Makam music glossary

The terms of makam music with short, clear definitions: pitches and intervals, makams, usuls, forms, instruments, performance tradition and notation. You can listen to terms that have a sound example with the ▶ button.

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A

Acem Pitch and interval

An in-between pitch 4 commas (a bakiye) above Hüseyni; written in Western notation as natural F. It is often used in place of Eviç when descending in makams of the Rast and Uşşak families.

Acem-aşîrân Pitch and interval

An octave below the pitch Acem; written as F in Western notation. It is the karar (tonic) pitch of the makam Acemaşiran.

Related: Acem Irak Acemaşîrân makam

Acemaşîrân makamı Acemaşiran makam Makam

A makam with karar Acem-aşiran (F) and güçlü Çargah (C). It is thought of as the Çargah scale transposed onto the pitch Acem-aşiran.

Acembûselik makamı Acembûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C). As its name shows, it brings together the Acem and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B koma flat.

Acemkürdî makamı Acemkürdi makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah, combining the colors of Acem and Kürdi. The weight of the pitch Acem is felt in the high register.

Acemtarab makamı Acemtarab makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Dügah (A). Its key signature has no accidentals; its name combines the pitch Acem with the word “tarab” (joy, rapture).

Agâze Performance

A word of Persian origin meaning “beginning.” It is used for the opening part of a taksim or a work, and in this respect is close to the girizgah; in some older sources it also refers to the pitch or register at which a makam's seyir begins.

Ağır Aksak Usul

The form of the Aksak usul one mertebe slower, written in 9/4; it has nine beats and six strokes. It is used mostly in fasıl şarkıs, and also in some ilahis, türküs and slow dance tunes; pieces usually begin with a rest.^[1]

Ağır Aksak Semâî Usul

The form of the Aksak Semai usul one mertebe slower, written in 10/4; it has ten beats and six strokes. It is used in pieces in the ağır semai form and in şarkı and ilahi; because of the poetic meter, pieces usually begin with a rest or with “âh”.^[2]

Ağır Çenber Usul

The third mertebe of the Çenber usul, written in 24/2; it has twenty-four beats. Because of its slowness it is used mostly in first bestes; it is customary to begin these bestes with an “âh” terennüm lasting two or two and a half beats.^[3]

Ağır Düyek Usul

The second mertebe of the Düyek usul, written in 8/4; it has eight beats and five strokes. It is used in peşrev, kâr, beste and şarkı, as well as in Mevlevî âyins (especially the 1st and 3rd selâms), tevşih and ilahi.^[4]

Ağır Evfer Usul

The second mertebe of the Evfer usul, written in 9/4; because it is almost invariably the usul of the second selâms of Mevlevî âyins, it is also called Mevlevî Evferi. Most examples in the archive are küpes by Ahmed Avni Konuk.^[5]

Ağır semâî Form

A vocal work composed in the Aksak Semai or Ağır Aksak Semai usul; sung after the beste pieces in a classical fasıl.

Ağır Sengin Semâî Usul

The slowest mertebe of the Sengin Semai usul, written in 6/2; it has six beats and five strokes. It is used in the ağır semais of the classical fasıl, in the third selâms of Mevlevî âyins and in ilahis.^[6]

Ağız Performance

The distinctive singing and playing style of a region, school or performer; used especially in folk music for a regional style, such as the Urfa ağzı (Urfa style).

Related: Tavır (style)Türkü

Ahenk Performance

The tuning level of instruments and voices; it determines the actual pitch at which the pitch Rast, written as G in notation, will sound. Ahenk names come from the lengths of the ney: bolahenk, kız, mansur, şah, and so on.

Akordeon Accordion Instrument

A portable instrument with keys or buttons that sounds when air supplied by bellows vibrates metal reeds. It is popular in folk and entertainment music in Turkey and the Balkans.

Aksak Usul

An usul in 9/8 time; recognized by its uneven (aksak) grouping of beats, and very common in şarkı and dance tunes. Its slower 9/4 form is called Ağır Aksak.

Aksak Semâî Usul

An usul in 10/8 time; the first three hânes and teslim of saz semai pieces, and ağır semai works, are in this usul. Its slower 10/4 form is called Ağır Aksak Semai.

Aksak Semâî Evferi Usul

A ten-beat usul written in 10/8 and close to Aksak Semai; Ekrem Karadeniz gives it with the strokes düm, tekkâ, düm, tek, tek. The ten-beat usul that Kantemir used under the name “semai” is today also known by this name.^[7]

Ankebut Lyric vocabulary

Spider (Arabic). In classical poetry the spider and its web are among the images expressing the transience and fragility of the world; in the couplet attributed to Tanbûrî Cemil Bey it is used for the dead spider.

Ara perde Ara perde (in-between pitch) Theory

The pitches that fall between the main pitches; Kürdi, Buselik, Hicaz, Hisar, Acem and Mahur are examples. Much of a makam's distinctive color comes from the use of these pitches.

Arabân makamı Arabân makam Makam

A makam with karar Neva (D) and güçlü Gerdaniye (G). It is recognized by the Hicaz tetrachord on the pitch Neva; its key signature contains B and E küçük mücenneb flat and C and F bakiye sharp.

Aralık Interval Theory

The difference in pitch between two notes. In makam music, intervals are named by their number of commas: bakiye (4), küçük mücenneb (5), büyük mücenneb (8), tanini (9) and artık ikili, the augmented second (12–13 commas).

Aranağme Form

A short instrumental melody played between the lines or sections of a vocal work.

Related: Nağme Şarkı Girizgah

Arazbar makamı Arazbar makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Segah (B koma flat) and güçlü Neva (D). It proceeds like Beyati with the Beyati tetrachord on Dügah and the Buselik pentachord on Neva, and makes its karar on the pitch Segah.

Arazbârbûselik makamı Arazbârbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Gerdaniye (G). As its name shows, it combines the Arazbar and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B and E koma flat.

Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek sistemi Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek system Notation

The theory and notation system named after H. Sadettin Arel, Suphi Ezgi and Salih Murat Uzdilek, developed in the first half of the 20th century. It builds a 24-pitch system based on Pythagorean ratios; the pitches are notated on a 53-comma scale. It is the system most widely used in teaching today. Abbreviated AEÜ.

Arıza Arıza (accidental) Notation

A sign that raises (sharp) or lowers (flat) a pitch. In the AEÜ system, accidentals are written with separate signs depending on how many commas they shift the pitch.

Artık ikili Artık ikili (augmented second) Pitch and interval

An interval wider than a whole tone, of 12 or 13 commas; abbreviated A. It is the middle interval of the Hicaz tetrachord and gives makams the character known as the “Hicaz color.”

Âsâr Lyric vocabulary

Traces, signs, indications; the plural of the word eser. In lyrics it is used to describe something beginning to appear: “bahârın âsârı”, the signs of spring.

Asma karar Asma karar (suspended cadence) Makam

A temporary pause of the melody on a pitch other than the karar; made at the ends of phrases on the güçlü or another important pitch.

Aşîrân-Mâye makamı Aşîrân-Mâye makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Segah (B koma flat). Its name combines Aşiran and Maye; it makes its karar in the low register, on the pitch Aşiran.

Aşîrân-Zemzeme makamı Aşîrân-Zemzeme makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its name combines Aşiran and Zemzeme; its key signature contains only F bakiye sharp.

Aşkefzâ makamı Aşkefzâ makam Makam

A makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Buselik (B). Its key signature has no accidentals; its name means “increasing love” in Persian.

Aydın Usul

Another name for Çifte Sofyan, the somewhat faster form of the Aksak usul played with four strokes; it is written in 9/8. The examples in the archive are şarkıs and köçekçes by Tanbûrî Mustafa Çavuş and Muallim İsmail Hakkı Bey.^[8]

Âyin Devr-i Revânı Usul

The name given to the Devr-i Revan usul because it is widely used in Mevlevî âyins (it is also called Mevlevî Devr-i Revanı); it has fourteen beats and six strokes. Its velveleli form is used especially in the first selâms of the âyins.^[9]

Âyinhân Performance

The hânende who sings the Mevlevî âyin.

Related: Mevlevî âyini Mutrib Na'than

B

Bağlama Instrument

The most widespread fretted string instrument of Turkish folk music; it has three groups of strings and frets tied onto its neck, and is played with a pick (tezene) or with the fingers (şelpe).

Bahr-i-Nâzik makamı Bahr-i-Nâzik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its key signature has no accidentals; among the makams that make their karar on Dügah, it stands out by using the pitch Buselik (B).

Bakiye Pitch and interval

A four-comma interval; the smallest semitone in the AEÜ system. The first interval of the Kürdi tetrachord (Dügah–Kürdi) is a bakiye; abbreviated B.

Bakiye bemol Bakiye bemol (bakiye flat) Notation

An accidental in AEÜ notation that lowers a pitch by 5 commas, leaving a bakiye (4 commas) between it and the pitch below. The pitch Kürdi (B bakiye flat) is written with it.

Bakiye diyez Bakiye diyez (bakiye sharp) Notation

An accidental in AEÜ notation that raises a pitch by 4 commas. The pitches Eviç (F bakiye sharp) and Nim hicaz (C bakiye sharp) are written with it.

Basit makam Basit makam (simple makam) Makam

A makam whose scale is formed by directly combining one tetrachord and one pentachord, and which comes to rest on its own pitch; examples are Rast, Uşşak, Hicaz, Buselik and Kürdi.

Başpâre Instrument

The mouthpiece fitted to the blown end of the ney, made of horn, bone or a similar material.

Related: Ney

Bektaşî Devr-i Revânı Usul

A small usul of thirteen beats and nine strokes (13/8) formed by combining an aksak and a sofyan. It takes its name from being used mostly in Bektashi music and its nefeses; it also appears in some türküs.^[10]

Bektaşî Raksânı Usul

A fifteen-beat usul (15/8) peculiar to Bektashi nefeses; its strong strokes fall on beats 1, 6 and 11, whereas in the classical Raksan they fall on beats 1, 4 and 9. It also appears in the âşık music of Anatolia and Rumelia.^[11]

Related: Nefes Bektaşi Raksı

Bektaşî Raksı Usul

A sixteen-beat usul (16/8) used in Bektashi nefeses; Ekrem Karadeniz gives it with the strokes düm, düm, tek, düm, tek, düm, tek. The example in the archive is the nefes “Önüme bir cebel düştü”, whose usul was given this name by the Tasnif Heyeti (Classification Committee).^[12]

Bend-i-Hisar makamı Bend-i-Hisar makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar in the low register, on the pitch Yegah (D), with güçlü Dügah (A). As its name suggests, it carries the Hisar color.

Bendir Instrument

A frame drum with skin stretched over its wide rim; used to keep the usul in dervish-lodge and folk music.

Related: Bendir instrument Tef Usul

Berefşan Usul

A 32-beat large usul; used mostly in beste, and also in some peşrev, kâr and ilahi. One of the usuls that make up the Zencir usul.

Beste Form

In its general sense, any composed work; in its narrow sense, the slow vocal work of the classical fasıl, set to a murabba lyric and composed in large usuls such as Hafif, Zencir and Devr-i Kebir.

Beste-Isfahan makamı Beste-Isfahan makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Irak (F bakiye sharp) and güçlü Segah (B koma flat). It takes its name from the makam Isfahan and makes its karar in the low register, on the pitch Irak.

Bestenigâr makamı Bestenigar makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Irak and güçlü Dügah; it combines the Saba color with a karar on Irak.

Beşli Beşli (pentachord) Pitch and interval

A segment of a scale made of five pitches and four intervals (a pentachord); its total width is 31 commas. It is generally thought of as a tetrachord (dörtlü) with an added tanini.

Beyâtî-Arabân makamı Beyâtî-Arabân makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Muhayyer (A). It adds the Hicaz-tinged color of the Araban çeşni to the seyir of the Beyati makam.

Beyâtî-Arabânbûselik makamı Beyâtî-Arabânbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C). As its name shows, it combines the Beyati-Araban and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B koma flat, E küçük mücenneb flat and F bakiye sharp.

Beyatî makamı Beyatî makam Makam

A makam that uses the same scale as Uşşak, with karar Dügah and güçlü Neva. It differs from Uşşak by beginning its seyir around Neva.

Beyâtîbûselik makamı Beyâtîbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Dügah (A), with güçlü Çargah (C). Its name shows that it combines the Beyati and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B koma flat.

Birleşik makam Birleşik makam (compound makam) Makam

A makam formed by combining the scale and seyir features of two or more makams; also called mürekkep makam. Examples are Suzinak, Karcığar and Bestenigar.

Bolâhenk Performance

The most widely used ahenk today; the pitch Rast, written as G, sounds approximately as D, that is, a tetrachord lower than written.

Related: Ahenk Süpürde

Bû-i zâr Lyric vocabulary

The scent of weeping and lament: bû means “scent”, zâr “lament, weeping”. In the song Rahmi Bey composed after the death of his friend Şevki Bey it conveys the atmosphere of mourning.

Burgu Burgu (tuning peg) Instrument

A turning peg used to adjust a string's tension and tune it in string instruments; also called kulak (“ear”).

Related: Eşik (bridge)Ahenk

Bûselik Pitch and interval

An in-between pitch a tanini above Dügah; written in Western notation as natural B. It defines the Buselik tetrachord and the color of the Buselik and Nihavend family of makams.

Bûselik dörtlüsü Buselik tetrachord Pitch and interval

A tetrachord made of a tanini, a bakiye and a tanini (T B T: 9 + 4 + 9 commas); built on Dügah it gives the pitches Dügah–Buselik–Çargah–Neva.

Bûselik makamı Buselik makam Makam

A makam with karar Dügah and güçlü Hüseyni. Its scale is made of the Buselik pentachord plus a Kürdi tetrachord built on Hüseyni; its structure resembles the minor scale of Western music.

