Theory

Esnek perde (flexible pitch)

Esnek perde

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).

Example pieces from the archive (53 in total)

Uşşak Sazsemâîsi · Neyzenbaşı Kaymakam
Bu Akşam Gün Batarken Gel · Kemânî Tatyos Efendi
Gamzedeyim Devâ Bulmam · Kemânî Tatyos Efendi
Uşşak Sazsemâîsi · Neyzen Aziz Dede
Kimseler Gelmez · Şevkî Bey

The Uşşak makam page: scale, seyir and all its pieces

Other terms in Theory

Ara perde (in-between pitch)Interval Dik Scale Holder koması (Holdrian comma)Kaba (low)Koma (comma)Mûsikî Nağme Theory Nim Octave Perde (pitch)Pisagor koması (Pythagorean comma)Ses düzeni (tuning system)Tam perde (main pitch)Tiz (high)

All terms

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.