Arabic maqam
Encyclopedia
Arabic maqām is the system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic
. The word maqam in Arabic means place, location or rank. The Arabic maqam is a melody type
. Maqam is "a technique of improvisation
" that defines the pitches
, patterns, and development
of a piece of music and which is "unique to Arabian art music." There are over seventy heptatonic
tone row
s or scales of maqamat. These are constructed from major
, medium
, and minor seconds
(see Arab tone system
). Each maqam is built on a scale, and carries a tradition that defines its habitual phrases, important notes, melodic development and modulation
. Both compositions
and improvisations
in traditional Arabic music are based on the maqam system. Maqams can be realized with either vocal
or instrumental music, and do not include a rhythm
ic component.
An "essential, decisive factor in maqam performance is that each describes the "tonal-spatial factor" or set of musical notes and the relationships between them, including traditional patterns and development of melody
while the "rhythmic-temporal component" is "subjected to no definite organization." A maqam does not have an "established, regularly recurring bar scheme nor an unchanging meter. A certain rhythm does sometimes identify the style of a performer, but this is dependent upon his [sic] performance technique and is never characteristic of the maqam as such." The composition
al or rather precompositional
aspect of the maqam is the tonal-spatial organization including the number of tone levels and the improvisational aspect is the construction of the rhythmic-temporal scheme.
The Iraqi genre of maqam al-`iraqi
is often considered the most perfect form of the maqam.
structure that characterizes the art of music of countries in North Africa
, the Near East
and Central Asia
. In this area we can distinguish three main musical cultures which all belong to the maqam modal family, namely the Persian, the Arabic, and the Turkish, as well as the closely related Greek.
A strong similarity exists between these three families in which the same modal structure is known as Makam
in Turkish music, Dromoi
in Greek music, Dastgah
in Persian music, Mugam in Azerbaijan
, Meqam in Kurdish music
, Makam in Assyrian music
, Shash Maqom in Uzbek music and Muqam
in Uyghur music.
The maqam was preceded by seven centuries, by the Dastgah
of Persia, developed by Barbod. Many Arabic maqams can trace their names to the Persian language
, e.g. Nikriz, Farahfaza, Suzidil, Suznak, Rast, Sikah (from Se-Gah), Jiharkah (from Chehar-Gah) and Nairuz (from Nowruz). The reverse is also true, with Persian Goosheh names taken from Arabic, e.g. Hejaz (from Hijaz), Hoseynî (from Husayni), Oshshagh (from 'Ushshaq) and Hodi. Similarly, many Arabic maqam names come from the Turkish Makam
, such as Sultani Yekah, Buselik and Bastanikar, while the following Turkish Makam
names trace their origin to Arabic: Hicâz, Irak, Hüseynî, Sünbüle and Uşşakpuselik (?).
(meaning that the difference in pitch between each note is not identical, unlike in the chromatic scale
used in modern Western music). A maqam also determines other things, such as the tonic
(starting note), the ending note, and the dominant
note. It also determines which notes should be emphasized and which should not.
Arabic maqams are based on a musical scale of 7 notes that repeats at the octave
. Some maqams have 2 or more alternative scales (e.g. Rast, Nahawand and Hijaz). Maqam scales in traditional Arabic music are microtonal
, not based on a twelve-tone equal-tempered
musical tuning system, as is the case in modern Western music
. Most maqam scales include a perfect fifth
or a perfect fourth
(or both), and all octaves are perfect. The remaining notes in a maqam scale may or may not exactly fall on semitone
s. For this reason maqam scales are mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to the traditional Arabic music repertoire.
intervals are impractical to accurately notate, a simplified musical notation
system was adopted in Arabic music at the turn of the 20th century. Starting with a chromatic scale
, the Arabic scale is divided into 24 equal quarter tone
s, where a quarter tone equals half a semitone
in a 12 tone equal-tempered
scale. In this notation system all notes in a maqam scale are rounded to the nearest quarter tone.
This system of notation is not exact since it eliminates microtonal details, but is very practical because it allows maqam scales to be notated using Western standard notation. Quarter tones can be notated using the half-flat sign
or the half-sharp sign 
. When transcribed with this notation system some maqam scales happen to include quarter tones, while others don't.
In practice, maqams are not performed in all chromatic
keys, and are more rigid to transpose
than scales in Western music, primarily because of the technical limitations of Arabic instruments. For this reason, half-sharps rarely occur in maqam scales, and the most used half-flats are E, B and less frequently A .
Maqam scales that do not include quarter tones (e.g. Nahawand, `Ajam) can be performed on equal-tempered
instruments such as the piano
, however such instruments cannot faithfully reproduce the microtonal details of the maqam scale. Maqam scales can be faithfully performed either on fretless instruments (e.g. the oud
or the violin
), or on instruments that allow a sufficient degree of tunability and microtonal control (e.g. the nay
or the qanun
, or the Clarinet
). On fretted instruments with steel strings, microtonal control can be achieved by string bending, as when playing blues
.
The exact intonation of every maqam scale changes with the historical period, as well as the geographical region (as is the case with linguistic accents
, for example). For this reason, and because it is impractical to precisely and accurately notate microtonal variations from a twelve-tone equal tempered scale, maqam scales are in practice learned orally.
The tonal levels, or axial
pitches, begin in the lower register and gradually rise to the highest at the climax before descending again, for example (in European-influenced notation):
"When all possibilities of the musical structuring of such a tone level have been fully explored, the phase is complete."
The tone rows of maqamat may be identical, such as maqam bayati and maqam 'ushshaq turki:
but be distinguished by different nuclei. Bayati is shown in the example above, while 'ushshaq turki is:
), although ajnas of 3 consecutive notes (a trichord
) or a 5 consecutive notes (a pentachord
) also exist.
Ajnas are the building blocks of a maqam scale. A maqam scale has a lower (or first) jins and an upper (or second) jins. In most cases maqams are classified into families or branches based on their lower jins. The upper jins may start on the ending note of the lower jins or on the note following that. In some cases the upper and lower ajnas may overlap. The starting note of the upper jins is called the dominant
, and is the second most important note in that scale after the tonic
. Maqam scales often includes secondary ajnas that start on notes other than the tonic or the dominant. Secondary ajnas are highlighted in the course of modulation.
References on Arabic music theory often differ on the classification of ajnas. There is no consensus on a definitive list of all ajnas, their names or their sizes. However the majority of references agree on the basic 9 ajnas, which also make up the main 9 maqam families. The following is the list of the basic 9 ajnas notated with Western standard notation (all notes are rounded to the nearest quarter tone):
(for more detail see Arabic Maqam Ajnas)
In an experiment where saba was played to an equal number of Arabs and non-Arabs who where asked to record their emotions in concentric circles with the weakest emotions in the outer circles, the Arab subjects experienced saba as "sad", "tragic", and "lamenting" while only 48 percent of the non-Arabs described it thus with 28 percent describing feelings such as "seriousness", "longing", and tension" while 6 percent experienced feelings such as "happy", "active", and "very lively" and 10 percent identified no feelings.
Emotion is evoked in part through change in the size of an interval during a maqam presentation. Maqam saba, for example, contains in its first four notes, D, E-quarter-flat, F, and Gb, two medium seconds one larger (160 cents) and one smaller (140 cents) than a three quarter tone, and a minor second (95 cents). Further, E-quarter-flat and G-flat may vary slightly causing a "sad" or "sensitive" mood.
Generally speaking, each maqam evokes a different emotion in the listener. At a more basic level, each jins conveys a different mood or color. For this reason maqams of the same family share a common mood since they start with the same jins. There is no consensus on exactly what the mood of each maqam or jins is. Some references describe maqam moods using very vague and subjective terminology (e.g. maqams evoking 'love', 'femininity', 'pride' or 'distant desert'). However there has not been any serious research using scientific methodology on a diverse sample of listeners (whether Arab or non-Arab) proving that they feel the same emotion when hearing the same maqam.
Attempting the same exercise in more recent tonal classical music
would mean relating a mood to the major and minor
modes. In that case there is a wider consensus that the minor scale
is sadder and the major scale
is happier. Attempting the same exercise in older modal classical music
with Dorian
, Phrygian
, Lydian
and Mixolydian mode
s would probably produce similar results.
of a maqam. In simple terms it means changing from one maqam to another (compatible or closely related) maqam. This involves using a new musical scale. A long musical piece can modulate over many maqams but usually ends with the starting maqam (in rare cases the purpose of the modulation is to actually end with a new maqam). A more subtle form of modulation within the same maqam is to shift the emphasis from one jins to another so as to imply a new maqam.
Modulation adds a lot of interest to the music, and is present in almost every maqam-based melody. Modulations that are pleasing to the ear are created by adhering to compatible combinations of ajnas and maqams long established in traditional Arabic music. Although such combinations are often documented in musical references, most experienced musicians learn them by extensive listening.
Melodic music
Melodic Imitation is a term that covers various genres of non-classical music which are primarily characterised by the dominance of a single strong melody line. Rhythm, tempo and beat are subordinate to the melody line or tune, which is generally easily memorable, and followed without great...
. The word maqam in Arabic means place, location or rank. The Arabic maqam is a melody type
Melody type
In ethnomusicology and musicology, a melody type is a set of melodic formulas, figures, and patterns which are used in the composition of an enormous variety of music, especially non-Western and early Western music. Such music is generally composed by a process of centonization, either freely In...
. Maqam is "a technique of improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
" that defines the pitches
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
, patterns, and development
Musical development
In European classical music, musical development is a process by which a musical idea is communicated in the course of a composition. It refers to the transformation and restatement of initial material, and is often contrasted with musical variation, which is a slightly different means to the same...
of a piece of music and which is "unique to Arabian art music." There are over seventy heptatonic
Heptatonic scale
A heptatonic scale is a musical scale with seven pitches per octave. Among the most famous of these are the major scale, C D E F G A B C; the melodic minor scale, C D E F G A B C ascending, C B A G F E D C descending; the harmonic minor scale, C D E F G A B C; and a scale variously known as the...
tone row
Tone row
In music, a tone row or note row , also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.-History and usage:Tone rows are the basis of...
s or scales of maqamat. These are constructed from major
Major second
In Western music theory, a major second is a musical interval spanning two semitones, and encompassing two adjacent staff positions . For example, the interval from C to D is a major second, as the note D lies two semitones above C, and the two notes are notated on adjacent staff postions...
, medium
Neutral second
A neutral second or medium second is a musical interval wider than a minor second and narrower than a major second. Three distinct intervals may be termed neutral seconds:...
, and minor seconds
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
(see Arab tone system
Arab tone system
The modern Arab tone system, or system of musical tuning, is based upon the theoretical division of the octave into twenty-four equal divisions or 24-tone equal temperament , the distance between each successive note being a quarter tone . Each tone has its own name not repeated in different...
). Each maqam is built on a scale, and carries a tradition that defines its habitual phrases, important notes, melodic development and modulation
Modulation (music)
In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
. Both compositions
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and improvisations
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
in traditional Arabic music are based on the maqam system. Maqams can be realized with either vocal
Vocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
or instrumental music, and do not include a rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ic component.
An "essential, decisive factor in maqam performance is that each describes the "tonal-spatial factor" or set of musical notes and the relationships between them, including traditional patterns and development of melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
while the "rhythmic-temporal component" is "subjected to no definite organization." A maqam does not have an "established, regularly recurring bar scheme nor an unchanging meter. A certain rhythm does sometimes identify the style of a performer, but this is dependent upon his [sic] performance technique and is never characteristic of the maqam as such." The composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
al or rather precompositional
Precompositional
In music, precompositional decisions are those decisions which a composer decides upon before or while beginning to create a composition. These limits may be given to the composer, such as the length or style needed, or entirely decided by the composer....
aspect of the maqam is the tonal-spatial organization including the number of tone levels and the improvisational aspect is the construction of the rhythmic-temporal scheme.
The Iraqi genre of maqam al-`iraqi
Maqam al-iraqi
Al-Maqam Al-Iraqi is a four hundred year old genre of Arab music found in Iraq and often considered the most perfect form of maqam. The instrumentation of the ensemble used in maqam al-iraqi, Jalghi baghdadi, includes a qari' , Iraqi Santur , jawza , tabla or dunbak , and sometimes riqq...
is often considered the most perfect form of the maqam.
Background
The designation maqam appeared for the first time in the treatises written in the fourteenth century by al-Sheikh al-Safadi and Abdulqadir al-Maraghi, and has since then been used as a technical term in Arabic music. The maqam is a modalMusical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
structure that characterizes the art of music of countries in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. In this area we can distinguish three main musical cultures which all belong to the maqam modal family, namely the Persian, the Arabic, and the Turkish, as well as the closely related Greek.
A strong similarity exists between these three families in which the same modal structure is known as Makam
Makam
Makam In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance...
in Turkish music, Dromoi
Dromoi
Dromoi is the word for a melody type of the Greek music system.In eastern music theory for Greek music, dromoi is not only characterized by a sequence of phonemes, but by individual characteristics such as specific sounds that attract the neighbors sounds and concrete ways to jump from one dromos...
in Greek music, Dastgah
Dastgah
Dastgāh is a musical modal system in traditional Persian art music. Persian art music consists of twelve principal musical modal systems or dastgāhs; in spite of 50 or more extant dastgāhs, theorists generally refer to a set of twelve principal ones...
in Persian music, Mugam in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Meqam in Kurdish music
Kurdish music
Kurdish music refers to music performed in Kurdish language.Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers - storytellers , minstrels and bards . There was no specific music related to the Kurdish princely courts, and instead, music performed in night gatherings is...
, Makam in Assyrian music
Assyrian music
Assyrian music may refer to:*Music in ancient Assyria*Assyrian/Syriac folk music*Syriac sacral music, sacral music in Syriac Christianity...
, Shash Maqom in Uzbek music and Muqam
Muqam
A muqam is the melody type used in Uyghur music, that is, a musical mode and set of melodic formulas used to guide improvisation and composition....
in Uyghur music.
The maqam was preceded by seven centuries, by the Dastgah
Dastgah
Dastgāh is a musical modal system in traditional Persian art music. Persian art music consists of twelve principal musical modal systems or dastgāhs; in spite of 50 or more extant dastgāhs, theorists generally refer to a set of twelve principal ones...
of Persia, developed by Barbod. Many Arabic maqams can trace their names to the Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, e.g. Nikriz, Farahfaza, Suzidil, Suznak, Rast, Sikah (from Se-Gah), Jiharkah (from Chehar-Gah) and Nairuz (from Nowruz). The reverse is also true, with Persian Goosheh names taken from Arabic, e.g. Hejaz (from Hijaz), Hoseynî (from Husayni), Oshshagh (from 'Ushshaq) and Hodi. Similarly, many Arabic maqam names come from the Turkish Makam
Makam
Makam In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance...
, such as Sultani Yekah, Buselik and Bastanikar, while the following Turkish Makam
Makam
Makam In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance...
names trace their origin to Arabic: Hicâz, Irak, Hüseynî, Sünbüle and Uşşakpuselik (?).
Tuning system
The notes of a maqam are not of equal temperamentEqual temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
(meaning that the difference in pitch between each note is not identical, unlike in the chromatic scale
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
used in modern Western music). A maqam also determines other things, such as the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
(starting note), the ending note, and the dominant
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
note. It also determines which notes should be emphasized and which should not.
Arabic maqams are based on a musical scale of 7 notes that repeats at the octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
. Some maqams have 2 or more alternative scales (e.g. Rast, Nahawand and Hijaz). Maqam scales in traditional Arabic music are microtonal
Microtonal music
Microtonal music is music using microtones—intervals of less than an equally spaced semitone. Microtonal music can also refer to music which uses intervals not found in the Western system of 12 equal intervals to the octave.-Terminology:...
, not based on a twelve-tone equal-tempered
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
musical tuning system, as is the case in modern Western music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
. Most maqam scales include a perfect fifth
Perfect fifth
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...
or a perfect fourth
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
(or both), and all octaves are perfect. The remaining notes in a maqam scale may or may not exactly fall on semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
s. For this reason maqam scales are mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to the traditional Arabic music repertoire.
Notation
Since microtonalMicrotonal music
Microtonal music is music using microtones—intervals of less than an equally spaced semitone. Microtonal music can also refer to music which uses intervals not found in the Western system of 12 equal intervals to the octave.-Terminology:...
intervals are impractical to accurately notate, a simplified musical notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
system was adopted in Arabic music at the turn of the 20th century. Starting with a chromatic scale
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
, the Arabic scale is divided into 24 equal quarter tone
Quarter tone
A quarter tone , is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale, an interval about half as wide as a semitone, which is half a whole tone....
s, where a quarter tone equals half a semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
in a 12 tone equal-tempered
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
scale. In this notation system all notes in a maqam scale are rounded to the nearest quarter tone.
This system of notation is not exact since it eliminates microtonal details, but is very practical because it allows maqam scales to be notated using Western standard notation. Quarter tones can be notated using the half-flat sign
or the half-sharp sign . When transcribed with this notation system some maqam scales happen to include quarter tones, while others don't.In practice, maqams are not performed in all chromatic
Chromatic scale
The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone apart. On a modern piano or other equal-tempered instrument, all the half steps are the same size...
keys, and are more rigid to transpose
Transposition (music)
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
than scales in Western music, primarily because of the technical limitations of Arabic instruments. For this reason, half-sharps rarely occur in maqam scales, and the most used half-flats are E
, B and less frequently A .Intonation
The 24-tone system is entirely a notational convention and does not affect the actual precise intonation of the notes performed. Practicing Arab musicians, while using the nomenclature of the 24-tone system (half-flats and half-sharps), still perform the finer microtonal details which have been passed down through oral tradition.Maqam scales that do not include quarter tones (e.g. Nahawand, `Ajam) can be performed on equal-tempered
Equal temperament
An equal temperament is a musical temperament, or a system of tuning, in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical frequency ratio. As pitch is perceived roughly as the logarithm of frequency, this means that the perceived "distance" from every note to its nearest neighbor is the same for...
instruments such as the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, however such instruments cannot faithfully reproduce the microtonal details of the maqam scale. Maqam scales can be faithfully performed either on fretless instruments (e.g. the oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
or the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
), or on instruments that allow a sufficient degree of tunability and microtonal control (e.g. the nay
Ney
The ney is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Middle Eastern music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. It is a very ancient instrument, with depictions of ney players appearing in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys being found...
or the qanun
Kanun (Instrument)
The Qanun is a string instrument found in the 10th century in Farab in Turkestan...
, or the Clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
). On fretted instruments with steel strings, microtonal control can be achieved by string bending, as when playing blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
.
The exact intonation of every maqam scale changes with the historical period, as well as the geographical region (as is the case with linguistic accents
Accent (linguistics)
In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside , the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language In...
, for example). For this reason, and because it is impractical to precisely and accurately notate microtonal variations from a twelve-tone equal tempered scale, maqam scales are in practice learned orally.
Phases and central tones
Each passage consists of one or more phases which are sections "played on one tone or within one tonal area," and may take from seven to forty seconds to articulate. For example, a tone level centered on g:Modal frame
In music a melodic mode or modal frame is one of, "a number of types permeating and unifying African, European, and American song" and melody. "Mode" and "frame" are used in this context interchangeably. Melodic modes allow melodies which are not chord-based or determined by the harmony but...
pitches, begin in the lower register and gradually rise to the highest at the climax before descending again, for example (in European-influenced notation):
Nucleus
The central tones of a maqam are created from two different intervals. The eleven central tones of the maqam used in the phase sequence example above may be reduced to three which make up the "nucleus" of the maqam:Ajnas
Maqam scales are made up of smaller sets of consecutive notes that have a very recognizable melody and convey a distinctive mood. Such a set is called jins (pl. ajnas), meaning gender or kind. In most cases a jins is made up of 4 consecutive notes (a tetrachordTetrachord
Traditionally, a tetrachord is a series of three intervals filling in the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency proportion. In modern usage a tetrachord is any four-note segment of a scale or tone row. The term tetrachord derives from ancient Greek music theory...
), although ajnas of 3 consecutive notes (a trichord
Trichord
In music theory, a trichord is a group of three different pitch classes found within a larger group . For example a continguous three note set from a musical scale or twelve-tone row. The term is derived by analogy from the 20th-century use of the word "tetrachord"...
) or a 5 consecutive notes (a pentachord
Pentachord
A pentachord in music theory may be either of two things. In pitch-class set theory, a pentachord is defined as any five pitch classes, regarded as an unordered collection . In other contexts, a pentachord may be any consecutive five-note section of a diatonic scale...
) also exist.
Ajnas are the building blocks of a maqam scale. A maqam scale has a lower (or first) jins and an upper (or second) jins. In most cases maqams are classified into families or branches based on their lower jins. The upper jins may start on the ending note of the lower jins or on the note following that. In some cases the upper and lower ajnas may overlap. The starting note of the upper jins is called the dominant
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
, and is the second most important note in that scale after the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
. Maqam scales often includes secondary ajnas that start on notes other than the tonic or the dominant. Secondary ajnas are highlighted in the course of modulation.
References on Arabic music theory often differ on the classification of ajnas. There is no consensus on a definitive list of all ajnas, their names or their sizes. However the majority of references agree on the basic 9 ajnas, which also make up the main 9 maqam families. The following is the list of the basic 9 ajnas notated with Western standard notation (all notes are rounded to the nearest quarter tone):
`Ajam (عجم) trichord, starting on B♭ |
Bayati (بياتي) tetrachord, starting on D |
Hijaz (حجاز) tetrachord, starting on D |
Kurd (كرد) tetrachord, starting on D |
Nahawand (نهاوند) tetrachord, starting on C |
Nikriz (نكريز) pentachord, starting on C |
Rast (راست) tetrachord, starting on C |
Saba (صبا) tetrachord, starting on D |
Sikah (سيكاه) trichord, starting on E |
(for more detail see Arabic Maqam Ajnas)
Maqam families
- `AjamAjam (maqam)‘Ajam is the name of a maqam in Arabic, Turkish, and related systems of music. Ajam in this usage means "Persian."...
- `Ajam (عجم), Jiharkah (جهاركاه), Shawq Afza ( شوق افزا or شوق أفزا) - SikahSigahSigah is the name of a maqam in Arabic, Turkish, and related systems of music.Sigah is named because the maqam starts on the third degree in relation to the "basic" Turko-Arabic scale found in Rast...
- Bastah Nikar (بسته نكار), Huzam (هزام), `Iraq (عراق), Musta`ar (مستعار), Rahat al-Arwah (راحة الارواح or راحة الأرواح), Sikah (سيكاه), Sikah Baladi (سيكاه بلدي) - BayatiBayati (maqam)Bayātī , AKA Bayat and Uşşâk , is the name of a maqam in Arabic, Turkish, and related systems of music.Boyati the word is come from Ariabic word Bayatiبياتي).Some of Islamic caste of people are known on this name.It is also use as a name of home.In Bangla language has a word name 'Boyati' is known...
