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Makam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also: List of Makams and Arabic maqam
Makam (pl. makamlar; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical
music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam specifies a unique
intervalic structure (cinsler) and melodic development (seyir).
[1]
Whether a fixed composition (beste, arki, perev, yin, etc.) or a spontaneous composition (gazel, taksim,
recitation of Kuran-i Kerim, Mevlid, etc.), all attempt to follow the melody type.
Contents
1 Geographic and cultural relations
2 Makam building blocks
2.1 Commas and accidentals
2.2 Notes
2.3 Intervals
2.4 Tetrachords (drtller) and pentachords (beliler)
3 Basic makam theory
4 Simple Makams
4.1 rgh Makam
4.2 Bselik Makam
4.3 Rast Makam
4.4 Uk Makam
4.5 Acem Makam
5 Notes
6 Sources
7 External links
Geographic and cultural relations
Some theories suggest the origin of Makam to be the city of Mosul in Iraq. "Mula Othman Al-Musili," in
reference to his city of origin, is said to have served in the Ottoman Palace in Istanbul and influenced
Turkish Ottoman music. More distant modal relatives include those of Central Asian Turkic musics such as
Uyghur music, muqam and Uzbek music, shashmakom. The raga of (both North and South) Indian
classical music employs similar modal principles. Some scholars find echoes of Turkish makam in former
Ottoman provinces of the Balkans.
[2]
All of these concepts roughly correspond to mode in Western music,
although their compositional rules vary.
The rhythmic counterpart of makam in Turkish music is usul.
Makam building blocks
Commas and accidentals
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The basic notes named according to the solfege system and thus, for
example, "Do" is C and "Re" is D.
In Turkish music theory, one whole
tone is divided into nine commas. The
following figure gives the comma
values of Turkish accidentals. In the
context of the Arab maqam, this
system is not of equal temperament.
In fact, in the Western system of
temperament, C-sharp and D-flat-
which are functionally the same tone
-are equivalent to 4.5 commas in the
Turkish system; thus, they fall directly
in the center of the line depicted
above.
Notes
Unlike in Western music, where the note C, for example, is called C regardless of what octave it might be
in, in the Turkish system the notes are-for the most part-individually named (although many are
variations on a basic name); this can be seen in the following table, which covers the notes from middle C
("Kaba rgh") to the same note two octaves above ("Tz rgh"):
Intervals
The names and symbols of the different intervals is shown in the table below:
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Tetrachords (drtl) are on the left, pentachords (beli) on the right.
The symbols (simge) from the table above are here used to signal the
intervals used in these patterns
Interval Name
(Araligin adi)
Value in terms of commas
(Koma olarak degeri)
Symbol
(Simge)
koma or fazla 1 F
eksik bakiye 3 E
bakiye 4 B
kck mcenneb 5 S
byk mcenneb 8 K
tanni 9 T
artik ikili 12 - 13 A
Tetrachords (drtller) and pentachords (beliler)
Similar to the construction of
maqamat noted above, a makam in
Turkish music is built of a tetrachord
built atop a pentachord, or vice versa
(trichords exist but are little used).
Additionally, most makams have
what is known as a "development"
(genileme in Turkish) either above or
below, or both, the tonic and/or the
highest note.
There are 6 basic tetrachords, named
sometimes according to their tonic
note and sometimes according to the
tetrachord's most distinctive note:
rgh
Bselik
Krd
Uk
Hicaz and
Rast
There are also 6 basic pentachords
with the same names with a tone (T) appended.
It is worth keeping in mind that these patterns can be transposed to any note in the scale, so that the tonic A
(Dgh) of the Hicaz tetrachord, for example, can be moved up a major second/9 commas to B (Bselik),
or in fact to any other note. The other notes of the tetrachord, of course, are also transposed along with the
tonic, allowing the pattern to preserve its character.
Basic makam theory
A makam, more than simply a selection of notes and intervals, is essentially a guide to compositional
structure: any composition in a given makam will move through the notes of that makam in a more or less
ordered way (in this, it resembles a tone row la Schoenberg or Webern). This pattern is known in
Turkish as seyir (meaning basically, "route"), and there are three types of seyir:
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rising (ikici);
falling (inici);
falling-rising (inici-ikici)
As stated above, makams are built of a tetrachord plus a pentachord (or vice versa), and in terms of this
construction, there are three important notes in the makam:
the durak ("tonic"), which is the initial note of the first tetrachord or pentachord and which always
concludes any piece written in the makam;
the gl ("dominant"), which is the first note of the second tetrachord or pentachord, and which is
used as a temporary tonic in the middle of a piece (in this sense, it is somewhat similar to the axial
pitches mentioned above in the context of Arab music). This use of the term "dominant" is not to be
confused with the Western dominant; while the gl is often the fifth scale degree, it can just as
often be the fourth, and occasionally the third;
the yeden ("leading tone"), which is most often the penultimate note of any piece and which resolves
into the tonic; this is sometimes an actual Western leading tone and sometimes a Western subtonic.
