On the Tracks of Music

A journey of discovery, documentation, and celebration of folk music in the Levant and Mesopotamia. This journey took more than two years, from December 2022 to February 2025 and began with identifying 11 small communities in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.  The criteria for selecting these communities were quite simple: that they are communities that suffer from some form of social and/or economic marginalization.  After that, through an open call, 11 field researchers were recruited to conduct field research in these communities.  The researchers were trained on research tools and methodology before they started to survey the targeted communities.   The outcomes of this research are included in a research report that is published on this website.

The research resulted in 146 recorded and videoed music pieces that were to be the basis for this website.  After that came the stage of music training where 22 musicians in Iraq, 27 musicians in Jordan and 30 musicians in Lebanon, took part in workshops to learn the musical genres documented in the research, under the guidance of professional folk musicians and music experts.  Fifty-four people also participated in basic workshops to learn how to make traditional musical instruments.  This stage concluded with 6 musical concerts in Hermel, Beirut, Basrah, Baghdad, Irbid, and Amman, featuring several trainees as well as music masters such as Mohammad Matar, Anwar Abu Dragh, and Layth Sidiq.  These concerts were attended by an audience of over fifteen hundred people.

An exhibition of folk music instruments in the four countries is another important outcome of this project.  The exhibition featured 13 folk instruments that were documented and collected throughout the project.  The exhibition was presented in Amman, Baghdad, and Beirut, and attracted an audience of 1760 people.  

The last stage of this project is this website!  Here, you will find dozens of videos and recordings of folk music from the eleven communities that we covered.  Also, you can read the full study based on the field research.  

We have done our journey discovering this beautiful music, it is time that you start yours!  Enjoy.