Read the score, hear the makam, play the saz

Miras-ı Saz is a free web platform for learning Turkish makam music and keeping it alive. It brings together a sheet music archive, makam lessons, a timeline of composers (Eras), a kanun, oud, ney, tanbur and bağlama you can play in your browser, ear training and practice tools. No sign-up or installation is needed; the site is available in 16 languages.

In Turkish music, a makam is a set of rules that determines which pitches a melody uses, on which pitch it comes to rest (karar, the tonic), which pitch it emphasizes (güçlü, the dominant) and how it moves (seyir). Hicaz, Rast, Uşşak and Nihavend are among the best-known makams. On Miras-ı Saz you can listen to the scales of 155 makams and play them on the kanun.

A comma (koma) is the small unit of interval in Turkish music theory. In the Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek system, pitches are shown on a scale that divides the octave into 53 equal parts (the Holder comma, about 22.6 cents); this scale closely approximates the theory's pitches, which are based on Pythagorean ratios. Intervals such as bakiye (4 commas), küçük mücenneb (5), büyük mücenneb (8) and tanini (9) are expressed on this scale. In actual performance, pitches can deviate from these values depending on the makam and its melodic progression; segâh, for example, is usually played somewhat lower than in theory. Miras-ı Saz scores and instruments play in this theoretical 53-comma tuning.

The scores are compiled from works whose copyright has expired, meaning the composer and lyricist died more than 70 years ago; they are adapted from openly licensed academic collections and rewritten with AEÜ accidentals. Work, composer and recording information comes from MusicBrainz. During playback, the note you are on is highlighted; each work's source is given at the bottom of its page.

You can play the kanun, oud, ney, tanbur, bağlama, cümbüş, classical kemençe, violin, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet and accordion with real recordings, and the santur with synthesized sound, right in your browser; all are tuned automatically to the pitches of the makam you choose. Other instruments are introduced by family on the Virtual Instruments page, and for some, like the darbuka, bendir and tef, you can hear their sound on their page.

No. Miras-ı Saz is free; no sign-up, app installation or personal information is required. It runs in the browser on phone, tablet and computer; if you like, you can add it to your home screen and use it like an app.