Arabian Maqam
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In traditional
Arabic music Arabic music () is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse List of music styles, music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic Varieties of Arabic, dialects, with each countr ...
, maqam (, literally "ascent"; ') is the system of melodic modes, which is mainly melodic. The word ''maqam'' in Arabic means place, location or position. The Arabic ''maqam'' is a
melody type Melody type or type-melody is a set of melody, melodic formulas, figure (music), figures, and melodic pattern, patterns. Term and typical meanings "Melody type" is a fundamental notion for understanding a nature of Western and non-Western mus ...
. It is "a technique of
improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
" that defines the pitches, patterns, and
development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...
of a piece of music and is "unique to Arabic art music". There are 72
heptatonic A heptatonic scale is a musical scale that has seven pitches, or tones, per octave. Examples include: * the diatonic scale; including the major scale and its modes (notably the natural minor scale, or Aeolian mode) * the melodic minor scale, l ...
tone row In music, a tone row or note row ( or '), also series or set, is 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 sometime ...
s or
scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number ...
of maqamat. These are constructed from augmented,
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
, neutral, and minor seconds. Each ''maqam'' is built on a scale, and carries a tradition that defines its habitual phrases, important
notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...
, melodic development and
modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...
. Both compositions and improvisations in traditional Arabic music are based on the ''maqam'' system. ''Maqamat'' can be realized with either
vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...
or
instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
music, and do not include a
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
ic component. An essential factor in performance is that each maqam describes the "tonal-spatial factor" or set of
musical note In music, notes are distinct and isolatable sounds that act as the most basic building blocks for nearly all of music. This musical analysis#Discretization, discretization facilitates performance, comprehension, and musical analysis, analysis. No ...
s and the relationships between them, including traditional patterns and development of
melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
, 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 their performance technique and is never characteristic of the maqam as such." The
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
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.


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 been used as a technical term in Arabic music. The ''maqam'' is a modal structure that characterizes the art of music of countries in
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, the
Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...
and
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
. Three main musical cultures belong to the maqam modal family: Arabic, Persian, and Turkish.


Tuning system

The notes of a maqam are not always tuned in
equal temperament An equal temperament is a musical temperament or Musical tuning#Tuning systems, tuning system that approximates Just intonation, just intervals by dividing an octave (or other interval) into steps such that the ratio of the frequency, frequencie ...
, meaning that the frequency ratios of successive pitches are not necessarily identical. 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 ''maqamat'' are based on a
musical scale In music theory, a scale is "any consecutive series of notes that form a progression between one note and its octave", typically by order of pitch or fundamental frequency. The word "scale" originates from the Latin ''scala'', which literal ...
of 7
notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...
that repeats at the
octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
. Some ''maqamat'' have 2 or more alternative scales (e.g. Rast, Nahawand and Hijaz). ''Maqam'' scales in traditional Arabic music are
microtonal Microtonality is the use in music of microtones — intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of twelve equal interv ...
, not based on a twelve-tone equal-tempered
musical tuning In music, there are two common meanings for tuning: * #Tuning practice, Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice. * #Tuning systems, Tuning systems, the various systems of Pitch (music), pitches used to tune an instrument, and ...
system, as is the case in modern Western music. Most ''maqam'' scales include a
perfect fifth In music theory, a perfect fifth is the Interval (music), musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitch (music), pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so. In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval f ...
or a
perfect fourth A fourth is a interval (music), musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture, and a perfect fourth () is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones). For example, the ascending int ...
(or both), and all
octaves In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
are perfect. The remaining notes in a ''maqam'' scale may or may not exactly land on
semitone A semitone, also called a minor second, 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. It is defined as the interval between ...
s. For this reason ''maqam'' scales are mostly taught orally, and by extensive listening to the traditional
Arabic music Arabic music () is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse List of music styles, music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic Varieties of Arabic, dialects, with each countr ...
repertoire.


