Muwashshah

A secular musical genre in the Arabic world that uses muwaššaḥ poetic texts as lyrics in classical Arabic. This tradition can take two forms: the waṣla of Aleppo, Syria, and the Andalusian nubah of the western part of the Arab world. Instrumentation consists of the ‘oud (lute), kamanja (spike fiddle), qanun (box zither), darabukkah (goblet drum), and daf (tambourine). The players of these instruments often double as a choir, while the soloist performs only a few chosen lines of the selected text. In Aleppo, multiple maqam rows (scales) and up to three awzān (rhythms) are used.