Bûselikaşîrân makamı Bûselikaşîrân makam Makam

A makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Dügah (A). As its name suggests, it presents the Buselik color in the low register, on the pitch Aşiran; its key signature has no accidentals.

Büyük mücenneb Pitch and interval

An eight-comma interval; abbreviated K. Falling between a whole tone and a semitone, it is one of the distinctive colorful intervals of makam music; the first interval of the Uşşak tetrachord (Dügah–Segah) is a büyük mücenneb.

Büyük mücenneb bemol Büyük mücenneb bemol (büyük mücenneb flat) Notation

An AEÜ accidental that lowers the pitch it is written on by 8 commas; rarely seen in practice.

Büyük mücenneb diyez Büyük mücenneb diyez (büyük mücenneb sharp) Notation

An AEÜ accidental that raises the pitch it is written on by 8 commas; rarely seen in practice.

Büyük usul Büyük usul (large usul) Usul

Broad usuls made up of many beats (such as Devr-i Kebir, Hafif and Zencir); a combination of small usuls can be sensed within them. Used in large-scale works such as peşrev, beste and kâr.

Büzürk makamı Büzürk makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). It is one of the twelve old makams in the edvar books; its key signature on the site contains F bakiye sharp.

C

Canfezâ makamı Canfezâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Dügah (A). Its name means “life-enhancing” in Persian; its key signature contains B koma flat and D küçük mücenneb flat.

Ceng-i Harbî Usul

A small usul of 10 beats; it is written in 10/8 in beat groups of 2+2+3+3: düm-tek, düm-tek, düm-tek-tek, düm-tek-tek. İsmail Hakkı Özkan and Ekrem Karadeniz give the same pattern; the Miras-ı Saz archive has no piece in this usul.^[13]

Cins Cins (genus) Pitch and interval

The common name for tetrachords and pentachords. In AEÜ theory the main tetrachords are Çargah, Buselik, Kürdi, Rast, Uşşak and Hicaz; the main pentachords are Çargah, Buselik, Kürdi, Rast, Hicaz and Hüzzam.

Curcuna Usul

A lively aksak usul in 10/8 time; used in şarkı, türkü and dance tunes.

Related: Curcuna metronome Aksak Semai

Cümbüş Instrument

A fretless, long-necked string instrument with a metal rim and a skin-covered face; developed by Zeynel Abidin Cümbüş in the first half of the 20th century.

Related: Cümbüş instrument Oud

Ç

Çârgâh Pitch and interval

The main pitch a tetrachord (22 commas) above Rast; written as C in Western notation. It is the güçlü (dominant) pitch in the makams Saba and Kürdilihicazkar.

Çârgâh dörtlüsü Çargah tetrachord Pitch and interval

A tetrachord made of two taninis and a bakiye (T T B: 9 + 9 + 4 commas); built on Çargah it gives the pitches Çargah–Neva–Hüseyni–Acem. It resembles the major tetrachord of Western music.

Çârgâh makamı Çargah makam Makam

An old makam with karar Çargah (C); in this site's data its güçlü is given as Gerdaniye (G). The Çargah scale in AEÜ theory resembles the major scale of Western music; sources describe the pitches used by the traditional makam Çargah differently, and few works have been composed in this makam.

Çenber Usul

A large usul of 24 beats (24/4); used in beste and peşrev, and one of the usuls that make up the Zencir usul.

Related: Çenber metronome Zencir

Çeşni Performance

Bringing out the color of another makam or genus (cins) briefly within a makam; the word means “flavor” or “color.” It is a shorter, lighter touch than a full modulation.

Çevgen Instrument

A mehter instrument consisting of a long staff with a metal crown at its top from which small jingles hang, played by shaking. The çevgen players also sing while marching.

Çıkıcı seyir Çıkıcı seyir (ascending path) Makam

A type of seyir in which the melody starts from the karar or its surroundings, moves up toward the high register, and then returns to the karar. Makams such as Uşşak and Rast are of this type.

Çifte Düyek Usul

A large usul of sixteen beats and eight strokes made up of two düyeks; the 16/4 mertebe is the one mostly used. It is the first of the five usuls that make up the Zencir usul; it is used in peşrev, kâr, beste, tevşih and ilahi.^[14]

Çifte Sofyan Usul

A special four-stroke pattern of the very fast mertebe of the Aksak usul; it is mostly written in 9/8 instead of 9/16. Rauf Yektâ refers to the fast (yürük) aksak by this name; it is used in şarkı, türkü, köçekçe and lively dance tunes.^[15]

D

Daire Daire (frame drum) Instrument

A wide frame drum with small cymbals or rings fitted inside its rim. In the Ottoman period it was played to keep the usul in ince saz and fasıl ensembles.

Darb Usul

Arabic for “striking”; each stroke in an usul. It also appears in usul names such as Darb-ı Fetih and Darbeyn.

Related: Vuruş (stroke)Darb-ı Fetih

Darb-ı Fetih Usul

An 88-beat large usul; aside from compound usuls such as Zencir and Darbeyn, it is the largest independent usul. Used in peşrev and beste.

Darb Usulü Darb Usul Usul

A small usul of 6 beats; Ekrem Karadeniz gives it in 6/4 with two strokes: a düm of two beats and a tek of four beats. In the archive, five küpes by Ahmed Avni Konuk are measured in this usul.^[16]

Related: Darb metronome Darb Küpe

Darbeyn Usul

Meaning “two strokes”; the name of compound usuls built by playing two different large usuls with matching movement one after the other, once, twice or three times each (e.g. Fer‘ + Muhammes). They are used in peşrevs and more often in bestes.^[17]

Darbuka Instrument

An hourglass-shaped percussion instrument covered on one face; it keeps the usul with the düm struck at the center and the tek struck near the edge.

Related: Darbuka instrument Düm Tek

Dârülelhan History and institutions

The first official conservatory in the field of Turkish music, founded in Istanbul in 1917; it later took the name Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. It played an important role in transcribing and publishing classical works.^[18]

Dârü't-Ta'lîm-i Mûsikî Darü't-Talim-i Musiki History and institutions

A private music society founded in Istanbul during the years of the Second Constitutional Era, giving instruction in Turkish music and organizing concerts; many important performers and composers were trained there.

Davul Instrument

A percussion instrument with a large shell with skin stretched over both faces, played by striking one face with a mallet and the other with a stick. It is the partner of the zurna and the basic rhythm instrument of the mehter.

Dem Dem (drone) Performance

A sustained drone (ison) held continuously through a work or a taksim, mostly on the makam's karar pitch; sounding it is called “dem tutmak” (keeping the dem). The word is also used in everyday language to mean “moment, time” and “breath”; in music its meaning is that it provides a continuous sound bed for the melody.

Devr-i Hindî Usul

An aksak usul in 7/8 time; used in şarkı and ilahi.

Related: Devr-i hindi metronome Aksak

Devr-i Kebîr Usul

A large usul of 28 beats (28/4); widely used in peşrev. The opening peşrev of Mevlevî âyins is also generally in this usul.

Devr-i Revân Usul

A 14-beat usul (14/8, or the heavier 14/4); made up of a semai and a sofyan following one another twice, that is, of two Devr-i Hindi. Because it is widely used in Mevlevî âyins, it is also called the Mevlevî or the Âyin Devr-i Revan; it also appears in peşrev, beste and şarkı. The 13-beat Şarkı Devr-i Revan and the Bektashi Devr-i Revan are separate usuls.

Devr-i Revân-ı Hindî Usul

One of the old names of the 14-beat Devr-i Revan usul; in Abdülbâki Nâsır Dede's Tedkîk ü Tahkîk it is given with the same strokes as Devr-i Revan. Kantemir used this name for the 7-beat Devr-i Hindi.^[19]

Devr-i Tûran Usul

A small usul of seven beats and three strokes formed by combining a sofyan and a semai; it is the reverse of Devr-i Hindi and is also called Mandıra. It is written in 7/8 but its movement is closer to 7/16; it is used in türkü, dance tunes and köçekçe.^[20]

Dik Theory

A word used in pitch names to show a slightly higher version of the pitch of the same name: dik kürdi, dik hicaz, dik hisar, and so on.

Dilkeşhâveran makamı Dilkeşhâveran makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Irak (F bakiye sharp), with güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its key signature contains B koma flat and F bakiye sharp; its name carries the Persian word dilkeş, meaning “heart-attracting”.

Dilkeşîde makamı Dilkeşîde makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Yegah (D) and güçlü Dügah (A). It makes its karar in the low register, on the pitch Yegah; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Dilküşâ makamı Dilküşâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Neva (D) and güçlü Eviç (F bakiye sharp). Its name means “heart-opening” in Persian; its key signature contains C and F bakiye sharp.

Dilnişîn makamı Dilnişîn makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “settling in the heart”; like that of the makam Rast, its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Dîvân Form

A genre of folk poetry written in aruz (quantitative) metre, and the melody sung to it. In folk music it is mostly performed as a free-rhythm uzun hava; there are also examples composed in an usul, such as Kemânî Nevres Pasha's Şehnâz dîvân.^[21]

Dizi Scale Theory

The pitches used by a makam, arranged from low to high. In AEÜ theory, makam scales are mostly formed by combining a tetrachord (dörtlü) and a pentachord (beşli); makams that share the same scale are distinguished by their melodic path (seyir).

Dolap Usul

A small twelve-beat usul written in 12/8; Ekrem Karadeniz gives it with the strokes tekkâ, tekkâ, tekkâ, düm, tek. The only example in the archive is the uşşak ilahi on words by Yunus Emre beginning “Benim adım dertli dolap”.^[22]

Related: İlahi Küçük usul (small usul)

Donanım Donanım (key signature) Notation

The signs written at the beginning of a score, next to the clef, showing the accidentals that apply throughout the work. In makam music every makam has its own distinctive key signature.

Dörtlü Dörtlü (tetrachord) Pitch and interval

A segment of a scale made of four pitches and three intervals (a tetrachord); its total width is 22 commas. Makam scales are built by combining tetrachords (dörtlü) and pentachords (beşli).

Durak Form

A religious work of dervish-lodge music, composed in slow usuls and sung in a drawn-out, ornamented manner; usually performed by a soloist.

Durak Evferi Usul

A large usul of twenty-one beats (21/4) made up of a Türk aksağı and four sofyans; it belongs entirely to religious music. Suphi Ezgi used this usul to notate durak, na't, mersiye and tevşih pieces that are sung without usul.^[23]

Dügâh Pitch and interval

The main pitch a tanini above Rast; written as A in Western notation. It is the karar (tonic) of many makams such as Uşşak, Hicaz, Hüseyni, Saba and Kürdi; the octave above it is called Muhayyer.

Dügâh makamı Dügah makam Makam

An old makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C); its scale and color are very close to the makam Saba.

Related: Dügâh makam Dügah Saba makam

Dügâh-Mâye makamı Dügâh-Mâye makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name combines the pitch Dügah with Maye; its key signature contains B koma flat.

Düm Usul

The strongest, lowest stroke of an usul; produced on the kudüm with the right hand, and on the darbuka by striking the center of the skin.

Düyek Usul

An usul in 8/8 time (düm–tek–tek–düm–tek); widely used in şarkı, ilahi and peşrev. Its slow form is called Ağır Düyek.

E

Ebced notası Ebced notation Notation

An old notation that shows pitches with the letters of the Arabic alphabet in ebced (abjad) order. Safiyüddîn Urmevî (1216–1294) and Abdülkadir Merâgî (d. 1435) used it, and Abdülbâki Nâsır Dede (1765–1821) presented an almost identical version anew in his work Tahrîriye. Its first octave has 18 pitches from Yegâh to Nevâ.^[24]

Edvâr History and institutions

The general name given to works that explain music theory (makam, usul, interval). The word means “cycles,” coming from the practice of showing makam scales in the form of circles (devir); Safiyyüddin al-Urmawi's Kitâb al-Adwâr is one of the pioneers of this genre.^[25]

Related: Theory Ebced notation Eras

Enderun History and institutions

The palace school that trained statesmen and artists in the Ottoman court; students also received musical training there, and many musicians were trained in it.^[26]

Related: Mehter Mızıka-yı Hümayun

Eski-Sipihr makamı Eski-Sipihr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). As its name shows, it is the old form of the makam Sipihr; its key signature contains B koma flat and D küçük mücenneb flat.

Esnek perde Esnek perde (flexible pitch) Theory

The fact that a pitch has no single fixed height in performance: a pitch of the same name may shift by a few commas depending on the makam, the rising or falling course of the melody and the surrounding pitches. The Segâh pitch, for example, is usually played lower in Uşşak and Bayâtî than in Rast. Because notation shows the pitch with a single accidental, such differences are learned from a teacher and by listening (meşk).

Eşik Eşik (bridge) Instrument

In string instruments, a support over which the strings pass, marking the limit of the vibrating string length; the bridge on the body transmits the vibration to the soundboard.

Evc-Hüzî makamı Evc-Hüzî makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name shows that it combines the Eviç and Hüzi colors; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Evcârâ makamı Evcârâ makam Makam

A makam with karar Irak (F bakiye sharp) and güçlü Rast (G). It combines the Segah çeşni on Irak with the Hicaz tetrachord on Rast; it follows a descending seyir.

Evfer Usul

A 9-beat usul, with 9/8 and 9/4 forms. The form used in Mevlevî âyins is known as Mevlevî Evferi.

Eviç Pitch and interval

The main pitch 8 commas above Hüseyni; F raised by 4 commas (F bakiye sharp). It is the seventh pitch of the Rast scale; an octave below it is called Irak.

Eviç makamı Eviç makam Makam

A makam with karar Irak, taking its name from the pitch Eviç in the high register. Its seyir begins in the high register, and its scale resembles Hüzzam.