Notation

Since accurately notating every possible
microtonal Microtonality is the use in music of microtones — intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of twelve equal interv ...
interval is impractical, a simplified
musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...
system was adopted in Arabic music at the turn of the 20th century. Starting with a
chromatic scale The chromatic scale (or twelve-tone scale) is a set of twelve pitches (more completely, pitch classes) used in tonal music, with notes separated by the interval of a semitone. Chromatic instruments, such as the piano, are made to produce the ...
, the octave is divided into 24 equal steps ( 24 equal temperament), where a quarter tone equals one-half of a
semitone A semitone, also called a minor second, 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. It is defined as the interval between ...
in a 12 tone equally-tempered scale. In this notation system all notes in a ''maqam'' are rounded to the nearest quarter tone. This system of notation is not exact since it eliminates many details, but is very practical because it allows ''maqamat'' to be notated using standard Western notation. Quarter tones can be notated using half-flats ( or ) or half-sharps (). When transcribed with this notation system some ''maqam'' scales happen to include quarter tones, while others don't. In practice, ''maqamat'' are not performed in all
chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...
keys, and are more rigid to
transpose In linear algebra, the transpose of a Matrix (mathematics), matrix is an operator which flips a matrix over its diagonal; that is, it switches the row and column indices of the matrix by producing another matrix, often denoted by (among other ...
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''), often still perform the finer microtonal details which have been passed down through oral tradition to this day. ''Maqamat'' that do not include quarter tones (e.g. Nahawand, ‘Ajam) can be performed on equal-tempered instruments such as the
piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
, however such instruments cannot faithfully reproduce the microtonal details of the ''maqam'' scale. ''Maqamat'' can be faithfully performed either on fretless instruments (e.g. the oud or the
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
), or on instruments that allow a sufficient degree of tunability and microtonal control (e.g. the nay, the qanun, or the
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
). On fretted instruments with steel strings, microtonal control can be achieved by string bending, as when playing
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
. The exact intonation of every ''maqam'' 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 not common to notate precisely and accurately microtonal variations from a twelve-tone equal tempered scale, ''maqamat'' are mostly learned auditorally in practice.


Phases and central tones

Each passage consists of one or more phases that 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: 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): \relative c' "When all possibilities of the musical structuring of such a tone level have been fully explored, the phase is complete."


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: \relative c' The tone rows of maqamat may be identical, such as maqam bayati and maqam 'ushshaq turki: \relative c' but be distinguished by different nuclei. Bayati is shown in the example above, while 'ushshaq turki is: \relative c'


Ajnas

''Maqamat'' 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. ''ajnās'' ), meaning "gender" or "kind". In most cases, a ''jins'' is made up of four consecutive notes (
tetrachord In music theory, a tetrachord (; ) is a series of four notes separated by three interval (music), intervals. In traditional music theory, a tetrachord always spanned the interval of a perfect fourth, a 4:3 frequency proportion (approx. 498 cent (m ...
), although ''ajnas'' of three consecutive notes (
trichord In music theory, a trichord () is a group of three different pitch classes found within a larger group. A trichord is a contiguous three-note set from a musical scale or a twelve-tone row. In musical set theory there are twelve trichords given ...
) or five consecutive notes ( pentachord) also exist. In addition to other exceptional ajnas of undefined sizes. ''Ajnas'' are the building blocks of a ''maqam''. 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 include secondary ''ajnas'' that start on notes other than the tonic or the dominant. Secondary ''ajnas'' are highlighted in the course of
modulation Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information. The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...
. 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 se
Arabic Maqam Ajnas


Maqam families

* ‘Ajam – Also The
Major Scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at doubl ...
‘Ajam (), Jiharkah (), Shawq Afza ( or ), Ajam Ushayran () * Bayati – Bayatayn (), Bayati (), Bayati Shuri (), Husayni (), Nahfat (), Huseini Ushayran (), * Hijaz – Also The Phrygian Dominant Scale Hijaz (), Hijaz Kar (), Shad ‘Araban (), Shahnaz (), Suzidil (), Zanjaran (), Hijazain () *
Kurd Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
– Also the Phrygian Scale Kurd (), Hijaz Kar Kurd (), Lami () * Nahawand – Also the Minor Scale Farahfaza (), Nahawand (), Nahawand Murassah ( or ), ‘Ushaq Masri (), Sultani Yakah () * Nawa Athar – Athar Kurd (), Nawa Athar ( or ), Nikriz (), Hisar () * Rast – Mahur (), Nairuz (), Rast (), Suznak (), Yakah () *
Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...
– Saba (), Saba Zamzam () * Sikah – Bastah Nikar (), Huzam (), ‘Iraq (), Musta‘ar (), Rahat al-Arwah (), Sikah (), Sikah Baladi ()


