Oral Music of the Maghreb and the Mashriq and the digital encoding of scores / transcriptions

The music of North Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin are of oral tradition. Since the 19th century many sound recordings have been made and most of  musicians have also noted these musics using Western musical notation. However, we cannot speak of "scores" in the strict sense, but of transcriptions, since’ originally, these musics are not « composed », that is to say, resulting from a writing, but essentially improvised and interpreted by using musical modes called maqâms. These improvisations follow a complex elaboration, according to the organization of rites, and are often based on oral literature - tales, epics, songs of love - that contribute to the musical form. This intimate relationship between speech and music is characteristic of the music of the Maghreb and the Mashriq, poetry being considered the highest artistic form, surpassing architecture, painting, sculpture, etc ...

The digital encoding of transcripts must therefore take into account both musical expression, associated gestures and often textual content. Digital encoding standards such as MEI "Music Encoding Initiative" and TEI "Text Encoding Initiative" can be excellent tools for encoding musics that regularly includes "performance tips", ie verbal, or written indications that explain how to play them.