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Turkish Makam

Makam Sabâ on guitar

Also written Sabâ Makamı, Saba

A Sabâ tetrachord on Dügâh joined to the Zirgüleli Hicaz scale on Çargâh. It is a compound makam that does not repeat at the octave: its upper karar is Şehnaz, a little under the octave of Dügâh.

This scale does not repeat at the octave. Climbing from the karar it runs A B↓ C D♭ E↓ F G A♭↑ B↓ C.

Where every pitch lies

Makam Sabâ, frets 0 to 12

123456789101112 E A D G B e A B↓ C D♭ E↓ F G A♭↑ A A B↓ C D♭ E↓ F G A♭↑ A B↓ C D♭ E↓ F G A♭↑ A B↓ C D♭ E↓ F G G A♭↑ A B↓ C D♭ E↓ F G A♭↑ A B↓ C D♭ E↓ F G A♭↑

Karar Güçlü Between the frets Tap any note to hear it at its exact pitch.

The notes, one by one

Intervals are counted in Holdrian commas, 53 to the octave (about 22.6 cents each), as in Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek theory. Performance practice differs from the theory in places. Pitches are given in cents above the karar; a fretted semitone is 100 cents.

# Note Perde Above the karar On a standard guitar
1 A Karar Dügâh 0.0¢ On the fret
2 B −19¢ Segâh 181.1¢ Nearest fret; the real pitch is 19¢ lower
3 C Güçlü Çargâh 294.3¢ On the fret
4 D♭ Hicaz 407.5¢ On the fret
5 E −21¢ Dik Hisar 679.2¢ Fret E, bend up 79¢
6 F Acem 792.5¢ On the fret
7 G Gerdaniye 996.2¢ On the fret
8 A♭ +9¢ Şehnaz 1109.4¢ Nearest fret; the real pitch is 9¢ higher

Çeşniler

A makam is built from small units of three to five notes, each with its own colour. These are the units of Makam Sabâ.

Seyir

Ascending (çıkıcı), at times ascending then descending: it starts around the karar or the güçlü, and turns around Çargâh.

  1. Begins around the karar, Dügâh, or the güçlü, Çargâh.
  2. With Çargâh as its axis, moves freely through the units of the scale and makes a half cadence on Çargâh with the Zirgüleli Hicaz flavour.
  3. Shows suspended cadences along the way.
  4. Closes on Dügâh with the Sabâ flavour.

Asma kararlar

Example phrase

Rises through the Sabâ tetrachord to rest on the güçlü, Çargâh, shows the Hicaz flavour above it up to Acem, falls back to Çargâh, and closes on Dügâh from Rast, the leading tone below.

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

Sources

Tuning convention: Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek. Intervals are written as in the source; practice varies by region and player.

How to play maqam on a standard guitar: when to bend, when to use the nearest fret

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