Copyright © 2014 by Oud for Guitarists

The cover design is based on the image, Oud Azerbaïdjan by Rosier and is licensed under
CC BY-SA 3.0. The rosettes were extracted from the Oud image and the strings removed.
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................................1

Arabic Maqamat ......................................................................................................................................................................2

Preface ..................................................................................................................................................................................3
Ajam Family .........................................................................................................................................................................5
Nahawand Family ..............................................................................................................................................................8
Kurd Family ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Hijaz Family ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Rast Family........................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Bayati Family .................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Sikah Family ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Saba Family....................................................................................................................................................................... 25
Nawa Athar Family ......................................................................................................................................................... 27

Turkish Makamlar................................................................................................................................................................ 29
Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................... 30
Cargah Family .................................................................................................................................................................. 33
Buselik Family .................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Rast Family........................................................................................................................................................................ 41
Ussak Family..................................................................................................................................................................... 44
Hicaz Family ..................................................................................................................................................................... 49
Kurdi Family ..................................................................................................................................................................... 55
Nev'eser Family ............................................................................................................................................................... 57
Segah Family .................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Saba Family....................................................................................................................................................................... 63
Hybrid Maqamlar............................................................................................................................................................ 65
Persian Dastgah.................................................................................................................................................................... 71
Preface ............................................................................................................................................................................... 72
Dastgahe Shur .................................................................................................................................................................. 74
Avaze Abu-Ata.................................................................................................................................................................. 74
Avaze Bayate Tork ........................................................................................................................................................... 75
Avaze Afshari .................................................................................................................................................................... 75
Avaze Dashti ..................................................................................................................................................................... 76
Dastgahe Segah ............................................................................................................................................................... 76
Dastgahe Chahargah ...................................................................................................................................................... 77
Dastgahe Homayoun ..................................................................................................................................................... 77
Dastgahe Esfahan............................................................................................................................................................ 77
Dastgahe Nava................................................................................................................................................................. 78
Dastgahe Mahur.............................................................................................................................................................. 78
Dastgahe Rast-Panjgah.................................................................................................................................................. 79

References ............................................................................................................................................................................. 81

Index........................................................................................................................................................................................ 82
Hi there! We are very happy that you have this Maqam Mastery Reference Guide in your hands, because this
is going to be your ultimate maqam dictionary.
The Reference Guide is organized by region - Arabic Maqamat, Turkish Makamlar, and Persian Dastgah - then
by family.
You will also find an index at the end of the Reference Guide, so if you need to quickly look up notes or
structure of a maqam, it is easy to do so.
You can use this Reference Guide to:
 Quickly check notes and structures of maqamat;
 Find out what maqam you are hearing by jins, family, or region;
 See what kind of modulations are possible by identifying notes and ajna used in each basic and
hybrid maqam;
 Remind yourself of ascending and descending patterns;
 Print out and make notes as you learn each maqam to create your own go-to reference guide for
maqamat.

A huge thanks to Veronika Redfern, who took our hand-drawn maqamat and put this Reference Guide
together, making it look very neat and professional.
Good luck, and have fun playing with maqamat!
Navid & Mao



Arabic Maqamat Preface

How to Use This Reference

The maqamat presented here are divided up by family, defined by the starting Ajna of each maqam.

Ajna
Some maqamat are defined by having two upper ajna. These will be located on the right hand side of the
main maqam. The top right hand side usually indicates the use of those notes in ascending, and the bottom
right hands side indicate notes usually used in descending. These conventions are not always the case, so do
not interpret them in black and white.
The primary ajna that created the maqam are indicated above the staff, and ajna of secondary importance or
“hidden” ajna are indicated below the staff. Hidden ajna are intervals of notes that appear within the maqam
but are not the main identifiers of the maqam. An example of this is Maqam Nawa Athar.

Separate Staff
In the case of Maqam Hijaz Kar Kurd, the two maqamat are stacked on top of each other. This indicates that
there is modulation between these two overlapping structures.

Whole Notes
Whole notes indicate the dominant, as the dominant in Western music theory. The whole note also indicates
the main pivot note.