Eviçbûselik makamı Eviçbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). As its name shows, it brings together the Eviç and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Evsat Usul

A large usul of twenty-six beats and thirteen strokes; it consists of a Türk aksağı occurring twice in a row and two sofyans (26/8, 26/4). It is widely used in religious music, above all in tevşihs and cumhur ilahis.^[27]

Eyyâm-ı sermâ Lyric vocabulary

Winter days: eyyâm means “days”, sermâ “winter, cold”. Rahmi Bey's song “Geçti o gamlı eyyâm-ı sermâ” opens with the end of winter.

F

Fahte Usul

A large usul of 20 beats (20/4); used in peşrev and vocal works.

Fantezi Form

A vocal work that became widespread in the 20th century, freer in structure than the şarkı and usually short and lively. Its sectional layout and choice of usul follow no fixed pattern; it may show Western and folk-music influences.^[28]

Fasıl Form

A concert format in which works in the same makam are sung and played one after another in a fixed order. A classical fasıl usually begins with a taksim and a peşrev, and ends with a saz semai after the beste, semai and şarkı pieces.^[29]

Fasıl heyeti Performance

The ensemble that performs a fasıl: the hânendes (singers) together with the sâzendes (instrumentalists) playing kanun, oud, tanbur, ney, kemençe, violin and percussion.

Fer‘ Usul

A large sixteen-beat usul, also known as Fer‘-i Muhammes. In one of the darbeyn usuls it is used in succession with Muhammes; the piece by Abdülhalim Ağa in the archive is also measured in this Fer‘ + Muhammes sequence.^[30]

Fer‘-i Muhammes Usul

The name of the Fer‘ usul in Kantemir's Edvâr; it is a large sixteen-beat usul. It appears in Kantemir's edvâr and in the instrumental pieces of the Kevserî Mecmuası; the example in the archive is Kantemir's muhayyer peşrev written in 16/8.^[31]

Ferahfezâ makamı Ferahfeza makam Makam

A makam with karar Yegah and güçlü Acem, wandering in the low register. Dede Efendi's Ferahfeza Mevlevî âyini is among the well-known works in this makam.

Ferahnâk-Aşîrân makamı Ferahnâk-Aşîrân makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Irak (F bakiye sharp) and güçlü Dügah (A). Its name combines Ferahnak and Aşiran; its key signature contains C and F bakiye sharp.

Ferahnâk makamı Ferahnak makam Makam

A makam with karar Irak and güçlü Dügah; formed by transposing the Segah color onto the pitch Irak.

Ferahnümâ makamı Ferahnümâ makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Yegah (D), with güçlü Rast (G). Its key signature contains B and E bakiye flat; its name means “showing cheerfulness” in Persian.

Firengî Fer‘ Usul

A large twenty-eight-beat usul whose name means “European-style fer‘”; it consists of two yürük semais and four sofyans and is written in 28/4. It is said to have been devised with inspiration from Frenkçin; it was used very rarely, and the surviving examples are bestes.^[32]

Form Form

The type of a work and the arrangement of its sections: peşrev, saz semai, beste, şarkı, türkü, and so on. In this site's sheet music archive, each work's form is shown together with its makam and usul.

Frenkçin Usul

A 12-beat small usul (12/8 and 12/4); formed by combining two semai and three nim sofyan. Used in peşrev, beste and some religious works.

G

Gazel Form

A verse form in Ottoman divan poetry; in music, the improvised, free-rhythm singing of such a poem by a hânende, tracing the makam's seyir. It is considered a kind of vocal taksim.

Related: Taksim Gazelhan Kaside

Gazelhân Performance

A hânende skilled at singing gazel; a singer who performs an improvised, free-rhythm vocal taksim.

Related: Gazel Hânende (singer)

Geçki Geçki (modulation) Makam

A transition from one makam to another within a work or a taksim; the melody usually returns to the main makam by the end. Skillful modulations enrich a work.

Genişleme Genişleme (extension) Makam

The extension of a makam's scale below its karar pitch or above its highest pitch. In the extended section, either the scale's own pitches or other pitches may be used.

Related: Scale Makam

Gerdâniye Pitch and interval

The pitch an octave above Rast; written as high G in Western notation. It is the güçlü (dominant) pitch of the makam Mahur.

Gerdâniyebûselik makamı Gerdâniyebûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Gerdaniye (G). Its name combines Gerdaniye and Buselik; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Geveşt Pitch and interval

An octave below the pitch Mahur; F raised by 5 commas (F küçük mücenneb sharp), 4 commas below Rast.

Related: Mahur Irak Rast

Girizgâh Form

Introduction; the opening section played by instruments at the start of a work, or a part that prepares the transition to a section.

Related: Aranağme Taksim

Gonca Lyric vocabulary

A flower not yet opened, especially a rosebud. In classical poetry it is an image of freshness and of the beloved's mouth; a bud that never opens also evokes a short-lived beauty.

Gonca-fem Lyric vocabulary

Bud-mouthed: having a mouth small and lovely like an unopened rosebud (fem: mouth). An established simile for the beloved in classical poetry; it appears in Dede Efendi's composition “Bir gonca-femin yâresi”.

Gonca-i-Rânâ makamı Gonca-i-Rânâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Neva (D) and güçlü Acem (F). Its key signature has no accidentals; its name means “beautiful rosebud”.

Göğüs Göğüs (soundboard) Instrument

In string instruments such as the oud and tanbur, the upper face of the body, that is, the soundboard; usually made of thin wood, it lets the sound project.

Related: Tekne (body)Eşik (bridge)

Güçlü Güçlü (dominant) Makam

The most important pitch in a makam scale after the karar; a center that the melody visits often and where it makes half-cadences. In AEÜ theory it is usually the pitch where the scale's tetrachord and pentachord meet.

Güldeste makamı Güldeste makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its key signature contains D bakiye sharp and F küçük mücenneb sharp (the pitch Mahur); its name means “bouquet of flowers”.

Gülizâr makamı Gülizâr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its name means "rose-cheeked"; it is related to Uşşak, Beyati and Hüseyni, which also rest on Dügah.

Gülşen-i-Vefâ makamı Gülşen-i-Vefâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Yegah (D) and güçlü Dügah (A). Its name means “rose garden of loyalty”; its key signature contains B küçük mücenneb flat and C and F bakiye sharp.

Gülzâr makamı Gülzâr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Yegah (D) and güçlü Dügah (A). Its name means “rose garden” in Persian; its key signature has only B koma flat.

H

Habl-i zer Lyric vocabulary

Golden rope, golden thread: habl means “rope”, zer “gold”. In poetry it serves as a simile for a bright, fine thread; in the spider couplet it describes the thread of the spider's web.

Hafif Usul

A 32-beat large usul; formed from eight sofyan following one another in different arrangements (32/8, 32/4, 32/2). Its pace is lively; used mostly in second bestes, and also in peşrev, kâr and ilahi.

Related: Hafif metronome Beste Kâr

Halile Instrument

A large pair of brass cymbals; used in dervish-lodge music and Mevlevî âyins.

Hamparsum notası Hamparsum notation Notation

The notation system developed in the early 19th century by Hamparsum Limonciyan (1768–1839), written with signs derived from Armenian letters. It is based on seven root signs and shows 14 pitches from Rast to Gerdaniye, not counting the octave; the position of some pitches is flexible in performance. Many Mevlevî âyins and classical works were recorded in this notation.^[33]

Hâne Form

In instrumental works such as peşrev and saz semai, a main section after which the teslim is played; also used for the sections of vocal works.

Related: Teslim Peşrev Saz semai

Hânende Hânende (singer) Performance

A vocalist, a singer; the performer who sings vocal works.

Hâvî Usul

A large usul of sixty-four beats; its name means “containing”, since it includes usuls such as sofyan, yürük semai and nim hafif. It is used in peşrevs and first bestes in the 64/4 and, more often, the 64/2 mertebe.^[34]

Hazin Lyric vocabulary

Sad, sorrowful, deeply touching. The lyrics of Rahmi Bey's first work open with “Gül hazin…”.

Hezeç Usul

A large usul of 22 beats; İsmail Hakkı Özkan gives it in 22/4 in beat groups of 6+4+4+4+4. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam counts it among the 22-beat usuls; Ekrem Karadeniz gives a 44-beat pattern under the same name. The Miras-ı Saz archive has no piece in this usul.^[35]

Hicaz Pitch and interval

An in-between pitch 5 commas above Çargah (C küçük mücenneb sharp). One comma below it is called Nim hicaz (C bakiye sharp); the Hicaz tetrachord mostly uses Nim hicaz.

Hicaz dörtlüsü Hicaz tetrachord Pitch and interval

A tetrachord made of a küçük mücenneb, an augmented second and a küçük mücenneb (S A S: 5 + 12 + 5 commas); built on Dügah it gives the pitches Dügah–Dik kürdi–Nim hicaz–Neva.

Hicaz makamı Hicaz makam Makam

A makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D), recognized by the augmented second in the Hicaz tetrachord. Together with Hümayun, Uzzal and Zirgüleli Hicaz, it forms the Hicaz family.

Hicaz-Zemzeme makamı Hicaz-Zemzeme makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its name shows that it combines the Hicaz and Zemzeme colors; its key signature contains B küçük mücenneb flat and C bakiye sharp.

Hicazaşîrân makamı Hicazaşîrân makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Dügah (A). As its name suggests, it carries the Hicaz color down to the low register, to the pitch Aşiran; its key signature has B küçük mücenneb flat and C and F bakiye sharp.

Hicazbûselik makamı Hicazbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). As its name suggests, it combines the Hicaz and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B küçük mücenneb flat and C bakiye sharp.

Hicâzî-Uşşak makamı Hicâzî-Uşşak makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). As its name shows, it combines the Hicaz and Uşşak colors; its key signature contains B küçük mücenneb flat and C bakiye sharp.

Hicazkâr-Kürdî makamı Hicazkâr-Kürdî makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name combines the Hicazkar and Kürdi colors; its key signature contains A, B and E bakiye flat.

Hicazkâr makamı Hicazkar makam Makam

A transposed (şed) makam with karar Rast and güçlü Gerdaniye; it is considered the Zirgüleli Hicaz scale transposed onto the pitch Rast. Its scale contains two Hicaz tetrachords.

Hisar Pitch and interval

An in-between pitch 5 commas above Neva and 4 commas below Hüseyni (D küçük mücenneb sharp). It is used in the Hicaz tetrachord built on Neva in makams such as Hüzzam and Suzinak.

Hisarbûselik makamı Hisarbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). It takes its name from the Hisar and Buselik colors it combines; from the classical period to the present it has been used in peşrevs, semais and şarkıs.

Holder koması Holder koması (Holdrian comma) Theory

One of the 53 equal parts of the octave, about 22.6 cents; named after the 17th-century English theorist William Holder. In the 53-equal division, 4, 5, 8 and 9 Holdrian commas match AEÜ’s Pythagorean bakiye, küçük mücenneb, büyük mücenneb and tanini intervals within less than 1 cent, which is why “comma” in teaching usually means this unit. The sounds on this site are also calculated with the 53-equal division.

Hümâyun makamı Hümayun makam Makam

A makam of the Hicaz family with karar Dügah. Its scale is made of a Hicaz tetrachord built on Dügah plus a Buselik pentachord built on Neva.

Hüseynî Pitch and interval

The main pitch a tanini above Neva; written as E in Western notation. It is the güçlü (dominant) pitch of the makams Hüseyni and Buselik; an octave below it is called Hüseyni-aşiran.

Hüseynî-aşîrân Pitch and interval

An octave below the pitch Hüseyni; written as E in Western notation. It is also called simply “Aşiran.”

Related: Hüseyni Yegah Acem-aşiran

Hüseynî makamı Hüseyni makam Makam

A makam whose karar is Dügah and whose güçlü is Hüseyni (E). It carries the Uşşak color; its seyir begins around the güçlü, uses Eviç in the high register, and mostly uses Acem when descending.

Hüseynîaşîrân makamı Hüseyniaşiran makam Makam

A makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). It takes its name from its karar pitch; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Hüseynîgülizâr makamı Hüseynîgülizâr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its name combines the makams Hüseyni and Gülizar; like that of Hüseyni, its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Hüzî makamı Hüzî makam Makam

A makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its key signature contains only B koma flat; it shares the same karar and güçlü with Uşşak and Beyati.

Hüzzam-ı-Cedîd makamı Hüzzam-ı-Cedîd makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Irak (F bakiye sharp) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “new Hüzzam”; its key signature contains B koma flat, E küçük mücenneb flat and F bakiye sharp.

Hüzzam makamı Hüzzam makam Makam

A makam with karar Segah and güçlü Neva. The Hicaz tetrachord built on Neva (Neva–Hisar–Eviç–Gerdaniye) gives it its deep, dignified color.

I

Irak Pitch and interval

An octave below the pitch Eviç; F raised by 4 commas (F bakiye sharp). Makams such as Eviç, Ferahnak and Bestenigar come to rest (karar) on the pitch Irak.

Iraksak Usul

The name of a nine-beat usul written in 9/8 in the SymbTr corpus. The only example in the archive is Kemânî Tatyos Efendi's hüzzam şarkı beginning with the words “Gözüm hasretle giryândır”.^[36]

Related: Iraksak metronome Aksak

Isfahan makamı Isfahan makam Makam

One of the old makams with karar Dügah and güçlü Neva, using the colors of Beyatî and Rast together.

Related: Isfahan makam Beyatî makam

Isfahânek makamı Isfahânek makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name is the diminutive form of Isfahan; its key signature contains B koma flat.

