Iranian/Persian Music vs

Kendrick Lamar

gwv498

Brief History of Iran● Iran is a developing country part of the

Middle East and once before formally known as Persia.

● Iran was a major empire but it was repeatedly conquered and taken over by many others such as the Turks, Arabs, Mongols, and many others

● Iran had become a developed nation and has many different aspects to it’s culture.

● Iran became an independent country April 1, 1979

Geography● Iran has

modernized itself majorly throughout the years

● The Caspian Sea Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman surround Iran and make up key mountain ranges

● Iran is allied with Iraq to protect Arab interests

● Tehran is the capital of Iran

Surrounding

Density● Persians (incl. Gilaks and

Mazandaranis)- 61%

● Azerbaijanis- 16%

● Kurds- 10%

● As of 2016 there are 80.28 million people living in Iran

● Landmass: 636,400 mi²

Religion● The 7th president of

Iran (as of 2017) is Hassan Rouhani

● Hassan Rouhani is part of the Shi’ite majority which believes that the next Caliph should be one who is from the bloodline of Muhammad

● Sunni Muslims believe that the next Caliph of Islam should be an elected official

● Iran has never had a Sunni Muslim as their president or as an elected official

● *Shi’a and Shi’ite muslims are different terms for same thing

Islamic Culture/ Religion ● Members of the Islamic religion base themselves

around the teachings of Muhammad placed in the Qur’an following strict guidelines

● There is no doubt that Muhammad was an actual historical figure and he lived in the 17th century CE (born in 570 CE)

● They follow the five pillars of Islam (shahadah, salaht, zakaht, sawm, and hajj)

● Emphasis on Sharia Law which dictates private and public life : crime, warfare, business, rituals, and family

● Qur’an should only be in Arabic because it is the “language of heaven”

● A lot of the Muslim community experiences discrimination, especially in western societies

Classical Muslim, Turkish, or Iranian dance - Whirling Dervish

Iranian Culture/ Religion● The official language

of Iran is Farsi which is one of the least spoken languages with Arabic being most common

● One of the oldest known cultures and possesses many ancient pieces of art

● Persian rugs/ designs became a widespread antique

● Use a lot of olive oil and spices in cooking

● Similar to that of India Iran uses a lot of gold jewelry

● Music has a major effect on Iran’s religion and culture.

● Persia holds some of the oldest records of Music

Structure of Iranian Music● 6/8, 2/4, 4/4, 5/8, 7/8, and 16/8 times are the most common in Persian Music● Consists of Woodwinds, percussion instruments, and stringed instruments● Related to Indian music structure called Tala which is music that is measured

by a certain amount of rhythmic claps● Commonly includes many religious hymns that are also used in India, Iraq,

Syria, Pakistan, and many other places of the world

Instruments of IranSantur (strings played with mallets/hammers)

Ney (an “end-blown flute)

The Santur is a series of strings that are played by striking them with extremely light weight mallets.There are 25 separate tones in the santur. It is “tuned to a variety of different diatonic scales utilizing 1/4 tones which are designated into 12 modes” 72 strings in total.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95amB7kUu-k

The Ney has been played for about 5,000 years and is very similar to a flute with the difference being that the stream of air goes through the top of the pipe. In many places of Iran it is the only wind instrument played

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNDgXe0zwpk

Oud (stringed instrument played by plucking)

The Oud is a member of the Lute family with 11-13 strings with around 5-6 groupings of 2 strings. The Oud is possibly one of the oldest instruments as it was developed in the 1st Century B.C. 5 string Ouds are tuned to GADGC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUy3y0fqxN0

Instruments IISetar (stringed instrument played like guitar)

Literally meaning three strings, the Setar is a member of the Lute family and is played very similarly to an acoustic guitar. The index finger moves up and down the fretboard and strummed/picked with the other hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxRPjQX_XQE

The Ney-anbān is a specific type of bagpipe that is mostly found in southern Iran and is usually found in musical styling of the sarva genre of music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZcVBg-15nk

Dohol (a double-headed drum)

The dohol is a large cylindrical drum with one skin head (usually lambskin) that is struck with a fabric/wooden beater. Is is used as an accompaniment for the ney and the oud usually. Produces a solid bass sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atLfRj20euE

Ney-anbān (very similar to the common bagpipe)

Farāmarz PāyvarFarāmarz Pāyvar was an Iranian born Musician and composer. He specialized in the santur but many of the pieces he had written, he also worked with piano, violin, and cellos. Farāmarz Pāyvar was born on February 10, 1933 in Tehran, Iran. He was born into a wealthy family and had musical influence from his father and grandfather who played santur and violin. At age 17 he began studies with Abu'l-Hasan Saba and eventually performed on national radios with his teacher. After Pāyvar served in the military in 1952 he began teaching at the College for National Music. In 1959 he had founded the nine-member National Instrumental Orchestra of the Ministry of Arts and Culture. He taught private lessons up until his passing away in December 9, 2009.

Experiences for Farāmarz Pāyvar● Experienced many wars through his life and fought in military● Tried to prevent soviet infiltration ● Lived in the Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran (1941*during WWII*)● Iran-Azerbaijan crisis (1945-1946)● Dhofar Rebellion (1973-1976)● Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)

Classical Music from Iran - Faramarz Payvar & Hossein Tehrani

Faramarz Payvar Hooshang zarif Mohammad Esmaili Trio in Mahour

Instruments in the following concertinoTar (long-necked stringed instrument)

Viola da gamba *viole* (much like a cello)

Much like the violin but the Viole can can anywhere from 5-7 strings unlike the cello and violin which usually have 4. Tuning comes in 4ths unlike cello where the tuning is in 5ths.

https://youtu.be/vosK-NKq9FQ (4:08 - 4:35)

Double Bass (The lowest stringed orchestra in.)

The tar is a long-necked stringed instrument and is claimed by many to be the roots for instruments such as the Sitar. Played just as a Sitar or guitar would be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGXUXa2AyJA

The double bass or “bass” is the largest and the lowest-pitched common orchestral instrument. It consists of 4 strings tuned in fourths (E, A, D, G). Played with a bow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC0FeLVsg7c

Instruments in the following concertino II

Violin Cello

Instruments in the following concertino III

Flute

Oboe (Above)

Clarinet

Bass Clarinet (Below)

Hossain Dehlavi Faramarz Payvar Concertino for Santour & Orchestra:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Kk8yMJID0

MusicHossain Dehlavi Faramarz Payvar Concertino for Santour & Orchestra

Featured Instruments:

Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tar Santur, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Oud

Analysis of the piece● Eb major key● 2/4 time set (duple simple time)● Accompaniment to Santur plays forte - mezzo

forte● Staccato/accented for wind instruments ● Few rests for Santur (Only 1 ½ counts of rest in

the first minute)● Big impacts from accompaniment (winds) upon

entrance ● Majority of rhythm for accompaniment is simple

eighth, half or whole notes

The piece presented, like many of his other pieces, is fast pace as one hand keeps a steady rhythm which give him little rests to his playing. Many of the rhythms are triplets and/or 16th notes. There are also many scale runs in the piece. The piece is composed in the key of Eb major.

American History● America, angry about taxation without

representation, wanted to break away from British rule as they were only 13 colonies at the time

● America became a country on July 4, 1776

● Wrote Declaration of Independence and Constitution

● Struggles with rights but eventually became a completely free country

American Population● Donald Trump is the President

of the United States of America (2017)

● Christianity has always been America’s biggest religion

● Separation of church and state which the Bill of Rights protects

● Majority of U.S. citizens are white Europeans

● America is the 31st country with the highest life expectancy

American RapRapping is seen first with African roots. In West Africa there were “griots” which were musicians that often played on drums and had sparse instrumentation. Much rap is derived from work songs. They both follow the same structure and come from same need to describe rough situations. These spoken songs became popular with jazz and blues music too as it was beginning to spread across America. Spoken word, jazz, poetry, and comedy records had a huge influence

American Rap Structure● Recent rap has been using more foreign and abstract

instruments● Rap is most commonly in 4/4 and sometimes in 3/4 or

6/4 ● The song lyrics/vocals usually overlap the beat of the

song with an 8th note pattern, quarter note triplets, and occasionally uses groups of 16th notes during faster parts

● The most common instruments include drums, guitar, bass, synthesizer, piano

● Saxophone, trumpet, and trombone are also in a few rap songs; showing the trace that rap has with Jazz

Modern MusicMany modern artists have adapted these foreign and abstract music concepts into their own. An example is Kendrick Lamar with his song “DNA.” which has instrumentals in the back similar Iranian instruments. The instrument playing resembles a santur. Another artist that has similar ideas is Rihanna with her song “Same Ol’ Mistakes” which has strings that resembles a Bağlama or a Tanbur. And even Chance the rapper bringing in jazzy drums, trumpet, and saxophone to many of his popular songs such as “Blessings:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lin2GxixA18

