MAINTAINING A MUSICAL TRADITION IN ARAB-AMERICA: AN ORAL HISTORY OF ABDEL KARIM BADER By Igor Nunes Houwat A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Musicology 2011 ABSTRACT MAINTAINING A MUSICAL TRADITION IN ARAB-AMERICA: AN ORAL HISTORY OF ABDEL KARIM BADER By Igor Nunes Houwat Abdel Karim Bader, a cosmopolitan oud performer and teacher, was born in the Arab world in the early 1920s and immigrated to the United States of America in the early nineteen seventies. This thesis is an oral history that explores Bader as a carrier of an Arabic musical tradition, tarab, through three topics: biography, pedagogy, and improvisation. Bader’s biography unveils a rich social and musical persona which is understood through the lens of tarab musicianship and values. He favors a pragmatic apprenticeship method, common to tarab musicians, that heavily relies on oral methods to transmit ideas, repertoire, and stylistic subtleties. Finally, Bader’s improvisatory thought is influenced by both his knowledge of Arabic music theory and his performance experience, and it is exposed through examples from my lessons and an analysis of a solo improvisation. I have been Bader’s apprentice since January 2010 and view this study as a contribution to a little-known facet of Arab-American identity and cultural practice. Copyright by IGOR NUNES HOUWAT 2011 To Abdel Karim Bader iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................1 My Path to Abdel Karim Bader.................................................................................................4 Methodology..............................................................................................................................5 Literature Review and Setting the Context................................................................................7 Chapter Outline.........................................................................................................................10 A Note on Translation...............................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 2 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH....................................................................................................12 Bader’s Biography....................................................................................................................12 Apprenticeship..........................................................................................................................23 Knowledge of the Oud and of Music Theory...........................................................................24 Performing Experience.............................................................................................................27 Reading Skills...........................................................................................................................30 CHAPTER 3 PEDAGOGY.................................................................................................................................36 Bader’s Teaching Method........................................................................................................40 Beginnings........................................................................................................................40 Scores, Solfege, and Recordings......................................................................................41 Singing..............................................................................................................................43 Mimicking Live Performance...........................................................................................44 Signals of Progress...................................................................................................................46 More Milestones: Ouds and Gigs.............................................................................................48 Three Vignettes.........................................................................................................................50 Pedagogical “Songprints”.........................................................................................................52 CHAPTER 4 IMPROVISATION........................................................................................................................57 Some Improvisation Elements..................................................................................................58 “Expertise” Pedagogy...............................................................................................................61 The Golden Oud Award Improvisation....................................................................................72 Modal Outline...................................................................................................................73 Section 1...........................................................................................................................74 Section 2...........................................................................................................................76 Section 3...........................................................................................................................80 Bader's Aesthetics....................................................................................................................83 v CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................85 APPENDIX A Glossary....................................................................................................................................90 APPENDIX B Transcription of the Improvisation from the Golden Oud Award............................................93 APPENDIX C Maqam Structure Example.....................................................................................................102 APPENDIX D Audio Track Index..................................................................................................................103 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................105 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1..........................................................................................................................................66 Figure 2 (Audio track # 1: Figs. 1 and 2)......................................................................................66 Figure 3..........................................................................................................................................67 Figure 4 (Audio track #2)...............................................................................................................67 Figure 5..........................................................................................................................................67 Figure 6..........................................................................................................................................68 Figure 7..........................................................................................................................................69 Figure 8 (Audio track # 3: Figs. 6, 7, and 8).................................................................................69 Figure 9 (Audio track #4)...............................................................................................................69 Figure 10 (Audio track #5).............................................................................................................70 Figure 11........................................................................................................................................70 Figure 12 (Audio track #6: Figs. 11 and 12).................................................................................70 Figure 13........................................................................................................................................74 Figure 14 (Audio track #8)............................................................................................................75 Figure 15 (Audio track # 9)...........................................................................................................75 Figure 16 (Audio track #10)..........................................................................................................77 Figure 17 (Audio track #11)..........................................................................................................79 Figure 18........................................................................................................................................81 Figure 19 (Audio track #12: Figs 18 and 19)................................................................................81 Figure 20........................................................................................................................................81 Figure 21........................................................................................................................................82 vii Figure 22.......................................................................................................................................93