(shaheen) improvisation, we call it in arabic, taqasim, and taqasim is one of the most important genresarabic music. it shows the knowledge, the experience, the abilities of the musician, whether its a vocalist or an instrumentalist. when we play taqasim, we have to make the main choice, which maqam i'm going to choose as my main mode in the improvisation. for example, if i use a maqam that is called rast, r-a-s-t, then this is the main maqam. i should start with this maqam, and i can modulate to whatever i want, but at the end of the taqasim, i have to go usually to the rast. [music continues] the most important feature in taqasim is the ability to build up a melody, and the more you modulate, the more intense the improvisation becomes. the most important thing would be to understand that it has to be created on the spot. and it very much depends on the artistry and the knowledge, the experience of the musician. now, it is true that much of the ideas, the music ideas, with experience, they might repeat themselves, but it's never the same. you can never hear an idea repeated twice the s