(0:47- 2:37) (1:09 - 1:35)(1:03 - 1:25)

Kendrick LamarKendrick Lamar Duckworth’s family moved out of Chicago to escape violence and eventually Kendrick was born in Compton, California, on June 17, 1987. Kendrick wrote many stories about growing up and eventually turned these into songs about rough times in Compton. He was soon noticed by record producer Dr. Dre who put him into Top Dawg Entertainment. He began producing music under the pseudonym K-Dot. Over the years he had adopted many other pseudonyms such as Kung Fu Kenny and dropped his last name to simply go by Kendrick Lamar. He is very active in the “Black Lives Matter” community although he sings in “YAH.” that “[He is an] Israelite, don't call [him] Black no mo',That word is only a color, it ain't facts no mo'” Kendrick Lamar also takes partial claim for the revival of hip-hop. Kendrick Lamar’s rap has been one of the most influential of decades and has gotten many mentions on news cast like Fox News.

Being Abstract with Kendrick- “DNA.” -Kendrick Lamar

(Santur resemblance)

- “Mask Off - Remix” - FUTURE ft. Kendrick Lamar

(flute in background of rap)

- “ untitled 02 | 06.23.2014.” -Kendrick Lamar

(saxophone in the start of the song)

- “BLOOD.” -Kendrick Lamar

(Violin structure similar to Iran)

Future - Mask Off Ft. Kendrick Lamar (Clean) (1:53 - 2:25)

untitled 02 - Kendrick Lamar [Instrumental]

BLOOD. - Kendrick Lamar (0:57 - 1:40)

LLLLLLLIII

“DNA.” -Kendrick Lamar (Santur at 0:47- 2:37): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lin2GxixA18

“DNA.” -Kendrick Lamar Duckworth

(Piano Notation)

Instruments in original song:

Drums, Synthesizer, bass guitar, Santur, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Triangle

Music

Lyrics

IIIIIIIIIII

IIIIIII

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

IIIIIII

IIIIIII

IIIIIIIIIIOIOOI

IIIIIIII

IIIIIIIIIIOIOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

IIIIIII

- Set in 4/4 time signature (quadruple simple time

- Played in Db Major key

- Lyrics about his struggle to get out of troubled times (discrimination)

- Kendrick raps “DNA.” as an 8th note pattern over instrumental

- Bass cuts out before impactful moments

- Revival of older styles of rap with less electronic help

Analysis of DNA.

Similarities- As for rhythmic patterns there are similarities to the vocals in DNA and the continuous playing of the Santur

- Simplistic patterns of 8th notes and 16th notes throughout much of the piece

- Big impacts from accompanying instruments

- Twist on Western music

- Both are in simple time

DifferencesKendrick Lamar’s DNA.

- Lack of many orchestral instruments- A twist to modern Western music- Kendrick utilizes vocals in his piece- Although both pieces are in simple time

Kendrick’s piece is in quadruple simple time

- “DNA.” Piano music sheet is written in bass clef

Farāmarz Pāyvar’s Concertino

- Uses classical, western, orchestral instruments

- A twist to classical western music- Farāmarz Pāyvar signifies a duple

simple time signature- Pāyvar’s Concertino is written in treble

clef

Secondary Link- Personal Issues in their lives- Location Issues - Both Kendrick Lamar and Farāmarz Pāyvar had gone through rough location areas: Kendrick dealing with violence in compton and Farāmarz dealing with violence (Soviet invasion) in Iran

- Heritage - Both have similar heritage: Kendrick Lamar claims himself as an Israelite, while Iran (specifically the Persian Empire) is the successor state to Israel and both Israelites and Iranian people’s culture are enveloped in religion and both are highly discriminated against.

- Motivation - Both were pushing themselves musically in order to rise above the life that they had been expected to live

Primary Link- Both musicians have taken a different style of Western music/composition and have edited it in ways to develop a new era of music

“DNA.” uses electronics while still helping to bring back a more instrumental aspect to American Rap

Farāmarz Pāyvar’s Concertino utilizes common Western instruments like violin and piano to lay his extended Santur solo over

Overall Iranian is a very enclosed culture, yet there have still been amazing musicians like Farāmarz Pāyvar to help evolve the country’s perspective on “outside” effects on their way of life. The future holds many musical opportunities for all cultures as long as people will have an open mind.

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