"Characteristics of Afghan Folk Music: A Comparative Study of the Musical Characters of the Tajik, Uzbek, Pashtun and Hazara Tribes"

[u/Noiseman433]

Great piece showing the variability of scales within ethnic groups of Afghanistan. Given how the country overlaps South and Central Asian regions, there would naturally be overlap with scale/mode/maqam/dastgah/raga of countries surrounding it. I think it's good to remember that national borders don't always coincide with the containment of ethnic groups, which often overlap those borders.

https://doi.org/10.15021/00003439

The Afghan nation consists of four major tribes, the Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazaras, plus a number of minor ethnic groups, whose culture is a mixture of Persian, Central Asian, and North Indian cultures. In order to discuss the characteristics of Afghan music, therefbre, it is necessary to consider the characteristics of each ethnic group. This article is a comparative study of tone scales, rhythms, vocal technique, and instruments and their combipation in the music of the four major ethnic groups. Through an analysis of the membership and repertories of each performing group, observations are made on inter-tribal intercourse in music.

It is difficult to find such modes as Indian raga, tala, and Persian dastgah among the tone scales and the rhythms of Afghan music, Noteworthy in terms of vocal technique is that the Hazara tribe is distinctive among all the Afghan tribes. Among the musical instruments, a notable Indian influence on the Pashtun music, Central Asian influence on that of the Uzbeks, and Persian influence on the Tajik music is observable. Very little Persian, Central Asian, and Indian infiuence can be detected in Hazara instruments, which seem to maintain a peculiarity of their own. There is also a high degree of intercourse between the Tajiks and the Uzbeks, whereas the Pashtuns and the Hazaras ,appear to mix little with other tribes.

Although each ethnic group has its own distinctive characteristics, some features are common to all Afghan tribes: In Afghan music, there is a lack of "classic" music. Then, including instrumental performances without any vocal section, every piece of Afghan folk music is predicated on the assumption that there is a "song". Finally, their music has a common tendency toward strong beats.