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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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.
Related: TheoryEbced notationEras
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.
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Source: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, “Edvâr” maddesi