İ

İcra İcra (performance) Performance

The playing or singing of a work; the person who does this is called an icracı (performer). In makam music, performance is enriched with ornaments and stylistic touches not written in the notation.

İkiz Aksak Usul

A small twelve-beat usul; in the usul lists of TDV and İsmail Hakkı Özkan it is counted among the 12-beat usuls. The example in the archive is Üzeyir Hacıbeyov's türkü “Çırpınırdı Karadeniz”, written in 12/8.^[37]

İlahi Form

A religious vocal work sung in dervish lodges, mosques and religious gatherings, mostly composed in small usuls.^[38]

İnici-çıkıcı seyir İnici-çıkıcı seyir (descending-ascending path) Makam

A type of seyir in which the melody starts from the güçlü pitch or the middle of the scale, wanders between the high and low registers, and then reaches the karar. Makams such as Beyatî and Hüseyni are of this type.

İnici seyir İnici seyir (descending path) Makam

A type of seyir in which the melody starts from the high register of the scale and descends step by step toward the karar. Makams such as Mahur and Muhayyer are of this type.

K

Kaba Kaba (low) Theory

A low, deep sound. Placed before a pitch name it shows the octave below that pitch (kaba çargah, for example); it is also used to describe the lowest range of an instrument.

Related: Tiz (high)Kaba çargah Octave

Kaba çârgâh Pitch and interval

The pitch one octave below Çargah; a tanini (9 commas) below Yegah. It is written as C in Western notation and used in the lowest range of low-pitched instruments.

Related: Kaba (low)Çargah Yegah

Kabak kemane Instrument

A folk instrument whose body is carved from a gourd and covered with skin, held upright on the knee and played with a bow. It is closely identified with the melodies of the Teke region.

Kalenderî Form

A vocal work composed on lyrics written in the kalenderî genre of âşık and divan poetry. It also appears in the mehter repertoire; the examples in the archive are by Mahmud II and Numan Ağa.^[39]

Kantemir notası Cantemir notation Notation

The letter notation used by Dimitrie Cantemir (1673–1723) in his work Kitâbu 'İlmi'l-Mûsikî 'alâ Vechi'l-Hurûfât (The Book of the Science of Music According to Letters). Pitches are written with letters and durations with numerals; one octave from Rast to Gerdaniye has 17 pitches. With this notation Cantemir recorded hundreds of the peşrev and saz semâî pieces of his time; the notation of his contemporary Nâyî Osman Dede (d. 1729) is similar.^[24]

Kanto Form

A lively song of late 19th-century Istanbul improvised (tuluat) theatre, usually sung and danced by a female performer. The name comes from the Italian canto (song); its lyrics are mostly in syllabic metre.^[40]

Kanun Instrument

A trapezoid-bodied string instrument, usually with 24–27 courses of three strings each, played with picks worn on the fingers. Its pitches are adjusted in small steps with mandals; on this site it can be played in the browser.^[41]

Kapalı Curcuna Usul

The closed (kapalı) way of striking the Curcuna usul; İsmail Hakkı Özkan lists it separately from Açık Curcuna in his list of usuls. It has ten beats, is written in 10/8 in the archive (10/16 in two pieces), and all the pieces here are şarkıs.^[42]

Kâr Form

The largest and most elaborate type of vocal work; usually composed with extended terennüm sections in large usuls, showcasing the composer's skill.^[43]

Kâr-ı nâtık Form

A large vocal work whose lyrics name makams and usuls, the music moving into each makam and usul at the point where its name is sung. It usually begins with Rast; Dede Efendi's has 26 makams and Ahmet Avni Konuk's 119.^[44]

Kâr-ı nev Form

A name meaning “new kâr”. Dede Efendi's work “Gözümde dâim hayâl-i cânâ”, in makam Rast and usul Ağır Düyek, is known by this name and counted among the works reflecting the composer's new explorations.^[45]

Karadeniz kemençesi Black Sea kemençe Instrument

A three-string instrument of the Eastern Black Sea with a narrow, long body, held upright and played with a bow. It is the instrument of the horon and kemençe tunes; it is a separate instrument from the classical kemençe.

Karar Karar (tonic) Makam

The pitch on which a makam ends its melody and which gives a sense of completion when the melody comes to rest there; the makam's “home.” It is also called the durak (resting) pitch.

Karcığar makamı Karcığar makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah and güçlü Neva. Its scale is made of the Uşşak tetrachord plus a Hicaz pentachord built on Neva; it is also very popular in folk music.

Kârçe Form

A vocal work considered a smaller kâr, shorter and composed in smaller usuls.

Kaside Form

A genre in religious music in which a poem is sung freely and improvised, without a fixed usul; it has the nature of a vocal taksim.

Kaşık Wooden spoons (kaşık) Instrument

A folk instrument in which rhythm is kept by striking two wooden spoons together between the fingers. It is used in the dance tunes of the Konya, Silifke and Aegean regions.

Katikofti Usul

The old name of the Müsemmen usul; a small eight-beat usul written in 8/8, made up of a semai and a Türk aksağı. Why this word of Greek origin came to be used as a music term is not known.^[46]

Related: Müsemmen Katikofti metronome

Kaval Instrument

A reedless, long, open-ended folk instrument blown from the side; known as the shepherds' instrument.

Related: Kaval instrument Ney

Ke Usul

A stroke lighter than tek; also pronounced kâ. As in the “düm – tek – ke” count of the Sofyan usul.

Related: Tek Düm Sofyan metronome

Keman Keman (violin) Instrument

A bowed instrument of Western origin; it has been widespread in Turkish music since the 19th century and is played with its own distinctive style.

Related: Violin instrument Kemençe

Kemençe Instrument

In classical Turkish music, a pear-shaped, small-bodied, three-string instrument held upright on the knee and played with a bow; the strings are touched from the side with the fingernails. The Black Sea kemençe is a separate folk instrument.

Kırık hava Form

A folk-music melody with a regular rhythm, tied to a fixed usul; most türkü and dance tunes are of this type.

Related: Uzun hava Türkü Usul

Kız ahengi Performance

An ahenk in which the Rast perde, written as G, sounds as A; it is a whole tone higher than mansur ahengi and lower than bolahenk. It takes its name from the ney called kız ney.

Related: Ahenk Mansur

Klarnet Clarinet Instrument

A keyed wind instrument blown through a single-reed mouthpiece. It entered the Ottoman world with military bands in the 19th century; in Turkish music a fasıl and taksim tradition developed mostly around the lower-tuned G clarinet.

Klasik Türk müziği Classical Turkish music History and institutions

The art music tradition based on the makam and usul system, developed in the Ottoman palace, dervish lodges and urban circles; also known by names such as Turkish art music, Turkish mûsikî and Ottoman music.

Related: Makam Usul Fasıl Eras

Koma Koma (comma) Theory

The small unit used to measure intervals in makam music; a whole tone (tanini) is counted as 9 commas. The Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek theory builds its pitches from Pythagorean ratios (the Pythagorean comma, about 23.5 cents); dividing the octave into 53 equal parts (the Holder comma, about 22.6 cents) matches this system within less than 1 cent and is what is used in practice, including on this site.

Koma bemol Koma bemol (koma flat) Notation

An AEÜ accidental that lowers the pitch it is written on by 1 comma. The pitch Segah (B koma flat) is written with it.

Koma diyez Koma diyez (koma sharp) Notation

An AEÜ accidental that raises the pitch it is written on by 1 comma.

Kontrbas Double bass Instrument

The largest and lowest-pitched of the bowed instruments, played held upright while standing. In the fasıl and radio ensembles of Turkish music it took on the lowest voice of the ensemble.

Kopuz Instrument

One of the oldest known string instruments of the Turks; it appears in the Dede Korkut stories as the instrument of the ozans (bards). It is regarded as the ancestor of many long-necked string instruments such as the bağlama and the dombra.

Koşma Form

The most widespread verse form of folk poetry; it usually consists of 11-syllable quatrains and is written to be sung with the saz. Besides türküs with koşma lyrics, there are also koşmas set in an usul by classical composers.^[47]

Köçekçe Form

A sequence of works to accompany the dance of the köçeks, made by stringing together türkü and şarkı pieces, mostly in the same makam but in different usuls.

Köprü arkası sesi Behind-the-bridge sound Performance

A short, dry, high-pitched sound produced on the kanun by striking with the plectrum the short string segments behind the bridge, between the bridge and the tailpiece; also called the behind-the-bridge stroke. It is sprinkled in as an accent, especially in lively, rhythmic pieces, and is a technique distinct from şelpe and çekme. On the virtual kanun you can try it by touching the short strings to the right of the bridge.

Kös Instrument

The largest drum of the mehter band; with a copper-kettle-shaped body, played with a beater.

Kûçek makamı Kûçek makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C). In terms of karar, güçlü and key signature (B koma flat, D küçük mücenneb flat), it shares the same framework as the makam Saba.

Kudüm Instrument

A percussion instrument made of two small copper hemispherical drums covered with skin, played with two sticks. It keeps the usul in Mevlevî âyins.^[48]

Kudümzenbaşı Performance

The person who plays the kudüm in the Mevlevî mutrib and directs the usul and tempo of the âyin.

Related: Kudüm Mutrib

Küçük mücenneb Pitch and interval

A five-comma interval; abbreviated S. It is the interval between Segah and Çargah in the Uşşak tetrachord, and the first and last interval in the Hicaz tetrachord.

Küçük mücenneb bemol Küçük mücenneb bemol (küçük mücenneb flat) Notation

An accidental in AEÜ notation that lowers a pitch by 4 commas. The pitch Dik kürdi (B küçük mücenneb flat) in the Hicaz tetrachord is written with it.

Küçük mücenneb diyez Küçük mücenneb diyez (küçük mücenneb sharp) Notation

An accidental in AEÜ notation that raises a pitch by 5 commas. The pitches Mahur (F küçük mücenneb sharp) and Hicaz (C küçük mücenneb sharp) are written with it.

Küçük usul Küçük usul (small usul) Usul

Usuls generally between 2 and 15 beats (such as Sofyan, Aksak, Düyek and Curcuna). Used in works such as şarkı, türkü and saz semâîsi.

Related: Büyük usul (large usul)Usul

Küpe Form

The name given to the sections of Ahmed Avni Konuk's 119-makam Rast Kâr-ı Nâtık (Fihrist-i Makâmât), each of which introduces one makam; the lyrics are also by Konuk, and most of them mention the name of the makam. In the archive each küpe appears as a separate piece.^[49]

Related: Kâr-ı nâtık Makam

Kürdî Pitch and interval

An in-between pitch 4 commas (a bakiye) above Dügah; written in Western notation as B bakiye flat (5 commas below B). It defines the Kürdi tetrachord and makams such as Nihavend and Kürdi.

Kürdî dörtlüsü Kürdi tetrachord Pitch and interval

A tetrachord made of a bakiye and two taninis (B T T: 4 + 9 + 9 commas); built on Dügah it gives the pitches Dügah–Kürdi–Çargah–Neva.

Kürdî-Gerdâniye makamı Kürdî-Gerdâniye makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name combines Kürdi and Gerdaniye; its key signature contains B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Kürdî makamı Kürdi makam Makam

A makam with karar Dügah and güçlü Neva. Its scale is made of the Kürdi tetrachord plus a Buselik pentachord built on Neva; the bakiye of its first interval gives it its distinctive color.

Kürdîlihicazkâr makamı Kürdilihicazkar makam Makam

A transposed (şed) makam with karar Rast and güçlü Çargah; the Kürdi color transposed onto the pitch Rast. It has been widely used, especially in 20th-century şarkı compositions.

L

Lenk Fahte Usul

A small ten-beat usul; it is also called aksak fahte because of its hidden limp, and nim fahte because it is half of Fahte. It is mostly written in 10/4 and used in peşrev, beste and âyin; it is the traditional usul of nakış bestes.^[50]

Longa Form

A fast, lively instrumental work in 2/4 time, of Balkan and Rumelian origin, written in a hâne-and-teslim structure. It was often played at the end of a fasıl in the 20th century.

M

Mâhur Pitch and interval

An in-between pitch a tanini above Hüseyni; F raised by 5 commas (F küçük mücenneb sharp), 4 commas below Gerdaniye. It is the characteristic pitch of the makam Mahur; an octave below it is called Geveşt.

Related: Geveşt Eviç Mahur makam

Mâhur makamı Mahur makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast and güçlü high Gerdaniye. Its scale is made of a Çargah pentachord built on Rast plus a Çargah tetrachord built on Neva; it has a descending seyir and resembles the major scale.

Mâhurbûselik makamı Mâhurbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). As its name suggests, it combines the Mahur and Buselik colors; its key signature contains F küçük mücenneb sharp (the pitch Mahur).

Makam Makam

A melodic system made up of a particular scale, tonic (karar) and dominant (güçlü) pitches, and the seyir rules that describe how the melody moves within that scale. Hundreds of makam names are known in Turkish music; some of them are in common use.^[51]

Mandal Instrument

The small metal levers at the end of each course on the kanun, which change the vibrating length of a string when raised or lowered. On most kanuns a semitone is divided into six mandals: one mandal is about 17 cents, slightly smaller than the theoretical comma (about 22.6 cents). Mandals can also be raised and lowered while playing.

Mandra Form

Also called mandıra; a dance tune usually played in the seven-beat usul Devr-i Tûran. The usul Devr-i Tûran itself is also called by this name; the example in the archive is Lavtacı Andon's Hicaz Mandra.^[52]

Mansur Performance

A low, full-toned length of ney and its ahenk; the Rast perde, written as G, sounds as G, i.e. it is heard at the written pitch. It is lower than bolahenk and is often preferred in Mevlevî âyins.

