With many people wanting to learn or cultivate their skills but still still being anxious about doing just about anything face-to-face in the hopes of socially-distancing as much as possible, online platforms like Izif come in quite handy. Founded by Bishir Abu Taleb, Izif is a Jordanian virtual platform offering music courses in Arabic. The platform – which offers some free classes for beginners and classes available on a subscription basis – focuses mainly on instruments used in Arabic music like the oud, qanon, ney and darbuka, but also offers classes teaching guitar and piano. Along with the instrumental classes, Izif also offer a course on music theory.
Because the course videos are pre-recorded, musicians can take the courses at their own pace. The instructors and musicians teaching the courses are all certified and active in the Arab world and internationally. The platform also hosts a free sheet music library for anyone interested in learning regional or international canonical musical pieces.
To learn more, head to www.izif.com. The platform is also available through the Izif app on the App Store and Google Play.
