Gazel is a form of Turkish music that has almost died out. While in other parts of the Central Asian world, gazel is synonymous with ghazal

Ghazal

The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...

, in Turkey it denotes an improvised form of solo singing that is sometimes accompanied by the ney

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...

, ud

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 tanbur. It is the vocal equivalent to the Turkish taqsim

Taqsim

Taqsim 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...

, an improvised instrumental composition.

The form began to die out in the mid-20th century because of its associations with nightclubs, but it has recently begun a revival process.