Music of Kuwait
Kuwait is well known in the region for its exploration of many different and new forms of music and dance.<ref name="roughguide">Badley, Bill. "Sounds of the Arabian Peninsula". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 351-354. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. Template:ISBN</ref> Kuwait is the birthplace of various popular musical genres such as sawt.<ref name="kwq">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=qdl/> Kuwait is widely considered the centre of traditional music in the GCC region.<ref name=qdl/><ref name=kwq/>
History
Kuwait is the birthplace of various popular musical genres, such as sawt and fijiri.<ref name=kwq/><ref name="qdl">Template:Cite news</ref> Traditional Kuwaiti music is derived from the country's seafaring heritage. In pre-oil times, Kuwait was regionally renowned for its music and 20–30% of Kuwaitis were professional musicians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kuwait is widely considered the centre of traditional music in the Arabian Gulf.<ref name=qdl/><ref name=kwq/> Traditional Kuwaiti music reflects the cosmopolitan influence of many diverse cultures.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The habbān is a popular Kuwaiti music instrument.
Kuwait's seafaring tradition is known for songs such as "Fidjeri".<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> "Fidjeri" is a musical repertoire performed traditionally by male pearl divers. It involves singing, clapping, drums and dances with earthen water jars. "Liwa" and "Fann at-Tanbura" are types of music performed mainly by Kuwaitis of East African origin. "Al Arda Al Bahariya" is a well-known Kuwaiti sailor song, as are the "al-Nahma", a class of songs that accompanied many sailing activities.
Kuwait pioneered contemporary Khaliji music.<ref name="shart">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="pers"/><ref name="shartw">Template:Cite web</ref> Kuwaitis were the first commercial recording artists in the Arabian Gulf region.<ref name=shart /><ref name="pers">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name=shartw /> The first known Kuwaiti recordings were made between 1912 and 1915.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kuwait is known as the center for "sawt", a bluesy style of music made popular in the 1970s. Saleh and Daoud Al-Kuwaity pioneered the Kuwaiti sawt music genre and wrote over 650 songs, many of which are considered traditional and still played daily on radio stations both in Kuwait and the rest of the Arab world.<ref name="crad">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="kuwaiti">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="sawt">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="sawt_academic_study">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="sawt_scholarly_journal">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="BBC">Template:Cite news</ref>
Kuwait has a reputation for being the central music influence of the GCC countries.<ref name="rvo">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over the last decade of satellite television stations, many Kuwaiti musicians have become household names in other Arab countries. For example, Bashar Al Shatty became famous due to Star Academy. Contemporary Kuwaiti music is popular throughout the Arab world. Nawal El Kuwaiti, Nabeel Shuail and Abdallah Al Rowaished are the most popular contemporary performers.<ref name="roughguide" />
Music education
Kuwait has academic institutions specializing in university-level music education.<ref name="soton">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name="ohiocsw"/> The Higher Institute of Musical Arts was established by the government to provide bachelor's degrees in music.<ref name="ohiol">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name=soton/><ref name="ohiocsw"/> In addition, the College of Basic Education offers bachelor's degrees in music education.<ref name="ohiol"/><ref name=soton/><ref name="ohiocsw"/> The Institute of Musical Studies offers music education qualifications equivalent to secondary school.<ref name="ohiol"/><ref name="ohiocsw">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name=soton/>
Notable landmarks
The Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre contains the largest opera house in the Middle East.<ref name="jacc-kw.com">Template:Cite web</ref> Kuwait is home to various music festivals, including the International Music Festival hosted by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The annual Gulf Music Festival features internationally renowned jazz musicians and local musicians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
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