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{{Culture of Somalia}}
'''Music of Somalia''' ({{Langx|so|Muusiga Soomaaliya}}) is music following the musical styles, techniques and sounds of the [[Somalis|Somali people]].

==Overview==

===Traditional Somali music===
[[File:Oudplyrsomhd3.png|thumb|left|[[Somali people|Somali]] [[oud]] player Nuruddin Ali Amaan.]]
Somali people have a rich musical heritage centered on traditional [[Somali mythology|Somali folklore]]. 

{{Culture of Djibouti}}

Somali songs are [[Pentatonic scale|pentatonic]]. That is, they only use five [[Pitch (music)|pitches]] per [[octave]] in contrast to a [[Heptatonic scale|heptatonic]] (seven note) scale such as the [[major scale]]. At first listen, Somali music might be mistaken for the sounds of nearby regions such as [[Oromo people|Oromo]] in [[Ethiopia]], [[Sudan]] or the [[Arabian Peninsula]], but it is ultimately recognizable by its own unique tunes and styles. Somali songs are usually the product of collaboration between [[lyricist]]s (''lahamiste''), [[songwriter]]s (''abwaan''), and [[Singing|vocalists]] (''odka'' or "voice").<ref name="Abdullahi">Abdullahi, pp.170-171</ref> The Somali word for dance is ''ciyaar''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Congress|first=International Musicological Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4HGVGEEVRcC&pg=PA223|title="Theory" (English) and Lehre (German) versus Téori (Indonesian)|date=1990|publisher=EDT srl|isbn=978-88-7063-084-8|language=en}}</ref>

Traditional instruments prominently featured in the music of [[Somalia]] include the [[oud]] [[lute]] (''kaban''). It is often accompanied by small [[drums]] and a [[Reed (instrument)|reed]] [[flute]] in the background. However, heavy percussion and metallic sounds are uncommon within Somalia.<ref name="Abdullahi" /> The riverine and coastal areas of Somalia use a wide variety of traditional instruments including:<ref>Somali Culture and Folklore (1974) pp.63-64</ref><ref>Historical Dictionary of Somalia (2003) p. 166</ref><ref>The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. p.57-58</ref>

*Membranophones: ''nasaro, mokhoddon and masoondhe'' (high and heavy drums), ''reeme, jabbu and yoome'' (small drums); 
*Aerophones: ''malkad and siinbaar'' (flutes), ''sumaari'' (double [[clarinet]]), ''fuugwo'' ([[trumpet]]) ''buun, muufe and gees-goodir'' ([[Horn (instrument)|horns]]); 
*Idiophones: ''shagal'' (metal [[Clapper (musical instrument)|clappers]]), ''shanbaal'' (wooden clappers), ''shunuuf'' (vegetable ankle [[Rattle (percussion instrument)|rattles]]), ''tenegyo'' ([[xylophone]]);
*Chordophones: ''shareero'' ([[lyre]]), ''kinaandha'' (lute), ''madhuube'' ([[thumb piano]]), ''seese'' (one-chord [[violin]])

==History==
[[File:Saadoaliw1.jpg|thumb|right|Somali singer [[Saado Ali Warsame]] receiving a Gold Record, Lifetime Achievement Award.]]
[[File:Cabdilaahi qarshe.jpg|thumb|[[Abdullahi Qarshe]], popularly known as the father of Somali music.]]
Somali [[popular music]] began with the ''[[balwo]]'' style, pioneered by [[Abdi Sinimo]], who rose to fame in the early 1940s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=epxkAAAAMAAJ|title=African Language Review, Volume 6|last=|first=|date=1967|publisher=F. Cass|isbn=|location=The University of Michigan|page=5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gfH2A6AhZ7wC&dq=balwo&pg=PA359|title=Literatures in African Languages: Theoretical Issues and Sample Surveys|last1=Andrzejewski|first1=B. W.|last2=Pilaszewicz|first2=S.|last3=Tyloch|first3=W.|date=1985-11-21|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521256469|location=|pages=|language=en|quote=Cabdi Deeqsi, who created a genre of love poetry called Balwo}}</ref> This new genre then in turn created the Heelo style of Somali music.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NEbASn8qayUC&dq=balwo&pg=PR12|title=Heelloy: Modern Poetry and Songs of the Somali|last=Johnson|first=John William|date=1996|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=1874209812|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref> Abdi's innovation and passion for music revolutionized Somali music forever.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC&dq=born+in+borama&pg=PA12|title=Historical Dictionary of Somalia|last=Mukhtar|first=Mohamed Haji|date=2003-02-25|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810866041|location=|pages=12|language=en|quote=|via=}}</ref>

