The Bedouin are a people who inhabit the Middle East. Bedouin music is highly syncopated and generally unaccompanied. Because songs are mostly a cappella, the vocals and lyrics are the most integral part of Bedouin music. Poetry (al-shi'ir al-nabatî) is a part of many songs. Other types include taghrud (or hidâ' ), the songs of camel-drivers, and dance songs of preparation for war (ayyâla , or 'arda).

Yamania songs are a type of Bedouin music that comes from the fishermen of the Arabian Penninsula . These songs are related to exorcism and are accompanied by a five-stringed lyre called the simsimiyya .

Among the popular singers to use elements of Bedouin music in their style is the Israeli Yair Dalal .