Arabic Maqamat Preface

Accidental Legend

indicates a quarter flat note

indicates a quarter sharp note



Arabic Maqamat Ajam Family

Ajam

Ajam Ushayran

Jiharkah


Arabic Maqamat Ajam Family

Shawq Afza



Arabic Maqamat Nahawand Family

Nahawand

Nahawand Murassah

Farahfaza


Arabic Maqamat Nahawand Family

Ushaq Masri



Arabic Maqamat Kurd Family

Kurd

Hijaz Kar Kurd



Arabic Maqamat Hijaz Family

Hijaz

Hijaz Kar

Shadd Araban


Arabic Maqamat Hijaz Family

Shahnaz

Suzidil

Zanjaran



Arabic Maqamat Rast Family

Rast

Suznak

Nairuz


Arabic Maqamat Rast Family

Mahur

Yakah



Arabic Maqamat Bayati Family

Bayati

Bayati Shuri

Husseini



Arabic Maqamat Sikah Family

Sikah

Huzzam

Rahat El Arwah


Arabic Maqamat Sikah Family

Iraq

Bastanikar

Mustaar


Arabic Maqamat Sikah Family

Sikah Baladi



Arabic Maqamat Saba Family

Saba

Saba Zamzam



Arabic Maqamat Nawa Athar Family

Nawa Athar

Nikriz

Athar Kurd



Turkish Makamlar Preface

How to Use This Reference

The following Turkish Maqamlar are organized in such a way to distinguish between the main parts of the
maqam.

Organization of the Staff

The main notes are positioned in the center. Optional ajna are positioned to the left and the right with lines
showing the relationships between them.
Melodic extensions below the tonic of the maqam are positioned to the bottom left hand side.
Melodic extensions in a range above the main maqam are positioned on the top right hand side.
Descending passages or descending melodic extensions are positioned on the bottom right hand side of the
main maqam.
Example:


Turkish Makamlar Preface

In hybrid Maqamat like Ferahnak, and Hijaz Kar Kurd, staff that are stacked on top of each other indicate that
each are overlapping and modulated to and used in melodic development.

Example:

The arrows under the staff indicate the specific path or "seyir" each Maqam takes. An up arrow indicate and
ascending path. A down arrow indicates a descending path. An arrow that is pointing in both directions
indicates an ascending-descending path.
Example:

Paths
An ascending path begins at the tonic and moves upwards developing the whole maqam and then returns to
the tonic.
A descending path starts on the upper tonic of the maqam and develops melody eventually moving toward
the lower tonic to resolve.
An ascending-descending path starts somewhere in between the ajna that create the maqam moving up and
down before moving toward the lower tonic to resolve.


Turkish Makamlar Preface

Notation
A very strange thing about Turkish notation is that they write notes higher than they are in reality. So when
the note “A” is written within the staff, in reality the actual note is “E” below the “A”. In other words, they write
everything a 4th above what note is actually being played. For example, if they are playing Maqam Buselik it
will start on an actual “E” not, but will be written from “A”. In addition to this, Turkish Ouds are tuned a whole
step above Arabic Ouds, so what do you do if you want to play Turkish maqamat on your Arabic Oud in the
finger position that each maqam was meant to be played?
If you see an “A” note written, you have to think of your third open string D.

Accidental Legend
Turkish accidental notes are many, and may take a while to get familiar with. In Turkish music, from one note
to another note, a whole step, let’s say C to D, there are 9 divisions between that note. Each division is called a
koma, or comma in English. The differences between these microtonal intervals are very subtle and difficult to
distinguish. One of the biggest frustrations is that Turkish musicians do not adhere to this 9 koma division
strictly. In fact, they will often play certain intervals flatter than the accidental indicates. My recommendation
is to use your ear, listen to a lot of Turkish music, and copy what you hear.
The division of notes in this manner is due to the use of “natural”, “pure”, or “just” thirds, fourths, and fifth
notes in Middle Eastern music. Notation in this manner makes it impossible to play genuine Turkish music on
an equal tempered instrument.

