We have already talked about "Arabic violins" and their diffusion in North Africa. The RABAB is a two-stringed instrument, with a bow, made from a single piece of wood. In its most recent modern version, it has a narrow and convex shape. The RABAB is played with a bow, in a way very similar to that commonly known for the European double bass. The strings of the RABAB are tuned at intervals of one-fifth, According to some scholars, the RABAB could be the precursor of the European violin. The use of a bow to rub the strings is probably of Asian origin. Again according to these scholars, in contemporary Arabic musicality, we can distinguish at least five main areas, homogeneous from the musical point of view but which differ regarding the modal structures. the style of singing, the particular way of plucking string instruments (and in particular lutes). These areas are: Iraq, Syria, Egypt, the Arabian peninsula and - North Africa.
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