Even though musical traditions in the Arab world have been handed down orally, Arab scholars like Al-Kindi, Abulfaraj or Al-Farabi and later Safi al-Din published treatises on Arabic music since at least the 9th century AD. In 1932, the first Congress of Arab Music was held in Cairo, where scholarship about the past, present and future of Arabic music was presented both from Western as well as Arab experts. The results were later documented, both in writing as well as in the form of audio recordings.