koma bemolu lowers by one comma koma diyezi raises by one comma

bakiye bemolu lowers by four commas bakiye diyezi raises by four commas

kucmuc bemolu lowers by five commas kucmuc diyezi raises by five commas



Turkish Makamlar Cargah Family

Acem Aşiran

Mâhur


Turkish Makamlar Cargah Family

Şevk-Efzâ

Sûz-i Dilârâ


Turkish Makamlar Cargah Family

Zâvil

Acem



Turkish Makamlar Bûselik Family

Bûselik

Şehnaz Bûselik


Turkish Makamlar Bûselik Family

Nihavend

Ferahfezâ


Turkish Makamlar Bûselik Family

Sultânîyegâh



Turkish Makamlar Rast Family

Rast

Sûz-nâk


Turkish Makamlar Rast Family

Sazkâr

Nişâburek



Turkish Makamlar Uşşak Family

Uşşak

Karcığar


Turkish Makamlar Uşşak Family

Neva

Bayâtî


Turkish Makamlar Uşşak Family

Muhayyer

Tâhir


Turkish Makamlar Uşşak Family

Hüseynî



Turkish Makamlar Hicaz Family

Hicaz

Hümâyun


Turkish Makamlar Hicaz Family

Uzzal

Zirgüleli Hicaz


Turkish Makamlar Hicaz Family

Hicazkâr

Zirgüleli Sûz-nâk


Turkish Makamlar Hicaz Family

Şedaraban

Sûz-i Dil


Turkish Makamlar Hicaz Family

Evcârâ

Şehnaz



Turkish Makamlar Kürdî Family

Kürdî

Kürdîli Hicazkâr



Turkish Makamlar Nev'eser Family

Nev'eser

Nikriz



Turkish Makamlar Segâh Family

Segâh

Irak

Eviç


Turkish Makamlar Segâh Family

Bestenigâr

Hüzzam


Turkish Makamlar Segâh Family

Müstear



Turkish Makamlar Sabâ Family

Sabâ

Sabâ Zemzeme



Turkish Makamlar Hybrid Maqamlar

Ferahnâk


Turkish Makamlar Hybrid Maqamlar

Muhayyer Kürdî

Acem Kürdî


Turkish Makamlar Hybrid Maqamlar

Gerdaniye

Hisar Bûselik


Turkish Makamlar Hybrid Maqamlar

Isfahan

Bayâtî Araban


Turkish Makamlar Hybrid Maqamlar

Tâhir Bûselik

Dügâh



Persian Dastgah Preface

Understanding Persian Music

In Persian music, the concept of Gushe replaces the concept of Jins. Gushe means “niche”, “corner”, or “part”
in Farsi. In some way, they can refer to different sections of notes like Ajna do. However, they go beyond
referring to intervallic structures and relationships. They are actually specific melodic compositions that have
been passed down in oral tradition from master to pupil. Each Gushe can be defined by having a particular
melodic development, certain repetitive phrases, certain modulations, or certain forms and phraseology.
These Gushe are copied, improvised and elaborated upon in performance. They are compiled in what is called
the “Radif”, which means “order”.

How to Use This Reference

Persian maqam are presented in similar fashion to Turkish Maqamlar. Because the concept of jins is different
in Persian music, ajna names have not been included above each staff. Instead, the Dastgah is divided to
suggest ajna which are similar to other ajna in Turko-Arabic traditions. Each division could be said to be a jins.
The reader can analyse the different divisions to relate them to what they know about Turko-Arabic Ajna.

Separate Staff
The central staff indicates the primary notes that characterize the Dastgah.
Melodic extensions that move toward a tonic are positioned on the bottom left hand side of the main
Dastgah (central staff).
Melodic extensions above the central range of the Dastgah are positioned to the top right of the central staff.
Descending melodic structures are positioned to the bottom right of the central staff.


Persian Dastgah Preface

Whole Notes
In the Dastgah, the whole notes indicate the tonic, focal point, or starting point of the Dastgah.

