Maqam Sikah on guitar

The notes, one by one

Steps are counted in equal quarter tones of 50 cents, the usual written convention for Arabic maqam. Real intonation shifts with region, maqam and player. Pitches are given in cents above the tonic; a fretted semitone is 100 cents.

Ajnas

A maqam is built from small units of three to five notes, each with its own colour. These are the units of Maqam Sikah.

• Jins Sikah

  On E half-flat, 3 notes

  E half-flat · F · G

• Jins Upper Rast

  On G, 4 notes

  G · A · B half-flat · C

• Jins Rast

  On C, 5 notes

  C · D · E half-flat · F · G

Sayr

Jins Sikah on the tonic, Upper Rast from the ghammaz, G, then Jins Rast on C, which carries on past the octave.

1. Jins Sikah, three notes wide, establishes the maqam around the tonic, E half-flat.
2. At the ghammaz, G, the melody passes into Jins Upper Rast, which leans up to C.
3. On C a Jins Rast takes over; C is a second ghammaz, and this jins holds the octave of the tonic as its third note.

Example phrase

Climbs Jins Sikah to rest on the ghammaz, G, goes up through Upper Rast to C, comes back down, and settles on the tonic after touching the D below it.

A short outline written for Fretwise that follows the sayr above. It is not a quotation from the repertoire. Press “Play the phrase” on the neck to hear it.

Sources

• MaqamWorld: Maqam Sikah

Tuning convention: 24-tone equal temperament. Intervals are written as in the source; practice varies by region and player.