Related: Ahenk Şah ahengi Ney

Marş March Form

A piece with a regular, strong rhythm suited to marching. In Turkish music it has a broad repertoire stretching from mehter tunes to the 19th-century band marches, “Ceddin Deden” and the İstiklâl Marşı (national anthem).^[53]

Mâverâünnehr makamı Mâverâünnehr makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). It takes its name from the region of Transoxiana (Maveraünnehr) in Central Asia; its key signature has no accidentals.

Mecmua History and institutions

Manuscript or printed books in which composed poems (güfte) were collected along with their makam, usul and composer information. In periods when notation was not widespread, they are among the main sources for tracing works.

Related: Edvar Meşk

Mehter History and institutions

The Ottoman military band; made up of davul, kös, nakkare, zurna, trumpet and cymbals. It was abolished in 1826 and revived again in the 20th century.^[54]

Mersiye Mersiye (elegy) Form

A poem written in mourning and praise of someone who has died, and a work composed on such a poem. In religious music, the mersiyes sung in the tekkes during the month of Muharram, especially for Hz. Hüseyin and the martyrs of Karbala, hold an important place.^[55]

Mertebe Notation

The number that shows the time unit of an usul, that is, the denominator of the time signature: the mertebe is 4 in the 28/4 form of Devr-i Kebir and 8 in its 28/8 form; it is 8 in the 9/8 Aksak and 4 in the 9/4 Ağır Aksak. The same usul can be slowed down or sped up by writing it with a different mertebe.

Meşk Performance

The traditional method of teaching, not based on notation, in which the teacher sings a work and the student memorizes it by repetition; done while tapping out the usul. Works have largely been passed down from generation to generation through meşk.^[56]

Meşkhâne History and institutions

The place where meşk is carried out, where a teacher teaches works to students; also used for music societies founded for this purpose.

Related: Meşkhâne (3D)Meşk Darülelhan

Mevlevî âyini Form

A large religious work performed during the Mevlevî sema ceremony. It opens with a na't, a ney taksim and a peşrev; after the four selams it ends with a closing peşrev and a closing yürük semai.

Mevlevî Evferi Usul

The slow mertebe of the Evfer usul, written in 9/4 (Ağır Evfer); it is almost invariably the usul of the second selâms of Mevlevî âyins. The second selâms usually begin with the Türk aksağı, the second part of the usul.^[5]

Mevlevîhâne History and institutions

The lodge of Mevlevî dervishes; important centers where âyins were performed and musical training was carried on. The Galata, Yenikapı and Konya mevlevîhanes are among the well-known ones.^[57]

Related: Mevlevî âyini Sema Mutrib

Mey Instrument

A short-bodied wind folk instrument with a wide double reed and a soft, misty sound.

Related: Mey instrument Zurna

Meyan Form

In şarkı and beste, the section usually corresponding to the third line, where the melody rises to the high register or modulates to another makam; also called miyan.

Mızıka-yı Hümâyun History and institutions

The Ottoman palace band and music school founded after the abolition of the mehter in 1826; it gave instruction in Western music under the direction of Giuseppe Donizetti.

Related: Mehter Enderun

Mızrap Mızrap (pick) Instrument

A tool used to strike and set a string vibrating in string instruments. On the kanun it is wedged into the yüksük; on the oud it is traditionally made of eagle feather, and today mostly of plastic.

Related: Tezene Yüksük Oud

Mi'râciye Form

A poem narrating the Prophet's mi'rac (ascension), and a religious work composed on such a poem. The best known is Nâyî Osman Dede's mi'râciye, sung like a mevlid on the night of Mi'rac, made up of sections in seven makams with tevşihs between them.^[58]

Muhâlif makamı Muhâlif makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Rast (G), with güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “contrary”; its key signature contains only B koma flat.

Muhammes Usul

A large usul of 32 beats (32/4); used in beste and peşrev.

Muhayyer Pitch and interval

The pitch an octave above Dügah; written as high A in Western notation. The melodic path (seyir) of the makams Muhayyer and Muhayyerkürdi starts from this pitch.

Muhayyer makamı Muhayyer makam Makam

A makam that uses the scale of the makam Hüseyni, with karar Dügah. It is recognized by beginning its seyir from the high pitch Muhayyer and descending.

Muhayyerbûselik makamı Muhayyerbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Muhayyer (A). Its name combines the Muhayyer and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Muhayyerkürdî makamı Muhayyerkürdi makam Makam

A makam that uses the Kürdi scale, with karar Dügah. It differs from Kürdi by beginning its seyir from the high pitch Muhayyer and descending.

Muhayyersünbüle makamı Muhayyersünbüle makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Muhayyer (A). It takes its name from the pitches Muhayyer and Sünbüle; its key signature contains B koma flat and D küçük mücenneb flat.

Murabba Form

A poetic form made of four-line stanzas, and a work composed to this form. Most beste pieces of the classical fasıl are set to a murabba lyric.

Mûsikî Theory

A word used in Ottoman Turkish and Arabic to mean music. It appears in names such as “Türk mûsikîsi” (Turkish mûsikî) and “mûsikî-i Osmânî” (Ottoman mûsikî), and in the titles of older works.

Related: Classical Turkish music

Mutrib Performance

A person who plays an instrument or sings, a musician; the word often appears in this sense in classical poetry and song lyrics (“Ey mutrıb-ı zevk-âşinâ”). In Mevlevî lodges it also denotes the ensemble of instrumentalists and singers who perform the âyin, and the raised section overlooking the semahane where they sit.

Müberka makamı Müberka makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Yegah (D), with güçlü Dügah (A). Its key signature contains only B bakiye flat (the pitch Kürdi).

Mücenneb Pitch and interval

The common name for intervals that fall between the tanini (9 commas) and the bakiye (4 commas). It has two kinds: küçük mücenneb (5 commas, S) and büyük mücenneb (8 commas, K).

Mülâzime Form

The old name for the section repeated after each hâne, especially in peşrevs; today it is more often called teslim.

Related: Teslim Hâne

Mürekkep-Isfahan makamı Mürekkep-Isfahan makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Yegah (D) and güçlü Dügah (A). The word “mürekkep” (compound) in its name shows that it is a compound form of Isfahan; it makes its karar in the low register.

Mürekkep Nîm Sofyan Usul

A small usul of 6 beats; the usul lists of the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam and İsmail Hakkı Özkan count it among the 6-beat usuls together with Yürük Semai. Its name means “compound nim sofyan”; the Miras-ı Saz archive has no piece in this usul.^[59]

Mürekkep Semâî Usul

A small usul of 9 beats; its name means “compound semai”. İsmail Hakkı Özkan gives it in 9/8 with three strokes: a düm of three beats and two teks of three beats each. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam counts it among the 9-beat usuls; the Miras-ı Saz archive has no piece in this usul.^[60]

Mürekkep Sofyan Usul

A small twelve-beat usul; in the lists of TDV and İsmail Hakkı Özkan it appears among the 12-beat usuls under the name “birleşik sofyan” (compound sofyan). The example in the archive is Hacı Ârif Bey's ısfahan şarkı “Canda hâsiyyet mi var”, written in 12/8.^[37]

Müsemmen Usul

A small eight-beat usul written in 8/8; it is formed by combining a semai and a Türk aksağı. Hacı Ârif Bey is held to have devised it and been the first to use it; it is also known as Katikofti and is used mostly in şarkı, türkü and ilahi.^[46]

Müstear makamı Müstear makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Segah (B koma flat) and güçlü Neva (D). It belongs to the Segah family; like Segah and Hüzzam, it rests on this pitch.

N

Nağme Theory

Tune, melody; also a single note or sequence of notes. It also appears in compound terms such as “aranağme.”

Related: Aranağme Seyir (melodic path)

Nağme-i sâz Lyric vocabulary

The melody of the instrument: nağme means “melody”, sâz “instrument”.

Nakarat Form

A line or section repeated unchanged after each stanza in şarkı and türkü.

Related: Şarkı Meyan Teslim

Nakış Form

A name placed before certain vocal-work types (such as nakış beste and nakış yürük semai); in these works the lyric, terennüm and usul arrangement are more ornate and varied than usual.

Nakkare Instrument

A pair of small kettle-shaped drums used in the mehter and in old palace music.

Related: Nakkare instrument Mehter Kös

Na't Form

A poem praising the Prophet Muhammad, and a work composed to such a poem. Mevlevî âyins open with the singing of Itrî's Na't-ı Mevlânâ in the makam Rast.

Related: Mevlevî âyini Na'than

Na'thân Performance

The hânende who sings the Na't-ı Mevlânâ alone at the beginning of the Mevlevî âyin.

Related: Na't Âyinhan

Nazariyat Theory Theory

The theory of music: the field of knowledge that studies how intervals, pitches, makams and usuls are defined and classified. The most widely taught theory in Turkish makam music today is the Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek system.

Nefes Form

A Sufi work, mostly in syllabic metre, sung in the cem and other ceremonies of the Alevis and Bektashis; it is the counterpart of the ilahi in Sunni tekkes. It is composed in small usuls, and its melodies are close to folk music.^[61]

Nev-civân Lyric vocabulary

A fresh youth, a young man: nev means “new, fresh”, civân “young”. Rahmi Bey's last song opens with “Bir nev-civânsın”.

Nevâ Pitch and interval

The main pitch a pentachord (31 commas) above Rast; written as D in Western notation. It is the güçlü (dominant) pitch of many makams such as Rast, Uşşak, Hicaz and Nihavend.

Nevâ makamı Neva makam Makam

One of the old makams with karar Dügah and güçlü Neva, concentrating its seyir around the pitch Neva. It is a close relative of Uşşak and Hüseyni.

Related: Nevâ makam Neva

Nevâbûselik makamı Nevâbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). As its name shows, it combines the Neva and Buselik colors; its key signature contains B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Nevâkürdî makamı Nevâkürdî makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name shows that it combines the Neva and Kürdi colors; its key signature contains B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Nev'eser makamı Nev'eser makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “new work”; its key signature contains B and E küçük mücenneb flat and C and F bakiye sharp.

Nevrûz makamı Nevrûz makam Makam

A makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C). It is one of the six avazes in the old edvar books; its name means “new day” in Persian.

Ney Instrument

A wind instrument made of reed, with nine joints and six holes in front and one at the back. It is the principal instrument of Mevlevî music; its mouthpiece is called the başpare.^[62]

Neyzenbaşı Performance

The head of the ney players in the Mevlevî mutrib; he usually performs the ney taksim at the beginning of the âyin.

Related: Ney Mutrib

Nigâr makamı Nigâr makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its key signature has no accidentals; its name means “beloved, beautiful one” in Persian.

Nihâvend-i-Kebîr makamı Nihâvend-i-Kebîr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “great Nihavend”; like that of Nihavend, its key signature is B and E bakiye flat.

Nihâvend-i-Rûmî makamı Nihâvend-i-Rûmî makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Rast (G), with güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “Nihavend of Rum (Anatolia)”; its key signature contains B and E bakiye flat.

Nihavend makamı Nihavend makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast and güçlü Neva. Its scale is made of a Buselik pentachord built on Rast plus a Kürdi (or Hicaz) tetrachord built on Neva; it resembles the minor scale of Western music.

Nikrîz makamı Nikriz makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast and güçlü Neva. The Nikriz pentachord built on Rast (tanini, küçük mücenneb, augmented second, küçük mücenneb) gives it a color close to Hicaz.

Nîm Theory

A Persian word meaning “half.” In pitch names it shows a slightly lower version of the pitch of the same name: nim hicaz, nim hisar, nim zirgüle, and so on.

Nîm Berefşan Usul

A large sixteen-beat usul that is half of the Berefşan usul; it consists of a semai, a Türk aksağı and two sofyans. It was used in peşrev, beste and ilahi; of its examples only Şerif's bayati peşrev has survived to the present day.^[63]

Nîm Çenber Usul

A small usul of 12 beats; its name means “half çenber”. İsmail Hakkı Özkan gives it in 12/4 in beat groups of 4+6+2. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam counts it among the 12-beat usuls; the Miras-ı Saz archive has no piece in this usul.^[64]

Nîm Devir Usul

A large eighteen-beat usul obtained by removing ten beats from Devr-i Kebir; it consists of a yürük semai and three sofyans. It is mostly used in the 18/4 mertebe in peşrev, beste and ilahi.^[65]

Nîm Evsat Usul

A thirteen-beat usul that is half of the Evsat usul; it consists of a Türk aksağı and two sofyans and, like Evsat, ends on a düm. In the 13/8 and 13/4 mertebes it is used above all in ilahis and tevşihs, and in some şarkıs and türküs.^[66]

Nîm Hafîf Usul

A sixteen-beat usul that is half of the Hafif usul; it consists of four sofyans and forms the last sixteen beats of the Darb-ı Fetih and Havi usuls. In the 16/4 mertebe it is used in kâr, peşrev, beste and some ilahis.^[67]

Related: Nim Hafif metronome Hafif Havi

Nîm Sakîl Usul

A large twenty-four-beat usul that is half of the Sakil usul; it consists of a sofyan, two yürük semais and two sofyans. It is mostly used in the 24/4 mertebe in kâr, beste, peşrev and ilahi; today its velveleli form is played.^[68]

Related: Nim Sakil metronome Sakil Kâr

Nim Sofyan Usul

The smallest usul, in 2/4 time, made of düm and tek.

Related: Nim sofyan metronome Sofyan

Ninni Lullaby Form

A folk poem, usually in quatrains, sung to a particular melody to put a child to sleep or to soothe it. It is usually anonymous; there are also composed examples, such as Tanbûrî Cemil Bey's “Dağda tavşanlar uyur”.^[69]

Nişâbur makamı Nişâbur makam Makam

A makam with karar Buselik (B) and güçlü Neva (D). It takes its name from the city of Nishapur in Iran; its key signature contains C bakiye sharp.

