Taroub

Khaleeji (Khaliji) is the contemporary popular music of the Arabian Gulf, spanning Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. It blends deep-rooted Gulf rhythmic traditions and poetic forms with modern pop arrangement, creating a distinctly percussive, melodic, and danceable sound. Core characteristics include driving hand-drum grooves (mirwās, tabl, riqq), ornate vocal lines grounded in the Arabic maqam system (often Bayātī, Rāst, Ḥijāz, and Nahāwand), and Gulf-dialect (Nabaṭī) lyrics that balance romantic themes with imagery of desert, sea, and kinship. Since the 1980s, synthesizers, drum machines, and lush string pads have joined oud, violin, and qanun, giving Khaleeji its sleek pop sheen while preserving its rhythmic identity (samri and khaleegy dance rhythms). The result is a style that feels both traditional and modern: celebratory and suited to social dancing, yet melodically expressive and lyrically intimate.

Mūsīqā lubnāniyya (Lebanese music) denotes the modern popular and art-music traditions that emerged in Lebanon, blending Levantine folk idioms, Arabic maqam-based composition, and Western pop/jazz orchestration. It is characterized by melodic lines rich in ornamentation and microtonal inflections, buoyant dabke rhythms for dance repertoire, and poetic lyrics in Lebanese Arabic that range from romantic to patriotic and nostalgic themes. In the second half of the 20th century, Beirut’s studios, composers, and star singers shaped a distinctive sound—at once rooted in regional modalities and open to European chanson, classical orchestration, and jazz harmony.