The Kanun has 78 strings—three per note./The small metal levers can be switched mid-play, producing microintervals./The 78 lathed screws allow Ziad to tune the strings./Playing the Kanun isn’t merely a passion for Ziad. It’s his profession. He worked as a music instructor and played concerts in Syria and other Arabic countries./What does the war in Syria mean for the country’s musical tradition?/“I earned 800 € from my last performance.”/When bombs drop, no one can make music any longer./“Women without headscarves ... /... and musicians face issues from ISIS.”/Even radical Islamists are destroying music culture in Syria. For them music is a work of the devil./Ziad plays Kanun every day in Hamburg. But he’s unable to work as a musician.
