Andalusī nūbah (
نوبة أندلسيّة), also transliterated
nūba,
nūbā, or
nouba (pl.
nūbāt), or in its classical Arabic form,
nawba or
nawbah, is a
musical genre found in the North African
Maghrib states of
Morocco,
Algeria,
Tunisia, and
Libya but, as the name indicates, it has its origins in
Arabo-Andalusian music. The name replaced the older use of
sawt and originates from the musician waiting behind a curtain to be told it was his turn or
nawbah by the
sattar or curtain man .