Arabic maqam

Arabic maqam (Arabic: ‫ﻣﻘﺎم‬,

romanized: maqām, literally "place"; pl.
‫ ﻣﻘﺎﻣﺎت‬maqāmāt) is the system of
melodic modes used in traditional Arabic
music, which is mainly melodic. The
word maqam in Arabic means place,
location or position. The Arabic maqam
is a melody type. It 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".[1] There are seventy two
heptatonic tone rows or scales of
maqamat.[1] These are constructed from
major, neutral, and minor seconds.[1]
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. Maqamat can be
realized with either vocal or instrumental
music, and do not include a rhythmic
component.
An essential factor in performance is that
each maqam 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".[2] 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."[2] The
compositional 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.[2]

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 modal
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, Arabic, Persian, and
Turkish.

Tuning system
The notes of a maqam are not tuned in
equal temperament (meaning that the
frequency ratios of successive pitches
are not necessarily identical, unlike 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.[3]
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 land on semitones.
For this reason maqam scales are mostly
taught orally, and by extensive listening
to the traditional Arabic music repertoire.
Notation
Since microtonal 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 tones, 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 ) 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 .
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
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 not common to notate precisely and
accurately microtonal variations from a
twelve-tone equal tempered scale,
maqam scales are, in practice, learned
auditorally.

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:[4]
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):[5]

0:07 / 0:07

"When all possibilities of the musical

structuring of such a tone level have
been fully explored, the phase is
complete."[5]

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:[6]

0:02 / 0:02

The tone rows of maqamat may be

identical, such as maqam bayati and
maqam 'ushshaq turki:[6]

0:05 / 0:05
but be distinguished by different nuclei.
Bayati is shown in the example above,
while 'ushshaq turki is:[6]

0:00 / 0:00

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
(Arabic: ‫ ;ﺟﻨﺲ‬pl. ajnās ‫)أﺟﻨﺎس‬, meaning
"gender" or "kind". In most cases, a jins is
made up of four consecutive notes
(tetrachord), although ajnas of three
consecutive notes (trichord) or five
consecutive notes (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 include
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 (‫ )ﻋﺠﻢ‬trichord, Bayati (‫ )ﺑﻴﺎﺗﻲ‬tetrachord, Hijaz (‫ )ﺣﺠﺎز‬tetrachord,

starting on B♭ starting on D starting on D

Kurd (‫ )ﻛﺮد‬tetrachord, Nahawand (‫ )ﻧﻬﺎوﻧﺪ‬tetrachord, Nikriz (‫ )ﻧﻜﺮﻳﺰ‬pentachord,

starting on D starting on C starting on C

Rast (‫ )راﺳﺖ‬tetrachord, Saba (‫ )ﺻﺒﺎ‬tetrachord, Sikah (‫ )ﺳﻴﻜﺎه‬trichord,

starting on C starting on D starting on E

(for more detail see Arabic Maqam

Ajnas )

Maqam families
Bayati
0:00 / 0:00

Hijaz
0:00 / 0:00

Jiharkah
0:00 / 0:00

Husayni ‘Ushayran
0:00 / 0:00

Rast
0:00 / 0:00
Problems playing these files? See
media help.
Shad ‘Araban
0:00 / 0:00

Huzam
0:00 / 0:00

Nawa Athar
0:00 / 0:00

Rahat al-Arwah
0:00 / 0:00

Saba
0:00 / 0:00
Problems playing these files? See
media help.

