Dr. Sawa is a leading modern authority on medieval Arabic music. His books and papers offer precise English translations and breakdowns of Al-Farabi's chapters on rhythm ( iqa' ) and performance practice. 3. Physical & E-Book Purchases
: A detailed research paper on Al-Farabi’s Great Book of Music explains his theoretical principles and mathematical methods.
Search for Rodolphe d'Erlanger’s La Musique Arabe . If you read French, the complete text of Kitab al-Musiqa al-Kabir is available for free PDF download. You can also find various English academic theses that translate specific chapters of the book.
If you need a formal English translation, look for these titles through a university library or Open Library The Philosophy of Music by Al-Farabi : Translated and analyzed by scholars like
If you are a student or a researcher, here is your action plan: kitab almusiqa alkabir english pdf link
While many Arabic, Hebrew, and French versions are available, a widely available, direct English PDF of the entire text can be difficult to locate due to its academic nature and antiquity.
While a full English PDF does not exist, you can find the original Arabic text and partial English summaries:
If you are researching this for a paper or personal study, here are the key points covered in the Kitab al-Musiqa al-Kabir :
Bookmark this page, as we will update it immediately if a public domain English PDF is ever released. If you read French, the complete text of
Provides abstracts and articles analyzing the text, such as "The Great Book of Music of Al Farabi - A Medieval Model for a Musico-Theoretical Research".
This public link is valid for 7 days and shares a thread, including any personal information you added. This link or copies made by others cannot be deleted. If you share with third parties, their policies apply. Can’t copy the link right now. Try again later. (PDF) The Great Book of Music of Al Farabi - ResearchGate
(The Great Book of Music), authored by the landmark 10th-century Islamic Golden Age philosopher Al-Farabi (c. 872–950/951 CE), is universally recognized as one of the most comprehensive and influential treatises on music theory, acoustics, and philosophy ever written. Known in European tradition as the "Second Teacher" (after Aristotle), Al-Farabi masterfully combined ancient Greek musicology—drawing heavily on Aristoxenus, Euclid, Ptolemy, and Pythagorean mathematics—with the active, lived performance practices of the medieval Middle East.
: The most comprehensive translation into a European language remains the one by Rodolphe d'Erlanger, published in French (1930–1935). Library Access the vizier of Egypt
Kitāb Al Mūsīqá Al Kabīr (كتاب الموسيقى الكبير) ( PDFDrive )
Unlike earlier Greek treatises that focused on abstract harmony, Al-Farabi did something radical: he dissected the oud (the ancestor of the European lute), measured the exact finger placements on its neck, and described over 100 distinct rhythmic modes, many of which are now extinct.
While a full English translation does not exist, do exist in academic journals and university presses.
Commissioned by Abu'l-Fadl Ja'far ibn al-Furat, the vizier of Egypt, the Kitab al-Musiqa al-Kabir was intended to be a definitive correction and expansion of existing musical theories. Al-Farabi noted that previous translations of Greek musical theorists (like Aristoxenus and Ptolemy) into Arabic were either incomplete or poorly understood. The book is structurally divided into two massive parts: