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Turkish Makam

Makam Segâh on guitar

Also written Segâh Makamı, Segah

A Segâh pentachord on the Segâh perde with a Hicaz tetrachord on Eviç. The karar itself sits about 15 cents under the fretted B, so the home note of the makam is slightly off the fret, and so are Dik Hisar and Eviç.

The karar itself, B −15¢, is not on any fret: the home note of this makam lies between two frets.

Where every pitch lies

Makam Segâh, frets 0 to 12

123456789101112 E A D G B e B↓ C D E↓ F#↓ G A# B↓ C D E↓ F#↓ G A# B↓ C D D E↓ F#↓ G A# B↓ C D E↓ F#↓ G G A# B↓ C D E↓ F#↓ G 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 B −15¢ Karar Segâh 0.0¢ Nearest fret; the real pitch is 15¢ lower
2 C Çargâh 113.2¢ On the fret
3 D Güçlü Neva 317.0¢ On the fret
4 E −17¢ Dik Hisar 498.1¢ Nearest fret; the real pitch is 17¢ lower
5 F# −13¢ Eviç 701.9¢ Nearest fret; the real pitch is 13¢ lower
6 G Gerdaniye 815.1¢ On the fret
7 A# Sünbüle 1109.4¢ On the fret

Çeşniler

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

Seyir

Ascending (çıkıcı): it starts on the karar, around it, or in the register below it.

  1. Begins on the karar, Segâh, near it, or among the notes below it.
  2. Moves freely through the flavours of the makam and makes a half cadence on the güçlü, Neva.
  3. Shows suspended cadences along the way.
  4. Closes on Segâh with the Segâh flavour, usually through the leading tone below it, Kürdî.

Asma kararlar

Example phrase

Rises from Segâh to a half cadence on Neva, shows the rest of the Segâh pentachord up to Eviç, comes back down, and closes on Segâh through the leading tone below it.

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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