Applying Classical Arabic Music to the Bassoon Through Innovative Performance Practices

Traditional and classical Arabic music both utilize a tuning system different from the equal temperament system widely used in European and North American music. Many modes in Arabic music contain pitches that cannot be played on an equal tempered piano. Like the piano, the German Heckel system bassoon and other woodwind instruments common to North America are designed to play a 12-tone equal tempered octave. This project explores how the bassoon can be used to play Arabic music through the development of a set of specialized fingerings, thereby overcoming that limitation and advancing the capabilities of the bassoon in Arabic music. These fingerings were developed by a process of trial and error, using an electronic tuner. As a result, additional pitches spanning intervals smaller than the equal temperament half step, called quarter tones, can be played. These additional pitches make the performance of Arabic folk songs and compositions possible on the bassoon, resulting in original renditions of "Sama'i Wajdi" by Wajdi Abu Diab, and "El Nahr El Khaled" by Mohammed Abdel Wahab adapted for the bassoon for the first time. In addition to altered fingerings, ornaments characteristic of Arabic music are also utilized for the performance of these pieces, further emulating the style of Arabic solo instrumental performance on a European instrument. Consequently, this cross-cultural experiment expands the capabilities of the bassoon beyond its standard repertoire to include the performance of music from a range of global traditions.