Accidental Legend

indicates a quarter flat note called Koron

indicates a quarter sharp note called Sori


Persian Dastgah

Dastgahe Shur

Avaze Abu-Ata


Persian Dastgah

Avaze Bayate Tork

Avaze Afshari


Persian Dastgah

Avaze Dashti

Dastgahe Segah


Persian Dastgah

Dastgahe Chahargah

Dastgahe Homayoun

Dastgahe Esfahan


Persian Dastgah

Dastgahe Nava

Dastgahe Mahur


Persian Dastgah

Dastgahe Rast-Panjgah

1st Structure, “Mahur-like”

2nd Structure, “Abu-Ata like”


Persian Dastgah

3rd Structure, “Shur-like”

4th Structure, “Esfahan-like”


Cohen, Dalia, and Ruth Katz. Palestinian Arab Music: A Maqam Tradition in
Practice. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2006. Print.
Farraj, Johnny, and Sami Abu Shumays. Arabic Maqam World. Web.
<http://maqamworld.com/>.

Olsen, Poul Rovsing. Music in Bahrain: Traditional Music of the Arabian

Gulf. Moesgaard: Jutland Archaeological Society, 2002. Print.
Parfitt, David. The Oud. Web. <http://www.oud.eclipse.co.uk/>.

Signell, Karl L. Makam: Modal Practice in Turkish Art Music. Seattle: Asian
Music Publications, 1977. Print.


Acem, 34
Acem Aşiran, 32 Farahfaza, 7
Acem Kürdî, 65 Ferahfezâ, 37
Ajam, 4 Ferahnâk, 64
Ajam Ushayran, 4
Athar Kurd, 26 Gerdaniye, 66
Avaze Abu-Ata, 72
Avaze Afshari, 73 Hicaz, 48
Avaze Dashti, 74 Hicazkâr, 50
Hijaz, 12
Bastanikar, 21 Hijaz Kar, 12
Bayati, 18 Hijaz Kar Kurd, 10
Bayâtî, 44 Hisar Bûselik, 66
Bayâtî Araban, 67 Hümâyun, 48
Bayati Shuri, 18 Hüseynî, 46
Bestenigâr, 59 Husseini, 18
Bûselik, 36 Huzzam, 20
Hüzzam, 59
Dastgahe Chahargah, 75
Dastgahe Esfahan, 75 Irak, 58
Dastgahe Homayoun, 75 Iraq, 21
Dastgahe Mahur, 76 Isfahan, 67
Dastgahe Nava, 76
Dastgahe Rast-Panjgah, 77 Jiharkah, 4
Dastgahe Segah, 74
Dastgahe Shur, 72 Karcığar, 43
Dügâh, 68 Kurd, 10
Kürdî, 54
Evcârâ, 52 Kürdîli Hicazkâr, 54
Eviç, 58


Index

Mahur, 16 Şehnaz Bûselik, 36

Mâhur, 32 Şevk-Efzâ, 33
Muhayyer, 45 Shadd Araban, 12
Muhayyer Kürdî, 65 Shahnaz, 13
Mustaar, 21 Shawq Afza, 5
Müstear, 60 Sikah, 20
Sikah Baladi, 22
Nahawand, 7 Sultânîyegâh, 38
Nahawand Murassah, 7 Sûz-i Dil, 51
Nairuz, 15 Sûz-i Dilârâ, 33
Nawa Athar, 26 Suzidil, 13
Neva, 44 Suznak, 15
Nev'eser, 56 Sûz-nâk, 40
Nihavend, 37
Nikriz, 26, 56 Tâhir, 45
Nişâburek, 41 Tâhir Bûselik, 68

Rahat El Arwah, 20 Ushaq Masri, 8

Rast, 15, 40 Uşşak, 43
Uzzal, 49
Saba, 24
Sabâ, 62 Yakah, 16
Saba Zamzam, 24
Sabâ Zemzeme, 62 Zanjaran, 13
Sazkâr, 41 Zâvil, 34
Şedaraban, 51 Zirgüleli Hicaz, 49
Segâh, 58 Zirgüleli Sûz-nâk, 50
Şehnaz, 52

