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Learn more about AMMAR

• When did you first develop a passion for music and your favorite instrument?

  Ever since I was a child I've woken up to the tunes of the Lebanese singer Fayrouz. In Syria, her voice on the radio accompanied us every morning. In many of her songs, I noticed that there were solos played on Buzuq, and so my interest in this instrument began to grow. So when I walked into a music store, some ten years ago, and saw the bozouk among all the other instruments, I knew it was the instrument I wanted to play. Since then I've learned to play not only bozouk but saz and oud as well.

• Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  I love listening to classical music like Um Kalthum and Fayrouz, and also musicians specialized in oud and bozouk like Naseer Shama and Mohammad Abd Alkareem. I never get tired of listening to them.

• Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  Taqasem is the part I like the most to teach the students after they have learned the basics of their instrument. Taqasem is an improvisation on a specific scale or maqam in Arabic. I help the students feel the maqam and work with them so that they put their touch on it.

• What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  Basic knowledge in any instrument will be easy for anyone to learn. Practicing and focusing are the key to getting professional in any instrument.

• What are your keys to success?

  In my opinion, the keys to success are: to keep it simple, practice and try new technics and to play new songs, and most importantly have fun during the learning process.

• Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  Simon Shaheen is one of the best oud players, Hazem Shaheen and Nasser Shama are also two of the very best oud players, and I had the chance to meet both of them at Oud House in Cairo when I was studying music there.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  I still remember the day when I went to the music shop for the first time to choose an instrument to start learning to play without any knowledge of music.
  There were many different instruments there like oud, guitar, and violin. However, there was only one buzuq. So I chose the buzuq, and I remember that day when I returned home with the buzuq and I was trying to play on it and searching on YouTube to find videos to learn. I also remember how I learned my first song on buzuq after only 3 days with some help from my cousin, and how I fell in love with the instrument straight away.

• What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  When I started to learn buzuq, I mostly learned by myself, because there weren't a lot of resources to learn this instrument at the time. I had a lot of questions, and I had to find most of the answers to those questions myself. This, along with my professional knowledge from studying these instruments in Syria and later on at Oud House in Cairo, gave me a lot of knowledge to help me become a better teacher.