Iran is home to several ethnic groups, including Kurdish, Turkish, Bahktiari and Baluchi peoples. Turkoman epic poets similar to Central Asian musicians are common in Khorasan, while Kurdish music is known for its double-reed duduk and an earthy, dance-oriented sound.
Iran developed its own pop music by the 1970s, using indigenous instruments and forms and adding electric guitar and other imported characteristics; the most popular musician of this period was Googoosh. Pop music didn't last long, though, and was banned after the 1979 revolution. Many Iranians took to foreign countries, especially Los Angeles in the United States, and Iranian-in-exile pop stars include Shahram, Morteza, Hodi, Hayadeh, Homeirah and Mahasti.
The long-standing Persian Empire produced royal classical music called musiqi-e assil (pure or noble music). Its origins are unknown, and may stretch back thousands of years, though its first documented evidence of existence came much more recently.
Compositions can vary immensely from start to finish, usually alternating between low, contemplative pieces and athletic displays of musicianship called tahrir. Lyrics are largely written by midieval poets, especially Hafez and Jalal-e Din Rumi.
Musiqi-e assil instruments include the bowed spike-fiddle kamancheh, the goblet drum tombak (or zarb), the end-blown flute ney, the long-necked lutes tar and setar and the dulcimer santur.
Much of musiqi-e assil is improvised and is based on a series of modal scales and tunes which must be memorized. Apprentices and masters (ostad) have a traditional relationship which has declined during the 20th century as music education moved to universities and conservatoires. A repertoire of more than two hundreed series (radif) are each divided into short melodies called gusheh, which are themselves divided into twelve dastgah. Each gusheh and dastgah have an individual name, and many are related to the maqams of Turkish and Arabic music.
Until the early 20th century, musiqi-e assil was heard almost entirely at the royal courts of the monarchy. The Qajar dynasty ruled until 1925, with their influence declining since the turn of the century. Musiqi-e assil became a more common past-time for the next few decades, especially after cassettes were introduced in the 1960s. Before the 1979 revolution, Iran produced the singing star Gholam Hossein Bana and instrumentalists like Abol Hassan Saba, Ahmad Ebadi and Faramarz Payvar.
The 1979 revolution launched a renaissance in Persian classical music, from which emerged national stars like Parisa, Parviz Meshkatian, Jamshid Andalibi, Kayham Kahlor, Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Shahram Nazeri and, most famously, Mohammad Reza Shajarian. Though the revolution created classical music's popularity, music and Islam have not always meshed well, and many Iranian conservatives disliked even the simple melodies and lyrics of classical music. The role of women in music was restricted, though they were allowed to continue performing as instrumentalists though not vocalists.Folk music
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