Nişâburek makamı Nişâburek makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its name is related to the Nişabur makam, named after the city of Nishapur in Iran.

Nişâbureyn makamı Nişâbureyn makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Buselik (B) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “two Nişaburs”; like Nişabur, it makes its karar on the pitch Buselik.

Nühüft makamı Nühüft makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Hüseyni-aşiran (E), with güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “hidden, concealed” in Persian; its key signature contains B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

O

Oktav Octave Theory

The interval between a pitch and another whose frequency is twice as high; 53 commas in the AEÜ system. In Turkish music, the pitches at the two ends of an octave usually have different names: an octave above Rast is Gerdaniye, and above Dügah is Muhayyer.

Orta ikili Orta ikili (neutral second) Pitch and interval

A second between a semitone and a whole tone, roughly 130–170 cents. Arab music theory writes it as three quarter tones (150 cents). In Turkish makam music some intervals heard in performance around pitches such as Segâh and Eviç fall in this range; AEÜ notation writes them as a 5-comma küçük mücenneb or an 8-comma büyük mücenneb. The Dügâh–Segâh interval of the Uşşak tetrachord, for example, is 8 commas (about 181 cents) on paper but usually narrower in measured performances. The audio example plays 7 commas (about 158 cents) above Dügâh.

Oynak Usul

A small nine-beat usul written in 9/8; it is formed by combining semai usuls and has six strokes. It is used in türkü and şarkı; according to a letter by Suphi Ezgi it was collected from the people of Yalvaç, and H. S. Arel gave it its name.^[70]

Oyun havası Dance tune Form

A melody played to accompany folk dances and dancing, usually instrumental and lively. Zeybek, horon, halay, çiftetelli, köçekçe, longa and sirto are varieties of this genre.^[71]

Ö

Ölçü Ölçü (measure, bar) Notation

A section of notation separated by vertical bar lines, containing one cycle of the usul or a part of it. Large usuls are written divided into several measures.

Related: Mertebe Usul

Örnek-öz Form

In the SymbTr corpus, the form name given to short wordless examples of a few measures that move through the makam's scale in a brief melody and end on the karar. Those in the archive are Hüseyin Sadettin Arel's six examples in the sofyan usul.^[72]

P

Pençgâh-ı-Asl makamı Pençgâh-ı-Asl makam Makam

A makam regarded as the original form of Pençgah. Its karar is Rast (G), its güçlü Neva (D), and its key signature B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Pençgâh-ı-Zâid makamı Pençgâh-ı-Zâid makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). The word “zaid” (increased, extra) in its name shows that it is an expanded form of Pençgah.

Pençgâh makamı Pençgâh makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “fifth place” in Persian; like that of Rast, its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Perde Perde (pitch) Theory

A sound of a specific pitch and its name; in makam music every pitch has its own name, such as Rast, Dügah or Segah. The same word is also used for the frets on fretted instruments that mark where the finger presses.

Perde bağı Perde bağı (fret) Instrument

A tie fixed on the neck of fretted instruments that marks where the finger should press. It is found on the tanbur and bağlama; the oud and cümbüş are fretless.

Related: Tanbur Bağlama Perde (pitch)

Perîşan Lyric vocabulary

Scattered, dishevelled; figuratively, sad and in a wretched state. In poetry it is used both for dishevelled hair or hyacinth and for a heart in pain.

Pesendîde makamı Pesendîde makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means "admired"; it is one of the makams that rest on Rast.

Peşrev Form

An instrumental work usually made of four hânes with a teslim repeated after each, composed in large usuls. Both the classical fasıl and the Mevlevî âyin open with a peşrev.^[73]

Peydâ olmak Lyric vocabulary

To come forth, to appear, to emerge; peydâ means “evident, visible”. “Oldu bahârın âsârı peydâ”: the signs of spring have begun to appear.

Peyk-i Neşât makamı Peyk-i Neşât makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “messenger of joy”; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Pisagor koması Pisagor koması (Pythagorean comma) Theory

The amount by which twelve pure fifths (3/2) stacked on top of each other exceed seven octaves; its ratio is 531441/524288, about 23.5 cents. In Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek theory the comma is this interval: the bakiye, küçük mücenneb, büyük mücenneb and tanini intervals are built from Pythagorean ratios and counted as 4, 5, 8 and 9 commas. These counts are approximate; the bakiye (256/243, about 90 cents), for example, is not exactly 4 Pythagorean commas.

R

Râhatfezâ makamı Râhatfezâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Irak (F bakiye sharp) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “increasing comfort” in Persian; it makes its karar in the low register, on the pitch Irak.

Rahatülervah makamı Rahatülervah makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Irak (F bakiye sharp), with güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “the comfort of souls”; its key signature contains B küçük mücenneb flat and C and F bakiye sharp.

Raks Aksağı Usul

A nine-beat usul (5+4) made up of a Türk aksağı and a sofyan; in this structure it is the reverse of Aksak (4+5). It is mostly written in 9/8 and used in şarkı, ilahi, Bektashi nefes, the fourth hâne of saz semais and dance tunes.^[74]

Rast Pitch and interval

The main pitch taken as the starting point of the Turkish pitch system; written as G in Western notation. Makams such as Rast, Mahur and Nihavend come to rest on this pitch; the octave above it is called Gerdaniye.

Rast dörtlüsü Rast tetrachord Pitch and interval

A tetrachord made of a tanini, a büyük mücenneb and a küçük mücenneb (T K S: 9 + 8 + 5 commas); built on the pitch Rast it gives the pitches Rast–Dügah–Segah–Çargah.

Rast-ı-Cedîd makamı Rast-ı-Cedîd makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “new Rast”; its key signature is the same as that of the makam Rast (B koma flat, F bakiye sharp).

Rast makamı Rast makam Makam

A fundamental makam whose karar is Rast (G) and whose güçlü is Neva (D). Its scale is made of the Rast pentachord plus a Rast tetrachord built on Neva; when descending, Acem is mostly used instead of Eviç.

Rast-Mâye makamı Rast-Mâye makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). As its name shows, it combines the Rast and Maye colors; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Rebab Instrument

A bowed instrument with a round, skin-covered body and a long spike; it has also been used in Mevlevî music.

Related: Rebab instrument Kemençe

Rehâvî makamı Rehâvî makam Makam

An old compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). It has been mentioned in edvar books for centuries; it rests on the same pitch as the Rast makam but differs from it in its seyir.

Remel Usul

A large usul of 28 beats; used in beste and peşrev.

Reng-i Dil makamı Reng-i Dil makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Acem-aşiran (F) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “color of the heart”; its key signature contains B koma flat and A and D küçük mücenneb flat.

Revnâknümâ makamı Revnâknümâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Irak (F bakiye sharp) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “showing brilliance”; its key signature has five accidentals: B and E koma flat, and C, F and A bakiye sharp.

Reyyâ makamı Reyyâ makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch C, with güçlü Rast (G). Its key signature has five accidentals: B koma flat, E and A küçük mücenneb flat, C and F bakiye sharp.

Rûh-i revân Lyric vocabulary

Flowing, living soul; revân means “flowing, moving”. In poetry it is used as an address to the beloved, in the sense of “soul of my soul”.

Ruhnüvâz makamı Ruhnüvâz makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Rast (G). Its name means “soul-caressing”; its key signature contains F küçük mücenneb sharp (the pitch Mahur).

Rûy-i Dilârâ makamı Rûy-i Dilârâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “heart-adorning face” in Persian; its key signature contains only B koma flat.

Rûy-i-Irâk makamı Rûy-i-Irâk makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Irak (F bakiye sharp) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “the face of Irak”; its key signature contains B and E koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

S

Sabâ-Aşîrân makamı Sabâ-Aşîrân makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Çargah (C). As its name suggests, it uses the Saba color in the low register, on the pitch Aşiran; its key signature is the same as that of Saba.

Saba makamı Saba makam Makam

A makam with karar Dügah and güçlü Çargah. The opening pattern formed by the pitches Dügah–Segah–Çargah–Hicaz, narrower than a tetrachord, gives it its sorrowful, poignant color.

Sabâ-Zemzeme makamı Sabâ-Zemzeme makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C). It belongs to the Saba family; it combines the sorrowful color of the Saba makam with the Zemzeme çeşni.

Sabâbûselik makamı Sabâbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Çargah (C). As its name shows, it combines the Saba and Buselik colors; its key signature is the same as that of Saba.

Sad-pâre Lyric vocabulary

In a hundred pieces, shattered: sad means “hundred”, pâre “piece”. “Sîne-i sad-pâre” means a shattered breast, a wounded heart.

Sakîl Usul

A large usul of forty-eight beats; its name means “heavy” in Arabic. In the 48/8, 48/4 and 48/2 (Ağır Sakil) mertebes it is used in large forms such as peşrev, kâr and beste; in slow peşrevs each hâne is usually one cycle of the usul.^[75]

Salât-ı ümmiyye Form

The setting, sung in unison, of a short Arabic prayer invoking blessings and peace upon the Prophet; a variety of the salâ genre. In the mevlid it is sung standing after the velâdet (nativity) section; its common setting is Itrî's in Segâh.^[76]

Salâtüselâm Form

A religious work, composed or improvised, on the Arabic words of prayer invoking blessings and peace upon the Prophet; a variety of the salâ genre. It is sung in mosques, at mevlids and in tekke ceremonies.^[77]

Santur Instrument

A trapezoid-bodied instrument with many strings, played by striking the strings with two thin mallets. It is widespread in Persian music, and was also played in the Ottoman period.

Related: Santur instrument Kanun

Sap Sap (neck) Instrument

In fretted string instruments, the long part extending from the body on which the fingers press the strings; on the tanbur and bağlama the frets are located on this neck.

Related: Perde bağı (fret)Tekne (body)

Saz eseri Saz eseri (instrumental work) Form

A work composed without words, for performance by instruments alone: peşrev, saz semai, longa, sirto, and so on.

Saz semâîsi Saz semai Form

An instrumental work made of four hânes and a teslim. The first three hânes and the teslim are usually in Aksak Semai (10/8), while the fourth hâne is in a different usul such as Yürük Semai; a fasıl usually closes with a saz semai.

Sâzende Sâzende (instrumentalist) Performance

An instrumentalist; a performer who plays an instrument.

Related: Hânende (singer)Fasıl heyeti

Sazkâr makamı Sazkâr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). It makes its karar on Rast and holds its güçlü on the fifth degree, on the pitch Neva; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Segâh Pitch and interval

The main pitch 8 commas (a büyük mücenneb) above Dügah; written in Western notation as B koma flat (1 comma below B). It is the characteristic pitch of the Rast and Uşşak tetrachords; the makams Segah and Hüzzam come to rest on this pitch.

Segâh makamı Segah makam Makam

A makam with karar Segah (B koma flat), distinctive to Turkish music for coming to rest on a comma-pitch. Neva is mostly given as its güçlü.

Related: Segâh makam Segah Hüzzam makam

Segâh-Mâye makamı Segâh-Mâye makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Segah (B koma flat) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name shows that it combines the Segah and Maye colors; its key signature has B and E koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Selâm Form

Each of the four main sections of the Mevlevî âyin; each selam accompanies a stage of the sema with its own usul and melody.

Selmek makamı Selmek makam Makam

A makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Segah (B koma flat). It is one of the six avazes in the old edvar books; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Semâ Performance

The turning performed by Mevlevî dervishes to musical accompaniment during the âyin; the turning dervish is called a semazen.

Semâî Form

The general name for works composed in the Semai usul; ağır semai, yürük semai and saz semai all belong to this family. Folk music also has vocal tunes called “semai.”

Semâî usulü Semai usul Usul

A small usul in 3/4 time with the strokes düm–tek–tek; used in şarkı and türkü, and in some sections of yürük semai pieces.

Sengin Semâî Usul

An usul in 6/4 time with a fairly slow pace; used in şarkı and some religious works.

Serbest Usul

A designation for pieces or sections performed without a fixed usul, in free rhythm; taksim and gazel are of this kind. In the archive, one section of Nâyî Osman Dede's Sabâ Mi‘râciye appears without usul.^[78]

Related: Taksim Gazel Mi'râciye

Serhânende Performance

The head of the hânendes; the singer who chooses the works in a fasıl, directs the ensemble and mostly keeps the usul.

Related: Hânende (singer)Fasıl heyeti

Ses düzeni Ses düzeni (tuning system) Theory

The system that sets the number and positions of the pitches within the octave in a musical tradition. In the history of makam music, Safiyyüddin Urmevî’s 17-pitch system, the 24-pitch Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek system built on Pythagorean ratios, the division of the octave into 53 equal commas and the 72-equal division behind today’s kanun mandals (six mandals per semitone) have been used or proposed; the Western piano divides the octave into 12 equal semitones. On this site notation follows AEÜ and is played in 53 equal commas; the kanun is tuned to the 72-equal division by default.

Seyir Seyir (melodic path) Makam

The path a melody follows within a makam's scale: where it starts, which pitches it pauses on and how it reaches the karar. Makams that share the same scale, such as Uşşak and Beyatî, are distinguished by their seyir.

Sıra Sıra (course) Instrument

A group of strings on the kanun tuned to the same pitch; each course usually has three strings.

Related: Kanun Mandal

Sihr-i tarab Lyric vocabulary

A spell of joy, a magic that gladdens the heart: sihr means “magic”, tarab “joy, rapture”. It appears in Rahmi Bey's song recalling the playing of Tanbûrî Cemil Bey.

Sîne Lyric vocabulary

Breast, bosom; in poetry it is spoken of as the seat of feelings, pain and love. It also appears in Rahmi Bey's phrase “sînemde cânsın”.

Sipihr makamı Sipihr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its name means “sky, firmament” in Persian; its key signature contains only B koma flat.

