science

Rabiz

Rabiz is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rabiz rather than just read about it. In short: Rabiz or rabis (Armenian: ռաբիզ or Armenian: ռաբիս) is a genre of Armenian popular music, distinguished by its lyrics and dance-oriented synthesized melodies in 68 time signature with elements of Armenian folk music. Rabiz first emerged in Yerevan in the 1970-80s and was often associated with Armenian migrants from rural regions of Armenia.

Key takeaways

Rabiz belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rabiz to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rabiz from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rabiz or rabis (Armenian: ռաբիզ or Armenian: ռաբիս) is a genre of Armenian popular music, distinguished by its lyrics and dance-oriented synthesized melodies in 68 time signature with elements of Armenian folk music. Rabiz first emerged in Yerevan in the 1970-80s and was often associated with Armenian migrants from rural regions of Armenia. Rabiz singers are with few exceptions male. More recently, rabiz songs have been augmented with heavier arrangements and electronic dance music elements in their instrumentation. This music genre could be compared with famous Balkan genres. Among others Romanian manele, Bulgarian chalga, Albanian tavalla and Greek laiko. Though the singers and their audience primarily refer to rabiz as a music genre, the term is also used broadly to refer to a certain type of subculture with its particular fashion, Russian-derived slang, and lifestyle. The genre has received criticism from various music critics due to its perceived similarities to Middle Eastern music. Prominent performers of the genre include Aram Asatryan, Tatul Avoyan (known by the mononym Tatul), and Hayk Ghevondyan (known as Spitakci Hayko or more commonly by the mononym Hayko).

The musical language of the rabiz, being a blend of several musical traditions (primarily Armenian national music, called ashug. [Bardic-style] and Eastern in the style of the makam [classical court music]), it is marked by delicate Eastern harmony and an abundance of melisinas, which allow the musician to achieve the desired effect by purely musical means. Some performances of rabiz music are characterized by code-switching in which rabiz performers such as Mingichauri Samo (Samvel Avanesyan) and Spitakci Hayko (Hayk Ghevondyan) – reminiscent of similarly multilingual pieces by ashughs such as Sayat-Nova – improvise simultaneously in different languages such as Armenian, Kurdish or Russian. Outside of Armenia, rabiz also enjoys popularity in the Armenian diaspora, particularly in Russia and Los Angeles, California. Many of the performers of the genre are now greatly popular with Armenian diaspora listeners as well.

Etymology Despite the term's widespread use, the etymology or definition of the word "rabiz" is not clearly understood. According to some sources it stems from the Russian phrase "работники искусства" (rabotniki iskusstva) used during Soviet times, meaning "Art Workers", in reference to unions which specialized in new music composition. Others believe that the word has Arabic roots, since the word rab (Arabic: رَبّ) means creator or god, while the Arabic name aziz (Arabic: رَبّ; Armenian: ազիզ), which is used by many Armenians as meaning "darling" could perhaps be considered another root, thus referring to the genre performers as dear creators.

Varieties Kef, a subgenre of rabiz music, unrelated to the homonymous Armenian-American kef music, concerns romantic love and partying, but also love of family or patriotism, similarly to Russian chanson or blatnyak.

"Mi Gna"

In 2016, rabiz music achieved international commercial success with the viral hit single "Mi Gna" released by Armenian American rapper Super Sako, on his album Love Crimes. Although an earlier version of the song in Armenian was composed by Artak Aramyan, the remixed version of the song with additional English lyrics by Super Sako propelled it to success. The song features vocals by Hayk Ghevondyan. "Mi Gna" hit #1 on Shazam Top 100 list, with its YouTube video upload has garnered over 190 million views. The song has been remixed numerous times since, as well as released in different language versions, including Albanian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Kurdish (Sorani), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, and Turkish. A trilingual Armenian/English/French version, remixed by French-Congolese rapper Maître Gims, achieved success in France and the Francophone world.

Famous artists Aram Asatryan Tatul Avoyan Tata Simonyan Armenchik Super Sako Spitakci Hayko

See also Music of Armenia Balkan music Manele Chalga Tallava Laiko

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rabiz

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rabiz claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rabiz before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rabiz ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rabiz

In research: Rabiz appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rabiz in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rabiz is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Armenian inventions, Music genres, Music of Armenia, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rabiz outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rabiz in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rabiz means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rabiz out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rabiz in simple terms?

Why does Rabiz matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rabiz?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rabiz.