How’s the music Scene in Saudi Arabia. Is it really frowned upon? Read more here.
Young musicians in Saudi Arabia risking everything for music
For young musicians in Saudi Arabia, rocking and rolling can mean risking everything.
The last three years have seen an explosion in the kingdom’s underground music scene, with bands playing everything from hip-hop and rock to punk and death metal. There are currently more than 40 bands quietly rocking the nation, playing gigs in private homes, in residential compounds that house foreign workers and in tents in the middle of the vast Saudi desert.
But rocking in Riyadh and moshing in Mecca have their risks. The dreaded Mutaween — the Saudi religious police tasked with enforcing Shariah, the nation’s strict Islamic law, feel you have to suffer if you want to sing the blues. They’ve arrested band members for holding concerts without permits, and they’ve charged some concert organizers with money laundering, according to Saudi musicians and human rights organizations that monitor the oil-rich kingdom.
The threat to the Saudi regime isn’t the music itself, but rather the kingdom’s teenagers and young adults, who have grown up with computers, iPhones and satellite TVs, said human rights advocate Ali Alyami. Read more here…
Is It Okay to Play Piano in Saudi Arabia?
We all know that Dubai is the most liberal of all the Gulf / middle-east countries, but how is Saudi Arabia when it comes to music? Is it okay to play the Piano in Saudi Arabia?
Going by some of the threads and comments that we have read on the internet, it seems it is fine as long as you take care not to play it very loudly and disturb your neighbors.
What are your thoughts on this? If any of you have any experience, please share it here.
Answers
I think many Arabs consider it as Haram, so it is frowned upon. – Anonymous
But then there are stores that sell pianos, which I don’t think are illegal and seem to be the more legitimate ones. – Zep
I am keenly following this thread as I have recently come to Saudi, on my work assignment with a petrochemical company. I have been playing the piano for several years now and it has always been a stress buster for me. A Bach or Beethoven or another classical piece on the piano is the best form of relaxation for me. This is the first time I will be without my piano for a long time, and I’m actively searching for a dealer that has used pianos (I want a better one so that’s why not keen on a new one). And I think it’s okay to have one, at least that stays inside the house and used just for practicing. But I have not been able to locate any yet; I read the comment about importing from Dubai but I’m not sure if it’s possible, though it’s a good option if it doesn’t raise the price a lot by ways of import duties. – Chris
Mohammed Abdu is a well-known Saudi singer and composer of Khaleeji music (music of the gulf) and has performed all over, so music as such is not banned completely. Here’s one of his videos. – Anonymous
In Riyadh, there’s a music shop at Al Fasiliyah which has a good selection of guitars, keyboards and other musical instruments.
