So as Ahel El Nagam is developing a recital length program I’m left with a decision about whether or not I want to focus on developing riq lines for the music rather than defaulting to the Egyptian tabla.
Certainly for the classical Egyptian tunes it would be a far more appropriate choice but the issue for me is that I just don’t have the same level of chops for the riq as I do for tabla. All the more reason for me to make the decision to switch (at least for the Classical Arabic tunes). Besides, it’s always nice to get myself out of my comfort zones and really get down to sorting through some more advanced riq techniques–it is truly an underappreciated instrument and far more versatile than many people give it credit for.