Ataaba

The ataaba (Arabic: عتابا‎, meaning "plaint" or "dirge", also transliterated 'ataba) is a traditional Arabic musical form sung at weddings or festivals, and sometimes also by people at work. Popular in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan, it was originally a Bedouin genre, improvised by a solo poet-singer accompanying himself on the rababa. As part of the Palestinian folk music tradition, ataabas are generally performed by a vocal soloist, without instrumental accompaniment, who improvises the melody using folk poetry for the verse.