components of music as “we” are familiar with it, but as an ethnomusicologist (and I think you would find this true for almost all of us) what is of primary importance–indeed the intent of our field–is to understand and interpret the perspectives of the people we work with. Therefore, if my colleagues in Sumatra consider this sound not to be music, and label it something else, then it is my job to respect that position and represent it as fairly as I can, no matter my own personal take on the matter (actually over the years that rarely even surfaces any more).

Another student raised the question after class that perhaps labeling this “not-music” relates to the way that music is valued within the society. In West Sumatra, where I lived for a couple of years in a fairly devout Islamic environment, there were many forms of music (and classified by the people living there as such) with spiritual intent and heft. Indeed, music is often used within sufist communities there to get closer to God. This is not necessarily true of other parts of the Muslim world where music is sometimes valued negatively (see the supplementary reading for 9/17 that presents a diversity of perspectives within the one community, which also happened in West Sumatra where you find a few people at the extremes who value most music negatively). Qur’anic recitation and the call to prayer, however, are in a distinct realm from music for almost all people.