Seyir: more than up or down

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Structure of makam

Seyir concerns a makam’s melodic development, not merely running its scale upward or downward. Opening region, points of repose, expansion and final arrival work together. Closely related pitch material can support different melodic identities.

Map three things while studying a performance: where it begins, where it dwells and how it arrives. This is an observation method, not a composition recipe. Each makam needs its own theoretical and performance context; one rising contour cannot represent every makam’s behaviour.

Example

Use your own short pitch material to compare dwelling in a middle region with dwelling near a final. This alone is not an authenticated makam example.

Try it

Which three observations can supplement a makam pitch list?

Related topics

References

Makam — TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi

Subject-expert review pending.