Sipsi Instrument

A small, high-pitched, single-reed folk wind instrument made of cane. It is played in zeybek and teke tunes in the Aegean and Teke regions.

Sirto Form

A lively instrumental work and dance in 2/4 time, of Balkan origin; a type close to the longa.

Sofyan Usul

An usul in 4/4 time with the strokes düm–tek–ke; widely used in şarkı and ilahi.

Related: Sofyan metronome Nim Sofyan Ke

Sözlü eser Sözlü eser (vocal work) Form

A work composed to a set of lyrics (güfte), meant to be sung: beste, kâr, şarkı, ilahi, türkü, and so on.

Sultan-ı-Irak makamı Sultan-ı-Irak makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “sultan of Irak”; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Sultânîsegâh makamı Sultânîsegâh makam Makam

A compound makam that, like Sultaniyegah, makes its karar in the low register on the pitch Yegah (D); its güçlü is the pitch Neva (D). Its key signature contains B and E koma flat.

Sultânîyegâh makamı Sultaniyegah makam Makam

A makam with Yegâh (low D) as its karar and Dügâh as its güçlü. Its scale is made of a Buselik pentachord on Yegâh plus a Hicaz tetrachord on Dügâh; it resembles the Nihavend scale transposed to Yegâh.

Sûzidil makamı Sûzidil makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Buselik (B). It is known for resting in the low register; its name means "heart-burning" in Persian.

Sûzidilârâ makamı Sûzidilârâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its scale uses the pitch Mahur; it is counted among the makams composed by Selim III.

Sûzinak makamı Suzinak makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast and güçlü Neva. Its scale is made of the Rast pentachord plus a Hicaz tetrachord built on Neva.

Sûzinâk-Zirgüle makamı Sûzinâk-Zirgüle makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Neva (D). As its name suggests, it combines the color of the Suzinak makam with the pitch Zirgüle.

Sünbül Lyric vocabulary

Hyacinth. In classical poetry it is likened to the beloved's hair for its scent and curling shape.

Sünbüle Pitch and interval

An octave above the pitch Kürdi; the pitch 4 commas (a bakiye) above Muhayyer. It is the pitch that gives the Kürdi color in the upper register.

Related: Kürdi Muhayyer Tiz (high)

Süpürde Performance

An ahenk in which the Rast perde, written as G, sounds as C; it is a whole tone lower than bolahenk and higher than kız ahengi. It corresponds to the length of the ney of the same name.

Related: Ahenk Bolahenk

SymbTr Notation

A machine-readable notation collection of more than two thousand Turkish makam music works, prepared by the Music Technology Group (MTG) of Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. It is the source of this site's sheet music archive.

Ş

Şah ahengi Performance

An ahenk in which the Rast perde, written as G, sounds as F; it is a whole tone lower than mansur ahengi. It takes its name from the şah ney.

Related: Ahenk Mansur

Şark Musikisi Cemiyeti History and institutions

A music society founded in Istanbul in the early 20th century, working for the teaching and performance of classical Turkish music.

Şarkı Form

The most common short vocal form of classical Turkish music; mostly composed in small usuls, made of the zemin, nakarat and meyan sections. It became widespread in the 19th century through Hacı Ârif Bey.^[79]

Şarkı Devr-i Revânı Usul

A thirteen-beat usul composed for the şarkı form; it consists of a semai, two sofyans and a nim sofyan, and its first seven beats have the structure of Devr-i Hindi. It is mostly written in 13/4; over time it fell out of use.^[80]

Şed Şed (transposition) Makam

The transposition of a makam scale onto another pitch. Kürdilihicazkar, for example, is thought of as the Kürdi scale transposed onto the pitch Rast.

Şed makam Şed makam (transposed makam) Makam

A makam formed by transposing a makam scale onto another pitch and given a new name. Hicazkar and Kürdilihicazkar are cited as examples of this type.

Şedarabân makamı Şedarabân makam Makam

A şed makam formed by transposing the Zirgüleli Hicaz scale to the pitch Yegah: its karar is Yegah (D) and its güçlü is Neva (D). It is the low-register member of the Hicaz family.

Şehnaz Pitch and interval

The pitch 5 commas above Gerdaniye; also known as high zirgüle. It is used in the Hicaz color of the upper register of the makam that bears its name, Şehnaz.

Related: Zirgüle Gerdaniye Şehnaz makam

Şehnaz makamı Şehnaz makam Makam

A makam of the Hicaz family with karar Dügah, whose seyir begins in the high register and descends. It uses the pitch Şehnaz in the high register.

Şehnâzbûselik makamı Şehnâzbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Muhayyer (A). As its name suggests, it combines the colors of Şehnaz and Buselik; it belongs to the Buselik family.

Şerefnümâ makamı Şerefnümâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Yegah (D) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “showing honor”; its key signature contains B küçük mücenneb flat and C and F bakiye sharp.

Şevk-ı-Cedîd makamı Şevk-ı-Cedîd makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “new zeal”; its key signature contains B bakiye flat, E küçük mücenneb flat, and C and F bakiye sharp.

Şevk-ı-Dil makamı Şevk-ı-Dil makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Rast (G), with güçlü Neva (D). Like that of the makam Rast, its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp; its name means “zeal of the heart”.

Şevkâver makamı Şevkâver makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Acem-aşiran (F) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “bringing zeal”; its key signature contains B and E koma flat.

Şevk'efzâ makamı Şevk'efzâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Acem-aşiran (F) and güçlü Gerdaniye (G). Its name means "increasing zeal"; it is one of the makams that rest on the low F.

Şevkutarab makamı Şevkutarab makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Acem-aşiran (F), with güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “zeal of joy”; its key signature contains B koma flat and D küçük mücenneb flat.

Şîvenümâ makamı Şîvenümâ makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Yegah (D) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “showing lament” in Persian; its key signature contains B koma flat and D küçük mücenneb flat.

Şuğul Form

A type of religious work similar to the tevşih, sung in dervish lodges and religious gatherings.

Şûh Lyric vocabulary

Merry, lively, coquettish. In classical poetry it describes the cheerful, charming beloved; “şûh-i cihân” means the most coquettish in the world.

T

Tâhir makamı Tâhir makam Makam

An old compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Muhayyer (A). It is also called Baba Tahir; it rests on the same pitch as Uşşak and Beyati and is distinguished by moving around the high register.

Tâhirbûselik makamı Tâhirbûselik makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Muhayyer (A). As its name suggests, it combines the color of the Tahir makam with Buselik.

Taksim Performance

An improvised instrumental performance, not tied to a fixed usul, that displays the seyir of a makam. It is performed before or between works, and may pass through other makams via modulation.^[81]

Tam perde Tam perde (main pitch) Theory

The pitches that make up the main scale in traditional theory: Yegah, Hüseyni-aşiran, Irak, Rast, Dügah, Segah, Çargah, Neva, Hüseyni, Eviç, Gerdaniye, Muhayyer and so on. The pitches that fall between them are called ara perde (in-between pitches).

Tanbur Instrument

A fretted string instrument with a long neck and a small, round body; considered a symbol of classical Turkish music. The frets on its neck are placed to produce the pitches of makam music.^[82]

Tanini Pitch and interval

A nine-comma interval, that is, a whole tone; abbreviated T. The interval between Rast and Dügah, and between Çargah and Neva, is a tanini.

Tar Instrument

A fretted string instrument played with a plectrum, with a figure-eight, double-bowled body covered with membrane. It is the principal instrument of Azerbaijani and Iranian music and is also played in Eastern Anatolia.

Tarz-ı-Cedîd makamı Tarz-ı-Cedîd makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Acem-aşiran (F) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “new style”; its key signature contains only B bakiye flat.

Tarz-ı-Nevîn makamı Tarz-ı-Nevîn makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Çargah (C). Its name means “new style” in Persian; its key signature contains B bakiye flat and D küçük mücenneb flat.

Tavır Tavır (style) Performance

The distinctive playing or singing style of an instrument, a school or a performer; it covers ornaments, emphasis and the way the melody is shaped.

Related: İcra (performance)Ağız

Tavşanca Form

A popular vocal genre of the Ottoman period, performed like the köçekçe by kaba saz (outdoor) ensembles to accompany dancing; its lyrics are mostly in syllabic metre. The archive has tavşancas by Selim III, Mahmud II and Tanbûrî Mustafa Çavuş.^[83]

Tef Instrument

A frame drum with small cymbals fitted to its rim and one face covered with skin; also called def.

Tek Usul

The high, light stroke of an usul; produced on the kudüm with the left hand, and on the darbuka by striking near the edge.

Related: Düm Ke Tekâ

Tek Vuruş Usul

A small usul of 11 beats; İsmail Hakkı Özkan gives it in 11/8 in beat groups of 5+6: a düm and a tek of two beats, a tek of one beat; then a düm of two beats and two teks. Ekrem Karadeniz gives a different 19-beat pattern under the same name.^[64]

Tekâ Usul

A stroke formed by two teks struck quickly one after the other, like a single stroke. Some sources describe it as a strong tek struck with both hands at once.

Related: Tek Düm

Tekbîr Form

The composed setting of the tekbir text beginning with the words “Allāhu akbar”; a form of Turkish religious music. Its most widespread setting is the Segâh tekbir attributed to Itrî, sung together on religious holidays and at religious ceremonies.^[84]

Tekke musikisi Tekke musikisi (dervish-lodge music) History and institutions

The religious music performed in dervish lodges: it covers genres such as ilahi, durak, şuğul, tevşih and Mevlevî âyins. It holds an important place in the development of classical Turkish music.

Tekne Tekne (body) Instrument

In instruments such as the oud, tanbur and bağlama, the half-pear- or half-sphere-shaped back body, made by carving or by joining thin ribs.

Related: Göğüs (soundboard)Oud Tanbur

Terennüm Form

A section in vocal works sung with meaningless syllables and short words (such as ten-ni, ya lel, dost, aman); it takes up a large part especially in kâr and beste.

Related: Kâr Beste

Terkeylemek Lyric vocabulary

To leave and go away, to abandon. Hacı Ârif Bey's song opens with “Niçin terkeyleyip gittin a zâlim”, that is, “why did you leave and go, O cruel one”.

Terkib Makam

A melodic pattern formed by combining more than one genus (cins) or makam color, generally not considered an independent makam. Sources do not always draw the line between a terkib and a makam in the same way.

Tesbih Form

A form of mosque music in which words glorifying God are recited. After the prayer it is sung by muezzins, mostly without usul and improvised; there are also composed examples in an usul, and tesbih ilahis sung from the minaret on Ramadan nights.^[85]

Te'sîr Lyric vocabulary

Effect, influence; the impression something leaves on a person. In the lyrics it describes the enchanting effect of the instrument's melody.

Teslim Form

The section repeated after each hâne in a peşrev or saz semai; it functions like the work's refrain.

Related: Hâne Mülazime Peşrev

Tevşîh Form

A religious work sung by a group between the sections of a Mevlid recitation, mostly composed in medium-sized usuls.

Tezene Instrument

The pick used on fretted instruments such as the bağlama and tanbur. The tanbur's tezene is traditionally made of tortoiseshell or a similar material.

Related: Mızrap (pick)Bağlama Tanbur

Tiz Tiz (high) Theory

A high, thin sound. Placed before a pitch name it shows the octave above that pitch (tiz segah, tiz çargah, and so on); some pitches have a separate name for their upper octave: the octave above Rast is Gerdaniye, and above Dügah is Muhayyer.

Related: Kaba (low)Octave Gerdaniye

Tulum Instrument

A wind instrument with a double pipe attached to an air bag made of goatskin. It is played at horons and festivities in the highlands of the Eastern Black Sea.

Türk Aksağı Usul

An aksak usul in 5/8 time; used in şarkı and folk music.

Related: Türk aksağı metronome Aksak

Türk Darbı Usul

An usul with several forms; Ekrem Karadeniz gives its first form in 14/4 with the strokes düm, teke, düm, tek, düm, düm, and its 18-beat form is Darb-ı Türki. The example in the archive is an ilahi by Ali Ufkî Bey written in 14/4.^[86]

Türkmen Usul

The name of an eighteen-beat usul written in 18/8 in the SymbTr corpus. The only example in the archive is the anonymous hicaz-hümayun ilahi beginning with the words “Hâk hâk diyen âşıklar”.^[36]

Related: İlahi

Türkü Form

The vocal genre of folk music; mostly anonymous or composed by folk bards (ozan). Those with a fixed usul are called kırık hava, and those in free rhythm are called uzun hava.

U

Ud Oud Instrument

A fretless string instrument with a short neck and a pear-shaped body; played with a pick. Being fretless, it easily produces the subtleties of makam pitches.^[87]

Usul Usul

A rhythmic cycle made of strokes of differing weight (düm, tek, ke…) arranged in a fixed order. Turkish music has many usuls, from the 2-beat Nim Sofyan to the 120-beat Zencir.^[88]

Usul vurmak Usul vurmak (keeping the usul) Usul

Keeping the usul by tapping the knees with the hands (düm with the right hand, tek with the left). In the traditional meşk method of teaching, the usul is tapped out together while memorizing a work.

Related: Meşk Düm Tek Tools

Uşşak dörtlüsü Uşşak tetrachord Pitch and interval

A tetrachord made of a büyük mücenneb, a küçük mücenneb and a tanini (K S T: 8 + 5 + 9 commas); built on Dügah it gives the pitches Dügah–Segah–Çargah–Neva.

Uşşak makamı Uşşak makam Makam

A common makam whose karar is Dügah (A) and whose güçlü is Neva (D). Its scale is made of the Uşşak tetrachord plus a Buselik pentachord built on Neva; it begins its seyir around the karar.

