BAGHDAD — Hussein Abdullah clutches his oud, long the symbol of Iraqi music, and sighs. “Iraqis do not care for their musical heritage,” he laments. “On TV, all you see are singers who have no voice.”



While his contemporaries may have chosen to play the drums or guitar, or belt out modern lyrics, the 25-year-old has instead opted for the oud, part of an attempted revival of Iraqi traditional music, long in decline.



The contrast is evident in the up-market neighborhood of Jadriyah in central Baghdad — in the evenings, when restaurants are packed and the streets are filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic, revellers are more likely to hear the melodies of Egyptian singer Amr Diab than the Iraqi oud.



Hussein is one of a growing number of students at Baghdad’s Musical Studies Institute, a bastion of the country’s traditional music and a breeding ground for budding talents.



At the vanguard of that effort is Sattar Naji, the institute’s director who meets with every prospective student hoping to, one day, break into the elite of Iraqi traditional music.



“It is better now,” Naji told AFP, recalling that after the US-led invasion of 2003, “we did not even have 30 students.”



Among the hopefuls who want to join that group is Mohammed Ali Mohammed, an 18-year-old with slick-black hair.



As part of an entrance exam, Naji, who works with three teachers at the institute, asked the teenager to reproduce a beat he made by humming and clapping his hands.



Though awkward at first, Mohammed quickly caught on, and after 10 minutes, Naji consulted with his colleagues.



“Not bad,” he said. “We’ll take him — he will get better over time.”

Despite his talent, Mohammed lacked Hussein’s passion, admitting afterwards that he would have preferred to have auditioned for ‘Iraqi Star’, a television talent show that is the local equivalent of American Idol or the X-Factor.



“But I had to go to school, so I could not try out,” he said.

The young man is nevertheless in line for four years of intensive teaching —teachers will work with him on his singing and playing the oud, but also on performing with the qanoon, an Arab take on the sitar, and the violin. — AFP