''Takht'' (alternatively spelled Takhat) ( fa, تخت) is the representative musical ensemble, the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, of Middle Eastern music. In

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, Syria,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, Palestine, and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, the ensemble consists of the ''

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

'', the '' qanun'', the '' kamanjah'' (or now alternatively ''

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

''), the ''

ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

'', the '' riq'', and the '' darabukkah'' . The word ''takht'' means "bed", "seat", or "podium" in Persian. The melody instruments may play heterophonically in octaves or perform

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

s. Instrumental forms include '' bashraf'', ''

sama'i ''Sama'i'' (also known as ''usul semai'') is a vocal piece of Ottoman Turkish music composed in 6/8 meter. This form and meter ('' usul'' in Turkish) is often confused with the completely different '' Saz Semaisi'', an instrumental form consisting ...

'', ''

tahmilah A ''taḥmīlah'' ( ar, التحميلة) is a type of instrumental piece in Arabic music. Often played by a ''Takht (music), takht'' ensemble, the ''tahmilah'' features the alternation between solo instruments and the full ensemble. See also

* ...

'', and ''

dulab Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many ...

''. The ensemble may be joined by a male or female vocalist and a group of four to six singers who provide the refrain sections. Vocal genres performed include ''

dawr A ''dawr'' (Arabic: دور or الدور; plural: ''adwar'', أدوار; also spelled ''dour'') is a genre of Arabic vocal music sung in regional or colloquial Arabic. The genre faded in popularity after the 1920s and often used the melismatic tech ...

'', ''

muwashshah ''Muwashshah'' ( ar, موشح ' literally means " girdled" in Classical Arabic; plural ' or ' ) is the name for both an Arabic poetic form and a secular musical genre. The poetic form consists of a multi-lined strophic verse poem writt ...

'', ''

layali ''Layālī'' (ليالي) is a style of unmetered modal improvisation, based on a '' maqam'', performed by a singing voice in Arabic music. It is similar to the ''taqsim'', which is performed by a solo instrument. The ''layali'' generally serves a ...

'', ''

ma'luf ''Ma'luf'' ( ar, مألوف, acquainted, familiar ''Ma'lūf'') is a genre of art music in the Andalusian classical music tradition of Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia. It is of Iberian origin and was introduced to the Maghreb The Maghreb (; a ...

'', ''

qasidah The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; is originally an Arabic word , plural ''qaṣā’id'', ; that was passed to some other languages such as fa, قصیده or , ''chakameh'', and tr, kaside) is an ancient Arabic word and form of writin ...

'', and ''

mawwal In Arabic Music, the ''mawwāl'' ( ar, موال; plural: ''mawāwīl'', ) is a traditional and popular Arabic genre of vocal music that is very slow in beat and sentimental in nature, and is characterised by prolonging vowel syllables, emotional ...

''. While the ''takht'' typically comprised between two and five musicians, a similar, but larger ensemble (numbering eight or more) is called a '' firqa'' in Arabic.Danielson, Virginia (1997).
The voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthūm, Arabic song, and Egyptian society in the twentieth century
, p.203, ''Books.Google.com''. .

Sources

Types of musical groups Arabic music Egyptian music Persian music {{music-stub