Background on Libyan Music
The cultural mosaic of Libya and its history of exchange between multiple ethnicities has resulted in a very varied and rich musical heritage. To understand Libyan music better, the country can be divided into three regions. The east has been influenced by Middle Eastern, Greek, and Gulf cultures; the south by Sub-Saharan music culture; while the west carries on Western Mediterranean and Andalusian musical traditions.
Libyan classical music is mostly based on the maqam theory, a system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music. The maqam's name, which means "place" or "position" in Arabic, alludes to how it creates connections between movements. Across Libya, the dialect and poetry of the region play a major part in the music creation, rhythms are rooted within the “Wazin” or folk poetry.
Aside from the Maqam system that is shared with the middle east, there’s also the Nuba; a multi-movement work akin to the suite. The Nuba is composed and performed with a complex set of rules beyond just notes of a scale, Much like its maqam counterpart, it is not solely defined by notes in a scale but rather a set of regulations that dictate how it is composed and performed. This system is unique to the region of North Africa and derives its roots within the Andalusian culture.
Instruments used in Libyan include the Zokra (Wind instrument), Nai (Flute), Tambourine, Oud (String instrument) and Darbuka (Goblet drum). Clapping is also used in Libyan folk music.
Struggles of Libyan Music
Following the revolution of September 1st 1969 numerous entertainment venues were shut down. This had a significant impact on the performance musical culture of the nation, especially in Tripoli. Previously, restaurants in Tripoli attracted both oriental and occidental orchestras. It can be assumed that this closure meant foreign musicians travelling to Libya for performances significantly decreased. The new government focused their policy more on music education than entertainment/performance prospects.
In 1985, western music instruments were set to be burned during the previous regime. The instruments, which were burned in the Green Square in Tripoli and the Seventh of April Square in Benghazi, ″have no tie with the society of the masses and contribute to the distortion of our genuine Arab culture and heritage.″ and this happened again under the shortly lived ISIS in Libya. At the time, the ISIS forces responsible described the use of electric keyboards as "offensive to Muslims".
These events combined with the fact that traditional instrument-making in Libya never reached a mass production level, resulted in generations that were alienated from experimenting and understanding their heritage on a technical level.
The regime didn't recognize or appreciate many musical forms that were important to minorities or specific cities and regions. Its preference for certain music genres left other forms of art neglected.
Music performance in Libya (public performance) has been always more or less restricted. Initially, the previous regime had restricted certain art forms from being performed but also didn’t encourage art and music overall which didn’t align with its direction of governing.
Post-2011 revolution, Music, art and performances overall witnessed a cultural boom yet with the situation in the country deteriorating since the civil war in 2014 in addition to the spread of extremism. Musicians face an extremely hostile environment for publicly performing music.
The Music conservatoire in Tripoli has been struggling with the number of students enrolling each year, families are not comfortable enrolling their children due to the hostile situation towards music overall, and the situation is similar in the east and south with varying degrees of severity.
Post the 2011 revolution, Music and art in general in Libya witnessed a cultural boom. Yet the damage has already been done, many generations don't recognise the sound of Libya during the 40s, 50s and 60s. There's a deep lack of knowledge of the traditional regional musical forms and the melodies and themes that can unite a nation.
With the situation in the country deteriorating since the civil war in 2014 going forward and the spread of Islamic extremism, the young generation of professional musicians and amateurs alike found themself unable to hold public music performances. Music and art institutes came under fire multiple times and became a victim of political instability in Libya, resulting in a steep decline in the number of students that graduate from these institutes each year.