Emotional content

It is sometimes said that each maqam evokes a specific emotion or set of emotions determined by the
tone row In music, a tone row or note row ( or '), also series or set, is 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 sometime ...
and the nucleus, with different maqams sharing the same tone row but differing in nucleus and thus emotion. Maqam Rast is said to evoke pride, power, and soundness of mind. Maqam Bayati: vitality, joy, and femininity. Sikah: love. Saba: sadness and pain. Hijaz: distant desert. In an experiment where maqam Saba was played to an equal number of Arabs and non-Arabs who were asked to record their emotions in concentric circles with the weakest emotions in the outer circles, Arab subjects reported experiencing Saba as "sad", "tragic", and "lamenting", while only 48 percent of the non-Arabs described it thus with 28 percent of non-Arabs describing feelings such as "seriousness", "longing", and tension", and 6 percent experienced feelings such as "happy", "active", and "very lively" and 10 percent identified no feelings. These emotions are said to be 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, F, and G, 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 and G may vary slightly, said to cause a "sad" or "sensitive" mood. Generally speaking, each ''maqam'' is said to evoke a different emotion in the listener. At a more basic level, each ''jins'' is claimed to convey a different mood or color. For this reason ''maqams'' of the same family are said to 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 generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
would mean relating a mood to the
major and minor In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe an interval, chord, scale, or key. A composition, movement, section, or phrase may also be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. The words derive ...
modes. In that case there is some consensus that the
minor scale In Classical_music, Western classical music theory, the minor scale refers to three Scale (music), scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending). ...
is "sadder" and the
major scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at doubl ...
is "happier".


Modulation

Modulation is a technique used during the melodic development 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 In music theory, a scale is "any consecutive series of notes that form a progression between one note and its octave", typically by order of pitch or fundamental frequency. The word "scale" originates from the Latin ''scala'', which literal ...
. A long musical piece can modulate over many ''maqamat'' 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 ''maqamat'' long established in traditional
Arabic music Arabic music () is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse List of music styles, music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic Varieties of Arabic, dialects, with each countr ...
. Although such combinations are often documented in musical references, most experienced musicians learn them by extensive listening.


Influence around the world

During the Islamic golden age this system influenced musical systems in various places. Some notable examples of this are the influence it had in the
Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
while under Muslim rule of
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
.
Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
liturgy also follows the maqam system. The weekly maqam is chosen by the
cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...
based on the emotional state of the congregation or the weekly
Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the ap ...
. This variation is called the Weekly Maqam. There is also a notable influence of the Arabic maqam on the music of Sicily.


See also

*
Mujawwad Mujawwad is an adjective that comes from the noun tajweed which means pronouncing the words and letters of the Quran correctly and according to the classic Arabic. Mujawwad is a melodic style of Quran recitation which is known throughout the Musl ...
* Ali Merdan * The Iraqi Maqam * Melisma * Pizmonim * The Weekly Maqam *
Taqsim ''Taqsim'' ( / ALA-LC: ''taqsīm'', , , ) is a melodic musical improvisation that usually precedes the performance of a traditional Arabic, Kurdish, Greek, Middle Eastern, Iranian, Azerbaijani or Turkish musical composition. ''Taqsim'' tradi ...
*
Raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...
* Harmonic minor * Turkish makam * Persian dastgah


References

Sources *


Further reading

*el-Mahdi, Salah (1972). ''La musique arabe : structures, historique, organologie''. Paris, France: Alphonse Leduc, Editions Musicales. . *Lagrange, Frédéric (1996). ''Musiques d'Égypte''. Cité de la musique / Actes Sud. . * * *Racy, Ali Jihad (2003). ''Making Music in the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry of Ṭarab''. Publisher: Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. . *


External links


Maqam World

Maqam World: What is a Maqam?Sephardic Pizmonim Project – Jewish use of Maqamat Historical audio examples from different maqams
Arabic. *

{{Authority control Arabic music Modes (music) Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity Maqam-based music tradition Arabic music theory