Uzun hava Form

A folk-music melody sung in free rhythm, not tied to a fixed usul; it has types such as bozlak, divan and hoyrat.

Related: Kırık hava Türkü Gazel

Uzzâl makamı Uzzal makam Makam

A makam of the Hicaz family with karar Dügah and güçlü Hüseyni. Its scale is made of a Hicaz pentachord built on Dügah plus an Uşşak tetrachord built on Hüseyni.

Related: Hicaz-Uzzâl makam Hicaz makam

V

Vecd-i Dil makamı Vecd-i Dil makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Yegah (D) and güçlü Dügah (A). Its name means “ecstasy of the heart”; its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Vech-i-Arazbâr makamı Vech-i-Arazbâr makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Segah (B koma flat) and güçlü Gerdaniye (G). Its name means “the face of Arazbar”; like Arazbar, it makes its karar on the pitch Segah.

Vech-i-Şehnâz makamı Vech-i-Şehnâz makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Hüseyni (E). Its name means “the face of Şehnaz”; its key signature on the site has no accidentals.

Velvele Usul

Ornamental in-between strokes added between the main strokes of an usul. They make the usul sound livelier and fuller; used especially in kudüm and bendir performance.

Related: Usul Vuruş (stroke)Kudüm

Viyola Viola Instrument

A four-string bowed instrument slightly larger and lower-pitched than the violin. In Turkish music of the 20th century it filled the range between the violin and the cello in some fasıl and radio ensembles.

Viyolonsel Cello Instrument

A large, low-pitched, four-string bowed instrument held between the knees; the cello for short. It entered Turkish music ensembles at the beginning of the 20th century, and performers such as Mesud Cemil played it masterfully in makam music.

Vuruş Vuruş (stroke) Usul

The individual strokes that make up an usul (düm, tek, tekâ, ke) and their durations. An usul's character arises from the strong-light order of its strokes.

Related: Darb Usul Düm

Y

Yâre Lyric vocabulary

Wound; the form of the word found in old texts and song lyrics. “Yâre-i dil” means a wound of the heart.

Yaylı tanbur Yaylı tanbur (bowed tanbur) Instrument

The bowed form of the tanbur; it became known in the early 20th century through the recordings of Tanbûrî Cemil Bey.

Yeden Yeden (leading pitch) Makam

The pitch just below the karar that pulls the melody toward it. In most makams it is one pitch below the karar; in some makams a pitch close to a semitone away is used as the yeden.

Related: Karar (tonic)Makam

Yegâh Pitch and interval

The pitch a tetrachord (22 commas) below Rast; written as D in Western notation. It is an octave below Neva and is the karar (tonic) of makams such as Yegah and Ferahfeza.

Yegâh makamı Yegah makam Makam

A makam with karar Yegah (low D) and güçlü Rast; it comes to rest in the low register of the Rast scale.

Related: Yegâh makam Yegah Rast makam

Yeni Çârgâh makamı Yeni Çârgâh makam Makam

A makam with karar Çargah (C) and güçlü Gerdaniye (G). Its name shows that it is a new form of the makam Çargah; its key signature has no accidentals.

Yüksük Instrument

A metal ring worn on the index fingers of both hands while playing the kanun, in which the pick is wedged.

Related: Kanun Mızrap (pick)

Yürük semâî Form

A lively vocal work composed in the Yürük Semai usul (6/8); sung after the şarkı pieces in a classical fasıl.

Yürük Semâî usulü Yürük Semai usul Usul

An usul in 6/8 time (a 6/4 form also exists). Works in the yürük semai form, and the fourth hâne of saz semai pieces, are mostly in this usul.

Z

Zahme Instrument

A thin stick with a rounded tip used to play the kudüm; in some sources the term is also used for the bow of bowed instruments.

Related: Kudüm Kemençe

Zâlim Lyric vocabulary

Merciless, pitiless, oppressive. In classical poetry it is a frequent form of address to the beloved who makes the lover suffer.

Zâvil makamı Zâvil makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Rast (G) and güçlü Gerdaniye (G). Its scale uses the pitch Mahur; it is known for a color that lies between Rast and Mahur.

Zencir Usul

One of the largest usuls, at 120 beats. It is formed by joining the usuls Çifte Düyek, Fahte, Çenber, Devr-i Kebir and Berefşan one after another; used in beste.

Zevk-âşinâ Lyric vocabulary

A person of taste, one who understands refinement: âşinâ means “acquainted, knowing”. It describes someone who senses beauty and understands art; in Rahmi Bey's song it is an epithet for a mutrib (musician).

Zevk-i-Dil makamı Zevk-i-Dil makam Makam

A compound makam that makes its karar on the pitch Rast (G), with güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “delight of the heart”; like that of Rast, its key signature is B koma flat and F bakiye sharp.

Zevk-i-Tarab makamı Zevk-i-Tarab makam Makam

A compound makam with karar Dügah (A) and güçlü Neva (D). Its name means “delight of joy”; its key signature contains B bakiye flat, E küçük mücenneb flat, and C and F bakiye sharp.

Zeybek Form

A folk dance of Western Anatolia, usually danced in slow nine-beat aksak usuls (9/4, 9/8), and the melody of this dance. There are also examples composed as instrumental pieces, such as Tanbûrî Cemil Bey's Nikrîz zeybeks.^[89]

Zeyl Form

Literally “appendix.” Used for an additional part that follows a hâne or section in some works.

Related: Hâne Teslim

Zikir Performance

A communal act of worship in dervish lodges in which the names of God and prayers are repeated in a set order and rhythm; accompanied by ilahi, durak and şuğul pieces.

Zil Zil (cymbals) Instrument

A round metal instrument, usually of brass, held by its handles and played by striking the pair together. Various sizes are used in the mehter, and small finger cymbals in dervish lodges.

Zîrefkend makamı Zîrefkend makam Makam

A makam with karar Hüseyni-aşiran (E) and güçlü Rast (G). It is one of the twelve old makams in the edvar books; its key signature on the site has no accidentals.

Zirgüle Pitch and interval

An in-between pitch 5 commas above Rast (G küçük mücenneb sharp). It appears in low-register forms of the Hicaz scale and in makam names such as Zirgüleli Hicaz; the octave above it is called Şehnaz.

Zirgüleli Hicaz makamı Zirgüleli Hicaz makam Makam

A makam of the Hicaz family with karar Dügah. Its scale is formed by adding a second Hicaz tetrachord on Hüseyni to the Hicaz pentachord built on Dügah.

Zurna Instrument

A loud, conical, double-reed folk instrument; usually played outdoors together with the davul.

Related: Zurna instrument Mehter Mey

Sources

The definitions were written in our own words, drawing on sources such as the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Yılmaz Öztuna's Encyclopedic Dictionary of Turkish Music and Wikipedia; pitch and interval values follow the Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek system. This content has not yet been reviewed by an expert; if you spot a mistake, please write to us.

TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi
Yılmaz Öztuna, Türk Musikisi: Akademik Klasik Türk San'at Musikisi'nin Ansiklopedik Sözlüğü, Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, Ankara, 1990.
H. Sadettin Arel, Türk Mûsikîsi Nazariyatı Dersleri (haz. Onur Akdoğu), Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları, Ankara, 1991.
Vikipedi, “Türk müziği” maddesi.

Sources

TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Ağır Aksak” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Ağır Aksak Semâî” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Çenber” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Düyek” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Evfer” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Sengin Semâî” maddesi
M. Ekrem Karadeniz, Türk Mûsikîsinin Nazariye ve Esasları (aktaran: Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019)
Sibel Karaman, “Türk Mûsıkîsi’nde Kullanılan 9 Zamanlı Usûllerde Adlandırma ve İcra Hataları”, Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi (Ungay 1981’den)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Devr-i Revân” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Bektaşî Devr-i Revânı” maddesi
Gülçin Yahya Kaçar, “Bektaşî Nefeslerindeki Melodik ve Ritmik Özellikler”, Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Velî Araştırma Dergisi 55 (2010); TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Bektaşî Mûsikisi” maddesi
Gülçin Yahya Kaçar, “Bektaşî Nefeslerindeki Melodik ve Ritmik Özellikler”, Türk Kültürü ve Hacı Bektaş Velî Araştırma Dergisi 55 (2010); M. Ekrem Karadeniz, Türk Mûsikîsinin Nazariye ve Esasları (aktaran: Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi; İ. H. Özkan ve M. E. Karadeniz (Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı (Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019), s. 94 ve 123)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Çifte Düyek” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Çifte Sofyan” maddesi; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Yürük Aksak” maddesi
M. Ekrem Karadeniz, Türk Mûsikîsinin Nazariye ve Esasları (aktaran: Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019); SymbTr ve Miras-ı Saz nota arşivi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Darbeyn” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Dârülelhan” maddesi
Nâsır Abdülbâkî Dede, Tedkîk ü Tahkîk (çev. Yalçın Tura, 2006) ve Kantemiroğlu Edvârı (aktaran: Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Devr-i Tûran” maddesi
Vikipedi (tr), “Âşık edebiyatı” maddesi
M. Ekrem Karadeniz, Türk Mûsikîsinin Nazariye ve Esasları (aktaran: Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019); SymbTr (MTG, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) usul listesi ve Miras-ı Saz nota arşivi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Durak Evferi” maddesi
Ozan Yarman, “Kantemir, Ebced ve Hamparsum Notalarının Batı Dizek Yazımında Doğru İfade Edilmesi Üzerine”, İTÜ bildirisi, 2005 (ozanyarman.com/files/hurufnotalar.pdf)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Edvâr” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Enderun” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Evsat” maddesi
Vikipedi (tr), “Klasik Türk müziği” maddesi; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Fasıl” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Fasıl” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Darbeyn” maddesi; İsmail Hakkı Özkan, Türk Mûsikîsi Nazariyatı ve Usûlleri: Kudüm Velveleleri
İsmail Hakkı Özkan, Türk Mûsikîsi Nazariyatı ve Usûlleri: Kudüm Velveleleri; Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Firengî Fer‘” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Hamparsum Limonciyan” maddesi; Ozan Yarman, “Kantemir, Ebced ve Hamparsum Notalarının Batı Dizek Yazımında Doğru İfade Edilmesi Üzerine”, İTÜ bildirisi, 2005 (ozanyarman.com/files/hurufnotalar.pdf)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Hâvî” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi; İ. H. Özkan (Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı (Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019), s. 127)
SymbTr (MTG, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) usul listesi ve Miras-ı Saz nota arşivi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi; İsmail Hakkı Özkan, Türk Mûsikîsi Nazariyatı ve Usûlleri: Kudüm Velveleleri
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “İlâhi” maddesi
Vikipedi (tr), “Âşık edebiyatı” ve “Mehter” maddeleri
Vikipedi (tr), “Kanto” maddesi; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Güfte” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Kanun” maddesi
İsmail Hakkı Özkan, Türk Mûsikîsi Nazariyatı ve Usûlleri: Kudüm Velveleleri (aktaran: Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019); SymbTr (MTG, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) usul listesi ve Miras-ı Saz nota arşivi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Kâr” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Kâr-ı Nâtık” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “İsmâil Dede Efendi, Hamâmîzâde” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Müsemmen” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Koşma” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Kudüm” maddesi
Semih Okcu, “Ahmed Avni Konuk’a Ait Rast Kâr-ı Nâtık (Fihrist-i Makâmât) Adlı Eserin Müteferrik Satırlarının Makam ve Güfte Analizi”, AKRA Kültür Sanat ve Edebiyat Dergisi 8/21 (2020); TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Kâr-ı Nâtık” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Lenk Fahte” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Makam” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Devr-i Tûran” ve “Devr-i Hindî” maddeleri
Vikipedi (tr), “Marş” ve “Mehter” maddeleri
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Mehter” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Mersiye” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Meşk” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Mevlevîhâne” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Mi‘râciyye” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi; İsmail Hakkı Özkan, Türk Mûsikîsi Nazariyatı ve Usûlleri: Kudüm Velveleleri (“Mürekkeb (Bileşik) Nîm Sofyan Usûlü”); Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı (Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019), s. 122: 6/8, düm 3 + tek 3
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi; İ. H. Özkan, Türk Mûsikîsi Nazariyatı ve Usûlleri (Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı (Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019), s. 123)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Nefes” ve “Bektaşî Mûsikisi” maddeleri
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Ney” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Nîm-berefşan” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi; İ. H. Özkan (Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı (Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019), s. 124)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Nîm-devir” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Nîm-evsat” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Nîm-hafif” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Nîm-sakīl” maddesi
Vikipedi (tr), “Ninni” maddesi
Sibel Karaman, “Türk Mûsıkîsi’nde Kullanılan 9 Zamanlı Usûllerde Adlandırma ve İcra Hataları”, Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi
Vikipedi (tr), “Oyun havası” maddesi
SymbTr (MTG, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) usul listesi ve Miras-ı Saz nota arşivi (eser künyeleri ve notaları)
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Peşrev” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Raks Aksağı” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Sakīl” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Salât-ı Ümmiyye” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Salâ” ve “Salâtüselâm” maddeleri
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Durak Evferi” maddesi; SymbTr (MTG, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) usul listesi ve Miras-ı Saz nota arşivi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Şarkı” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Şarkı Devr-i Revânı” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Taksim” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Tanbur” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Fasıl” ve “Güfte” maddeleri
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Tekbir” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Tesbih” maddesi
M. Ekrem Karadeniz, Türk Mûsikîsinin Nazariye ve Esasları (aktaran: Muhammed Aydın, Türk Müziği Edvarları ve Nazariyat Kitaplarında Usûl Anlayışı, Marmara Üniv. yüksek lisans tezi, 2019); TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Darb-ı Türkî” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Ud” maddesi
TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Usul” maddesi
Vikipedi (tr), “Zeybek (oyun)” maddesi; TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Evfer” maddesi