Page:Algeria from Within.pdf/114

I have talked a great deal about music and dancing in Algeria without describing their characteristics. There are three very distinct classes of music: that for dancing, that for ballads about war or love, and that for religious chants.

These various forms of music have their respective instruments, which, though few in number, differ considerably one from the other. The first is the raïta: in shape it resembles a short trumpet bored with holes, on which rest the fingers, and with a bell-shaped mouth. The sound is created by vast quantities of air being blown through a reed mouthpiece, producing a sound not unlike the bagpipes, only much louder. In fact, I have rarely heard one man produce such an ear-piercing and strident squeal as the raïta-player, and sitting close up to the music is pain and grief. This instrument is used exclusively for dancing, and it is accompanied by a man with a tam-tam or a derbouca.

The tam-tam resembles in shape a very large tambourine, and is played with both hands, producing a rather dry, rhythmical cadence. The derbouca looks like a large flower-vase with a round body and a long neck. Over the farther end is stretched a piece of skin, and the playing is the same as the tam-tam, but with a much deeper sound.

In addition to the above, one often sees a tambourinist; but the usual orchestra for dancing consists