- Bayatayn (بیاتین), Bayati (بياتي), Bayati Shuri (بياتي شوري), Husayni (حسيني), Nahfat (نهفت) - Nahawand - Farahfaza (فرحفزا), Nahawand (نهاوند), Nahawand Murassah (نهاوند مرصّع or نهاوند مرصع), `Ushaq Masri (عشاق مصري)
- RastRast (maqam)Rast is the name of a maqam in Arabic and related systems of music.Rast is a Persian word meaning "right" or "direct"...
- Mahur (ماهور), Nairuz (نوروز), Rast (راست), Suznak (سوزناك), Yakah (يكاه) - HijazPhrygian dominant scaleIn music, the altered Phrygian scale or Freygish scale , featuring an unusual key signature and a distinctive augmented second interval, is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant...
- Hijaz (حجاز), Hijaz Kar (حجاز كار), Shad `Araban (شد عربان), Shahnaz (شهناز or شاهناز), Suzidil (سوزدل), Zanjaran (زنجران) - Saba - Saba (صبا), Saba Zamzam (صبا زمزم)
- Kurd - Kurd (كرد), Hijaz Kar Kurd (حجاز كار كرد)
- Nawa Athar - Athar Kurd (أثر كرد), Nawa Athar (نوى أثر or نوى اثر), Nikriz (نكريز)
Emotional content
Each maqam evokes a specific emotion or set of emotions determined by the tone row and the nucleus, with different maqams sharing the same tone row but differing in nucleus and thus emotion. Maqam rast evokes pride, power, soundness of mind, and masculinity. Maqam bayati: vitality, joy, and feminity. Sikah: love. Saba: sadness and pain. Hijaz: distant desert.In an experiment where saba was played to an equal number of Arabs and non-Arabs who where asked to record their emotions in concentric circles with the weakest emotions in the outer circles, the Arab subjects experienced saba as "sad", "tragic", and "lamenting" while only 48 percent of the non-Arabs described it thus with 28 percent describing feelings such as "seriousness", "longing", and tension" while 6 percent experienced feelings such as "happy", "active", and "very lively" and 10 percent identified no feelings.
Emotion is evoked in part through change in the size of an interval during a maqam presentation. Maqam saba, for example, contains in its first four notes, D, E-quarter-flat, F, and Gb, two medium seconds one larger (160 cents) and one smaller (140 cents) than a three quarter tone, and a minor second (95 cents). Further, E-quarter-flat and G-flat may vary slightly causing a "sad" or "sensitive" mood.
Generally speaking, each maqam evokes a different emotion in the listener. At a more basic level, each jins conveys a different mood or color. For this reason maqams of the same family share a common mood since they start with the same jins. There is no consensus on exactly what the mood of each maqam or jins is. Some references describe maqam moods using very vague and subjective terminology (e.g. maqams evoking 'love', 'femininity', 'pride' or 'distant desert'). However there has not been any serious research using scientific methodology on a diverse sample of listeners (whether Arab or non-Arab) proving that they feel the same emotion when hearing the same maqam.
Attempting the same exercise in more recent tonal classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
would mean relating a mood to the major and minor
Major and minor
In Western music, the adjectives major and minor can describe a musical composition, movement, section, scale, key, chord, or interval.Major and minor are frequently referred to in the titles of classical compositions, especially in reference to the key of a piece.-Intervals and chords:With regard...
modes. In that case there is a wider consensus that the minor scale
Minor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
is sadder and the major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
is happier. Attempting the same exercise in older modal classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
with Dorian
Dorian mode
Due to historical confusion, Dorian mode or Doric mode can refer to three very different musical modes or diatonic scales, the Greek, the medieval, and the modern.- Greek Dorian mode :...