Introduction of melody in modern Somali song is credited to [[Abdullahi Qarshe]], who is recognised for introducing the [[Oud|kaban]] (oud) as an accompaniment to Somali music.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Music, Memory and Belonging: Oral Tradition and Archival Engagement Among the Somali Community of London's King's Cross|last=Brinkhurst|first=Emma|publisher=University of London|year=2012|isbn=|location=|pages=61}}</ref> Qarshe is revered by Somalis as "father of Somali music".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6x7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|title=Coming of Age: An Introduction to Somali Metrics|last=Farah|first=Gamute|date=2018-10-28|publisher=Ponte Invisible (Redsea Cultural Foundation)|isbn=9788888934471|language=en}}</ref> 

Many qaraami songs from this era are still extremely popular today. This musical style is mostly played on the ''kaban'' ([[oud]]). Prominent Somali kaban players of the 1950s include [[Ali Feiruz]] and Mohamed Nahari.

During the rule of the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)]], music was suppressed except for a small amount of officially sanctioned music. There were many [[protest song]]s produced during this period, pioneered by the people of Somaliland who were trying to [[Somaliland War of Independence|gain independence]] from the government of Somalia, especially the genocidal [[Siad Barre|Barre regime]].

Bands such as [[Waaberi]] and [[Horseed]] have gained a small following outside of the country. Others, like Ahmed Ali Egal, [[Maryam Mursal]] and [[Waayaha Cusub]] have fused traditional Somali music with [[Pop music|pop]], [[rock and roll]], [[bossa nova]], [[jazz]], and other modern influences.

Music recorded in the 1970s was preserved in [[Hargeisa]], buried underground, and is now available at the Red Sea Foundation at the Hargeisa Cultural Center, and in Radio Hargeisa. The Barre dictatorial regime effectively nationalised the music scene, with bands and production under state control. Bands were operated by the police, the army and the national penitentiary. Female singers were encouraged more than was the case in most of East Africa. Most musicians had left the country before 1991. Hiddo Dhawr is now operating as the only live music venue in the city.<ref>{{cite news|title=Uncovering Somalia's forgotten music of the 1970s|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/07/uncovering-somalia-forgotten-music-1970s-170704123301195.html|accessdate=22 August 2017|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=18 August 2017}}</ref>

==Music institutions==
The first [[Media of Somaliland|radio station]] in Somalia to air popular Somali music was Radio Kudu based in [[Hargeisa]], modern-day Somaliland. The first song to be broadcast was composed by Guroon Jire in 1940 in [[English language|English]], [[Somali language|Somali]] before being renamed the following year to Radio Somali.<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of the Anglo-Somali Society, Issues 30-33|date=2001|publisher=Anglo-Somali Society|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DIOAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=28 June 2014}}</ref> The head of the Music department was Mohamed Saeed (Guroon jire). Music is now regularly broadcast on the state-run [[Radio Hargeisa]],a number of private studio named [[Sony Music Somaliland]] a division of [[Sony Music Entertainment]] as well radio popular television networks such as [[Horn Cable Television]] (a private company which is based in Somaliland).

==List of Somali musicians and musical groups==
{{List missing criteria|date=October 2024}}

[[File:58634321 aar.jpg|thumb|right|Popular Somali singer [[Aar Maanta]].]]

*[[Aar Maanta|Aar maanta]]
*[[Abdi Sinimo]]
*[[Abdullahi Qarshe]]
*[[Ahmed Gacayte]]
*[[Ahmed Mooge Liibaan|Ahmed Mooge Liban]]
*[[Dur-Dur Band]]
*[[Guduuda 'Arwo]]
*[[Hasan Adan Samatar]]
*[[Hassan Sheikh Mumin]]
*[[Jiim Sheikh Muumin]]
*[[Khadija Qalanjo]]
*[[K'naan]]
*[[Mohamed Nuur Giriig]]
*[[Saado Ali Warsame]]
*[[Waayaha Cusub]]
*[[Mohamed Sulayman Tubeec]]
*[[Hudeidi]]
*[[Xiddigaha Geeska]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Somalia|Music}}
*[[Middle Eastern music]]
*[[Music of Ethiopia]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last=Abdullahi |first=Mohamed Diriye |title=Culture and customs of Somalia |publisher=Greenwood |year=2001 |location= |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Nu918tYMB8C |isbn=978-0-313-31333-2}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=x0gkAQAAIAAJ&q=instruments Ministry of Information and National Guidance, Mogadishu, Somalia (1974). Somali Culture and Folklore]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=DPwOsOcNy5YC&pg=PA166 Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji (2003) ''Historical Dictionary of Somalia'']. Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|0-8108-4344-7}}
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=ajMsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA57  Puchowski, Douglas (2013). ''The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music''], Volume 1. Routledge, {{ISBN|9781136095702}}

{{Music of Africa}}

[[Category:Music of Somalia| ]]