‘Ajam - ‘Ajam (‫)ﻋﺠﻢ‬, Jiharkah (‫)ﺟﻬﺎرﻛﺎه‬,

Shawq Afza (‫ ﺷﻮق اﻓﺰا‬or ‫)ﺷﻮق أﻓﺰا‬, Ajam
Ushayran (‫)ﻋﺠﻢ ﻋﺸﻴﺮان‬
Sikah - Bastah Nikar (‫)ﺑﺴﺘﻪ ﻧﻜﺎر‬, Huzam
(‫)ﻫﺰام‬, ‘Iraq (‫)ﻋﺮاق‬, Musta‘ar (‫)ﻣﺴﺘﻌﺎر‬,
Rahat al-Arwah (‫( )راﺣﺔ اﻷرواح‬spelled
Rahatol Arwah), Sikah (‫)ﺳﻴﻜﺎه‬, Sikah
Baladi (‫)ﺳﻴﻜﺎه ﺑﻠﺪي‬
Bayati - Bayatayn (‫)ﺑﯿﺎﺗﯿﻦ‬, Bayati (‫)ﺑﻴﺎﺗﻲ‬,
Bayati Shuri (‫)ﺑﻴﺎﺗﻲ ﺷﻮري‬, Husayni
(‫)ﺣﺴﻴﻨﻲ‬, Nahfat (‫)ﻧﻬﻔﺖ‬, Huseini
Ushayran (‫)ﺣﺴﻴﻨﻲ ﻋﺸﻴﺮان‬,
Nahawand - Farahfaza (‫)ﻓﺮﺣﻔﺰا‬,
Nahawand (‫)ﻧﻬﺎوﻧﺪ‬, Nahawand
Murassah (‫ﻣﺮﺻﻊ‬
ّ ‫ ﻧﻬﺎوﻧﺪ‬or ‫)ﻧﻬﺎوﻧﺪ ﻣﺮﺻﻊ‬,
‘Ushaq Masri (‫)ﻋﺸﺎق ﻣﺼﺮي‬, Sultani
Yakah (‫)ﺳﻠﻄﺎﻧﻲ ﻳﺎﻛﺎه‬
Rast - Mahur (‫)ﻣﺎﻫﻮر‬, Nairuz (‫)ﻧﻴﺮوز‬, Rast
(‫)راﺳﺖ‬, Suznak (‫)ﺳﻮزﻧﺎك‬, Yakah (‫)ﻳﻜﺎه‬
Hijaz - Hijaz (‫)ﺣﺠﺎز‬, Hijaz Kar (‫)ﺣﺠﺎز ﻛﺎر‬,
Shad ‘Araban (‫)ﺷﺪ ﻋﺮﺑﺎن‬, Shahnaz
(‫)ﺷﻬﻨﺎز‬, Suzidil (‫)ﺳﻮزدل‬, Zanjaran
(‫)زﻧﺠﺮان‬, Hijazain (‫)ﺣﺠﺎزﻳﻦ‬
Saba - Saba (‫)ﺻﺒﺎ‬, Saba Zamzam (‫ﺻﺒﺎ‬
‫)زﻣﺰم‬
Kurd - Kurd (‫)ﻛﺮد‬, Hijaz Kar Kurd (‫ﺣﺠﺎز‬
‫)ﻛﺎر ﻛﺮد‬, Lami (‫)ﻻﻣﻲ‬
 Nawa Athar - Athar Kurd (‫)أﺛﺮ ﻛﺮد‬, Nawa
Athar (‫ ﻧﻮى أﺛﺮ‬or ‫)ﻧﻮى اﺛﺮ‬, Nikriz (‫)ﻧﻜﺮﻳﺰ‬,
Hisar (‫)ﺣﺼﺎر‬

Emotional content
It is sometimes said that 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 is said to evoke pride, power,
soundness of mind, and masculinity.[7]
Maqam Bayati: vitality, joy, and feminity.[7]
Sikah: love.[7] Saba: sadness and pain.[8]
Hijaz: distant desert.[7]
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.[8]
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
♭, two
first four notes, D, E , F, and G
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.[9]

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 would mean
relating a mood to the major and minor
modes. In that case there is some
consensus that the minor scale is
"sadder" and the major scale is
"happier".[10]

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. 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. Although such
combinations are often documented in
musical references, most experienced
musicians learn them by extensive
listening.

See also
Mujawwad
Ali Merdan
The Iraqi Maqam
Melisma
Pizmonim
The Weekly Maqam
Taqsim
Raga
Further reading
el-Mahdi, Salah (1972). La musique
arabe : structures, historique,
organologie. Paris, France: Alphonse
Leduc, Editions Musicales. ISBN 2-
85689-029-6.
Lagrange, Frédéric (1996). Musiques
d'Égypte. Cité de la musique / Actes
Sud. ISBN 2-7427-0711-5.
Maalouf, Shireen (2002). History of
Arabic music theory. Lebanon:
Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik.
OCLC 52037253 .
Marcus, Scott Lloyd (1989). Arab
music theory in the modern period
 (Ph.D. dissertation). Los Angeles:
University of California.
OCLC 20767535 .
Racy, Ali Jihad (2003). Making Music in
the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry
of Ṭarab. Publisher: Cambridge ; New
York: Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 0-521-30414-8.

References
1. Touma, Habib Hassan (1996). The
Music of the Arabs, p.38, 203, trans.
Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon:
Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-88-
8.
2. Touma, 1996 p.38.
 3. Touma 1996, p.38-9
4. Touma 1996, p.40.
5. Touma 1996, p.41.
6. Touma 1996, p.42.
7. Toumas 1996, p.43.
8. Touma 1996, p.44.
9. Touma 1996, p.45.
10. Fritz, Thomas; Jentschke, Sebastian;
Gosselin, Nathalie; Sammler, Daniela;
Peretz, Isabelle; Turner, Robert;
Friederici, Angela D.; Koelsch, Stefan
(2009). "Universal Recognition of
Three Basic Emotions in Music".
Current Biology. 19 (7): 573–576.
 doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.02.058 .
PMID 19303300 .

External links
Maqam World
Maqam World: What is a Maqam?
Arab Maqamat
Sephardic Pizmonim Project- Jewish
use of Maqamat
Historical audio examples from
different maqams , Arabic.
Illustration of popular maqams on
YouTube
Chazzanut Sephardic Yerushalmi,
Rabbi Hagay Batzri
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