, Phrygian
Phrygian mode
The Phrygian mode can refer to three different musical modes: the ancient Greek tonos or harmonia sometimes called Phrygian, formed on a particular set octave species or scales; the Medieval Phrygian mode, and the modern conception of the Phrygian mode as a diatonic scale, based on the latter...
, Lydian
Lydian mode
The Lydian musical scale is a rising pattern of pitches comprising three whole tones, a semitone, two more whole tones, and a final semitone. This sequence of pitches roughly describes the fifth of the eight Gregorian modes, known as Mode V or the authentic mode on F, theoretically using B but in...
and Mixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek harmoniai or tonoi, based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; a modern musical mode or diatonic scale, related to the medieval mode.-Greek Mixolydian:The idea of a...
s would probably produce similar results.
Modulation
Modulation is a technique used during the melodic developmentMelody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
of a maqam. In simple terms it means changing from one maqam to another (compatible or closely related) maqam. This involves using a new musical scale. A long musical piece can modulate over many maqams but usually ends with the starting maqam (in rare cases the purpose of the modulation is to actually end with a new maqam). A more subtle form of modulation within the same maqam is to shift the emphasis from one jins to another so as to imply a new maqam.
Modulation adds a lot of interest to the music, and is present in almost every maqam-based melody. Modulations that are pleasing to the ear are created by adhering to compatible combinations of ajnas and maqams long established in traditional Arabic music. Although such combinations are often documented in musical references, most experienced musicians learn them by extensive listening.
See also
- RagaRagaA raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
- MujawwadMujawwadMujawwad is a melodic style of Qur'an recitation which is known throughout the muslim world. As opposed to Murattal, multiple types of sectioning are used in regards to its phrase lengths. The vocal quality of Mujawwad can be relaxed, tense, or alternate between the two, to create a dramatic effect...
- Ali MerdanAli MerdanAli Merdan is a Kurdish musician who was born in Kirkuk, Kurdistan, widely regarded as the man who revolutionized the maqam. He launched the Kurdish Radio Station in 1939 in Baghdad...
- MakamMakamMakam In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance...
- The Iraqi MaqamMaqam al-iraqiAl-Maqam Al-Iraqi is a four hundred year old genre of Arab music found in Iraq and often considered the most perfect form of maqam. The instrumentation of the ensemble used in maqam al-iraqi, Jalghi baghdadi, includes a qari' , Iraqi Santur , jawza , tabla or dunbak , and sometimes riqq...
- melismaMelismaMelisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
- PizmonimPizmonimPizmonim are traditional Jewish songs and melodies with the intentions of praising God as well as learning certain aspects of traditional religious teachings. They are sung throughout religious rituals and festivities such as prayers, circumcisions, bar mitzvahs, weddings and other ceremonies...
- The Weekly MaqamThe Weekly MaqamIn Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A maqam , which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tunes. The melodies used in a given maqam aims effectively to...
- TaqsimTaqsimTaqsim is the name of a melodic improvisation style that could be metric or non-metric, which usually precedes a composition in Arabic, Turkish, Greek, and other Middle Eastern music. The taqsim is usually performed by a solo instrument, yet sometimes the soloist can be backed by a percussionist...
Further reading
- el-Mahdi, Salah (1972). La musique arabe : structures, historique, organologie. Paris, France: Alphonse Leduc, Editions Musicales. ISBN 2856890296.
- Lagrange, Frédéric (1996). Musiques d'Égypte. Cité de la musique / Actes Sud. ISBN 2742707115.
- Maalouf, Shireen (2002). History of Arabic music theory, Faculty of Music, Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik, Lebanon.
- Marcus, Scott Lloyd (1989). Arab music theory in the modern period, Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Published by U.M.I. 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106.
- Racy, Ali Jihad (2003). Making Music in the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry of Ṭarab. Publisher: Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521304148.