Additionally, there are three types of makam as a whole:
simple makams (basit makamlar), almost all of which have a rising seyir;
transposed makams (grlm makamlar), which as the name implies are the simple makams
transposed to a different tonic;
compound makams (bileik/mrekkep makamlar), which are a joining of differing makams and
number in the hundreds
Simple Makams
rgh Makam
This makam is thought to be identical to the Western C-major scale, but actually it is misleading to
conceptualize a makam through western music scales. argah consists of a rgh pentachord and a
rgh tetrachord starting on the note Gerdaniye (G). Thus, the tonic is C (rgh), the dominant G
(Gerdaniye), and the leading tone B (Bselik). (N.B. In this and all subsequent staves, the tonic is
indicated by a whole note and the dominant by a half note.)
The rgh makam though is very little used in Turkish music, and in fact has at certain points of history
been attacked for being a clumsy and unpleasant makam that can inspire those hearing it to engage in
delinquency of various kinds.
Bselik Makam
This makam has two basic forms: in the first basic form (1), it consists of a Bselik pentachord plus a
Krd tetrachord on the note Hseyn (E) and is essentially the same as the Western A-minor; in the second
(2), it consists of a Bselik pentachord plus a Hicaz tetrachord on Hseyn and is identical to A-harmonic
minor. The tonic is A (Dgh), the dominant Hseyn (E), and the leading tone G-sharp (Nim Zirgle).
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Additionally, when descending from the octave towards the tonic, the sixth (F, Acem) is sometimes
sharpened to become F-sharp (Dik Acem), and the dominant (E, Hseyn) flattened four commas to the
note Hisar (1A). All these alternatives are shown below:
1)
2)
1A)
5DVW0DNDP
Also see Rast (maqam)
This much-used makam-which is said to bring happiness and tranquility to the hearer-consists of a Rast
pentachord plus a Rast tetrachord on the note Neva (D); this is labeled (1) below. The tonic is G (Rast), the
dominant D (Neva), and the leading tone F-sharp (Irak). However, when descending from the octave
towards the tonic, the leading tone is always flattened 4 commas to the note Acem (F), and thus a Bselik
tetrachord replaces the Rast tetrachord; this is labeled (2) below. Additionally, there is a development
(genileme) in the makam's lower register, below the tonic, which consists of a Rast tetrachord on the note
D (Yegh); this is labeled (1A) below.
1)
1A)
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2)
In Turkey, the particular Muslim call to prayer (or ezan in Turkish) which occurs generally in early
afternoon and is called ikindi, as well as the day's final call to prayer called yatsi, is often recited using the
Rast makam.
Uk Makam
Also see Bayati (maqam).
This makam consists of an Uk tetrachord plus a Bselik pentachord on the note Neva (D); this is
labelled (1) below. The tonic is A (Dgh), the dominant-here actually a subdominant-is D (Neva), and
the leading tone-here actually a subtonic-is G (Rast). Additionally, there is a development in the
makam's lower register, which consists of a Rast pentachord on the note D (Yegh); this is labeled (1A)
below.
1)
1A)
In Turkey, the particular call to prayer which occurs around noon and is called gle is most often recited
using the Uak makam.
Acem Makam
See Ajam (maqam).
Notes
1. ^ Beken and Signell 2006
2. ^ Shupo, Sokol, ed., Urban Music in the Balkans. Tirana:ASMUS, 2006
Sources
zkan, Ismail Hakki. Trk Msiksi Nazariyati ve Uslleri. Kudm Velveleleri. (2000). ISBN 975-
437-017-6.
Beken, Mnir and Karl Signell. "Confirming, delaying, and deceptive elements in Turkish
3/8/13 Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam 7/7
improvisation," Mqam Traditions of Turkic Peoples, Elsner and Jhnishen, eds. Berlin:trafo, 2006.
ISBN 3-89626-657-8 http://www.umbc.edu/eol/makam/2008Kongre/confirming.html
Signell, Karl L. Makam: Modal Practice in Turkish Art Music. Nokomis FL (USA): Usul
editions/Lulu.com. (1977/2004). ISBN 0-9760455-0-8:
--- Makam: Trk Sanat Musikisinde Makam Uygulamasi (Turkish translation of above). Istanbul:
Yapi Kredi Kltr Sanat Yayincilik, 2006. ISBN 975-08-1080-5.
Yilmaz, Zeki. Trk Msiksi Dersleri. (2001). ISBN 975-95729-1-5.
External links
Klasik Trk (Tasavvuf) Musikisi Ilahi Perev Saz semaisi ve Taksim nota ve mp3 kayitlari
(http://www.umutrehberi.com/)
Cinuen Tanrikorur, "The Ottoman Music", translated by Sava S. Barkin,
http://www.turkmusikisi.com/osmanli_musikisi/the_ottoman_music.htm
Maqam World (http://www.maqamworld.com/)
Maqam World: What is a Maqam? (http://www.maqamworld.com/maqamat.html)
Sephardic Pizmonim Project- Jewish use of Makam (http://www.pizmonim.org)
Shashmakom.com - Shashmakom performed by Bukharian Singers
(http://www.Shashmakom.com/)
Notahavuzu.com - Serves most of the musical sheet of songs currently, instrumentals not published
yet (http://www.notahavuzu.com/)
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Categories: Modes Turkish music Turkish words and phrases
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