Music of Morocco: History and Key Facts

Moroccan music has varied greatly over the centuries as well as between geographic regions and social groups. It is influenced by musical styles including Arabic, Berber, Andalusi, Mediterranean, Saharan, West African, and others.

Musical styles vary by geography. Andalusi music and malhun are associated with urban centers including Tetouan, Fes, Meknes, Rabat and Oujda, chaabi and aita are associated with the Atlantic coastal plains, reggada is associated with the Beni-Znassen region (Oujda, Berkane), gnawa with Essaouira and Marrakesh, ahidus with the Middle Atlas, ahwash with the Sous region, and guedra in the Sahara.

Since the 20th century, musicians have been synthesizing Moroccan musical traditions with influences from around the world, such as blues, rock, metal, reggae, rap, etc. Each genre and musical style is made up of regional subgroups, and is further divided between contemporary and traditional expressions.

Source and attribution

Text excerpted from Music of Morocco by Wikipedia contributors, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. The extract is abridged and formatting has been adjusted; the adapted text on this page is shared under the same licence. Revision history.