Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

Makam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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, ark, perev, yin, etc.) or a spontaneous composition (gazel, taksim,
recitation of Kuran- 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

Turkish makam's closest relatives include maqam in Arab music and echos in Byzantine music. The Turkish
makams, the Arab maqams and the Byzantine echos related to the Greek texts and works of music that
Arabs translated and developed from the musical theory of the Greeks (i.e. Systema ametabolon,
enharmonium, chromatikon, diatonon).[2] Some theories suggest the origin of the 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
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 1 of 8

Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

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.[3] 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
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-flatwhich are functionally the
same toneare equivalent to 4.5
commas in the Turkish system; thus,
they fall directly in the center of the line
depicted above.

The basic notes named according to the solfege system and thus, for
example, "Do" is C and "Re" is D.

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 arefor the most partindividually 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"):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 2 of 8

Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

Intervals
The names and symbols of the different intervals is shown in the table below:
Interval Name
(Araln ad)

Value in terms of commas Symbol

(Koma olarak deeri)
(Simge)

koma or fazla

eksik bakiye

bakiye

kck mcenneb

byk mcenneb

tanni

artk ikili

12 - 13

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

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

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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 3 of 8

Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

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:
rising (kc);
falling (inici);
falling-rising (inici-kc)
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.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 4 of 8

Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

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).
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)

Rast makam
Also see Rast (maqam)
This much-used makamwhich is said to bring happiness and tranquility to the hearerconsists 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
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 5 of 8

Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

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)

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 yats, 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 dominanthere actually a subdominantis D (Neva), and the
leading tonehere actually a subtonicis 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)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 6 of 8

Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

In Turkey, the particular call to prayer which occurs around noon and is called le is most often recited
using the Uak makam.

Acem makam
See Ajam (maqam).

Notes
1. Beken and Signell 2006
2. Habib Hassan Touma - Review of Das arabische Tonsystem im Mittelalter by Liberty Manik. doi:10.2307/
3. Shupo, Sokol, ed., Urban Music in the Balkans. Tirana:ASMUS, 2006

Sources
zkan, smail Hakk. Trk Msksi Nazariyat ve Uslleri. Kudm Velveleleri. (2000). ISBN 975437-017-6.
Beken, Mnir and Karl Signell. "Confirming, delaying, and deceptive elements in Turkish
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 Uygulamas (Turkish translation of above). Istanbul: Yap
Kredi Kltr Sanat Yaynclk, 2006. ISBN 975-08-1080-5.
Ylmaz, Zeki. Trk Msksi Dersleri. (2001). ISBN 975-95729-1-5.

External links
Klasik Trk (Tasavvuf) Musikisi lahi Perev Saz semaisi ve Taksim nota ve mp3 kaytlar
(http://www.umutrehberi.com/)
Cinuen Tanrkorur, "The Ottoman Music", translated by Sava . 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)
Arab maqamat and Turkish makamlar (http://www.oud.eclipse.co.uk/theory.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/)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 7 of 8

Makam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4/17/15 11:21 AM

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Makam&oldid=653629735"

Categories: Modes Turkish music Turkish words and phrases Turkish inventions
Ottoman classical music Turkish makam music
This page was last modified on 26 March 2015, at 17:18.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may
apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a
registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makam

Page 8 of 8