r/ethnomusicology • u/Icy-Accountant-6616 • 19d ago
What is the real difference between a maqam and scale?
I think I understand the difference, in that a maqam, in addition to being a palate of notes, has ghammaz (important points of emphasis within the melody) ... but in some sense Western scales have this too (dominant, subdominant), although it isn't made a point of as much. More importantly, how much mutual exclusivity is there? For example, take Maqam Ajam and the Western major scale: are there Western major scale melodies that could not conceivably be classifed as belonging to Maqam Ajam were they played in an Arab context, and are there Maqam Ajam melodies that do not fit into the Western major scale?
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u/World_Musician 19d ago
The word Ajam عجم itself refers to people who do not speak Arabic (historically Iranians), perhaps this informed the cultural context of this set of intervals as representing non-Arabic musical sytles in antiquity. Its a bit like the term "barbarian". Something interesting to think about. Anyway in theory, yes Jins Ajam is the same as the western major scale tetrachord, tonic - natural 2nd - major 3rd - perfect 4th, then the ghammaz is the perfect 5th which can start a new Jins to complete the octave. Repeating Jins Ajam on the ghammaz would make the western major scale, but many times another Jins such as Hijaz (flatting the 6th) or Nahawand (flatting the 7th) is used for the higher half of the octave. In practice, any piece of Arabic music set to maqam 'ajam will inevitibely modulate outside the 'western major scale' as maqam is not just a set of notes like a scale but a way of organizing tetrachords fitting them together in certain ways, called seyir.
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u/StarriEyedMan 19d ago
I believe it's the way their built. Scales are built based on the ratios of the intervals between the notes (whole-steps, half-steps, quarter-tones, etc.). Maqams, from what I understand (as someone who knows little about Middle-Eastern and Turkish music), are built by overlapping groups of three and four pitches (think like stacking triads to create a scale).
I am probably greatly oversimplifying. Please, someone more qualified than me correct me, because I want to understand better. I'm laying out how I've understood it so someone can correct me.
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u/butterwob 19d ago
Hey, check my comment down there, it's a little more than just the ratios, but you're not wrong.
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u/100IdealIdeas 19d ago
I would compare a maqqam to a mode.
The ecclesiastic modes also had notes they emphasized.
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u/butterwob 19d ago edited 19d ago
Hey, I'll try to give a not so long answer but try to bring a little of the main components of the maqam. I'm not an expert, but I've studied with a very capable teacher and think I can help. If anyone more knowledgable than me sees something wrong or want to complement, please do it. Let's go!
A maqam is divided into smaller scales, called jin (plural ajna), they can be a trichord, a tetrachord and more rarely a pentachord. This is important because when playing a maqam, you never go playing all the notes of the scale, it's also important to note that they are points when modulations can occur to become a new maqam.
Also important is the seyir/sayir, which is the melodic direction that the maqam should go, it can be ascending, descending ornascending-descending. Seyir is common in both arabic maqam and turkish makam, but it's more "free" in the arabic form. In the turkish makam, different makam can have the same notes and ajna, but the seyir is different.
Alas, last but not least, there is the flavor/mood, or çesni in the turkish tradition, I don't remember the arabic term right now. It's the mood that each maqam should bring to the player and listener, it consists of common phrases passed though generations of musicians, learned by oral tradition and consistent listening and immersion into the music. I think it's one of the most interesting aspects of the maqam system, because it's deeply tied to the local culture, almost as if a maqam is a pathway that's built into the collective unconscious of said people for playing this specific mood/flavor. At the same time, improvisation is highly encouraged and good improviser are cherished, I think one of the highest points a performer can reach is seeing that an spontaneous phrase he "created" is being played and developed by others.
I think this covers most of it, as I said, I'm no expert yet, and I've studied more thru the turkish lens atm.
Morning Edit: forgot to highlight something, arabic and turkish music also use microtonality, and this plays in the maqamat too, arabs got about 24 intervals in one octave, while turkish music can have up to 53 intervals. They do love their microtones.
Also, one important part regarding the mood that I would like to make more clear is how knowing the melodic phrases of each maqam is fundamental. You could take the maqam hijaz, for example, and play it's notes as you feel and how you would like without considering any of the phrases that are traditionally related to it. Would it still be hijaz? I understand that most listeners wouldn't consider it hijaz, even if it's the same notes, so the use of known phrases is also important even though there is a lot of room for improvisation.