Introduction and Abstract
Abstract
"Specters of Maqam" is a doctoral research project conducted since the Fall of 2024 at the Doctoral School of Artistic Research at the KUG in Graz, Austria. It investigates the structural and semiotic aspects of the Middle Eastern melodic language and its transpositions across contemporary and experimental forms of musical expression. Leaning on recent approaches in ethnomusicology, where Maqām is studied as a trans-cultural phenomenon (moving beyond the nationalist theories of the 19th and 20th centuries), the research builds upon the internalization of the extended tonality in traditional Maqam (commonly mislabeled as microtonality) in alignment with the material agency of the trumpet and its natural harmonic properties. The musical works featured in the project are, each in their own way, marked by traces of Middle Eastern melodic elements, whether audibly apparent or fragmented beyond recognition. Throughout this repertory (consisting of large-scale concertos as well as short solo pieces, études, and improvisations), the performance practice is confronted with non-musical materials and theoretical frameworks, generating a space for emergent meaning-making. This inquiry is taken further through extensive collaborations with composers, free improvisers, traditional music performers, and DJs, constructing a network of loosely connected case studies within a single discursive space.
The project’s tangible outcomes include a significant addition to the trumpet repertoire, a deeper understanding of non-tempered tuning and ornamental gestures, and the development of practical notational solutions for future composers and performers. Still, more than a set of purely technical contributions, the project positions itself as a critical intervention, aiming to expand the discourse on artistic agency in relation to (neo)colonialism, cultural trauma, and the lingering echoes of erased histories (“specters”), while reflecting on the roles and responsibilities of contemporary music in face of the precarious global realities of the mid-2020s.
This blog will serve as a companion to the research project, where I will periodically post articles about specific aspects of the research, some of which wouldn’t fit the format of the dissertation itself. You may think of it as a “deleted scenes” section of my doctorate.
Glossary of Terms
Below is a provisional glossary of some of the unfamiliar terms that may show up in the blog, so feel free to check back here if needed. It is not yet 100% triple-checked for accuracy, but it should be helpful in a pinch.
A
Adwār (sing. Dōr / Dā'ira): (Arabic: "cycles" or "circles") Medieval Arabo-Persian theoretical frameworks (most prominently associated with Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Urmawī) that organized scales as systematic combinations of fourth (tetrachord) and fifth (pentachord) cycles within an octave frame.
Ajam / 'Ajam: A foundational jins / mode corresponding to a major scale segment. Equivalent to Çârgâh in Turkish theory and Māhūr in Persian and Tunisian systems. Represents the flavor #5 on the 12 flavors system under the name Mahur
Ajnas (sing. Jins): (Arabic: plural of Jins, from Greek genos) Trichordal, tetrachordal, or pentachordal scalar building blocks that serve as the primary structural units of the maqām system.
Ansaf / Arabat: (Arabic) Auxiliary chromatic steps outside the primary diatonic master-scale.
Āqāz (Ā): (Persian: "beginning") In Persian music theory, the specific note from which a guše or melodic phrase begins, functioning as its initialis.
Arborescent Model: A generative, hierarchical theoretical framework (exemplified by Muẓaffar al-Ḥiṣnī) that conceptualizes all modes as branching out from a central root structure (Rāst) via genealogical "branches" (farʿ / šūbe).
Asar: (Arabic/Persian: "effect," "impression," or "trace") “A life inside the music”. The emotional, spiritual, or psychological impression left by a melodic phrase or modal movement.
Aşık / Ashugh: (Turkish: Aşık, Armenian: Ašuġ, from Arabic 'Āshiq, "lover") A traditional wandering bard, minstrel, and poet-singer of Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Azerbaijan who performs oral poetry accompanied by the saz / bağlama.
Avaz / Āvāz: (Persian: "song" or "voice") A measured or unmetered vocal/instrumental performance, or a secondary modal branch/suite within the Persian radīf system derived from a primary dastgāh.
Awj: (Arabic/Persian: "zenith" or "peak") The highest register or climax of a maqām performance, typically marked by modulation to high scalar degrees.
B
Bakeş / Baqiyye: (Turkish/Ottoman) In the Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek (AEU) 24-tone theoretical system, a minor semitone equal to 4 Pythagorean commas (~90.2 cents; ratio 256:243, identical to the Pythagorean limma).
Bayati / Bayāt: A prominent jins / mode characterized by a neutral second degree (roughly a quarter-tone flat) and a minor third profile. In this form it represents the flavor #2 on the 12 flavors system under the name Husseini.
Binsir: (Arabic: "ring finger") In medieval lute ('Ūd) organology, the fret position corresponding to a major third interval above the open string (~408 cents).
C
Çargah / Jiharkah / Čahārgāh: (From Persian: "fourth place/position") A jins/dang with distinct regional interpretations:
Persian dang Čahārgāh: A foundational dang with a neutral (3/4 tone) interval, augmented-neutral whole tone (5/4 tone), and a semitone. In this form it represents the flavor #12 on the 12 flavors system.
Arabic Jiharkah: A foundational jins with a neutral or slightly lowered major third, as well as a slightly lowered fourth
Turkish Çârgâh: The fundamental major-mode scale/tetrachord in Ottoman theory (equivalent to Mahur/Ajam).
Cents: A logarithmic unit of measure used to quantify musical intervals. One equal-tempered semitone equals 100 cents; an octave equals 1,200 cents.
Çeşni: (Turkish: "taste" or "flavor") A Turkish theoretical term for the constituent scalar building blocks (tetrachords/pentachords) or temporary modal colorings within a makam.
Comma: A microscopic musical interval resulting from the discrepancy between cycles of pure intervals. In Turkish theory, the fundamental microtonal unit, defined as 1/9 of a Pythagorean whole tone, equal to approximately 22.6 cents.
D
Dang (pl. Dang-hā): (Persian) The Iranian equivalent of the Arabic jins; a tetrachordal or trichordal scalar segment spanning a fourth.
Daramad / Darāmād: (Persian: "entrance") The opening structural movement of a dastgāh or guše that introduces its lower register, principal pitch center, and basic modal identity.
Dastgāh: (Persian: "hand-position" or "organization/system") The overarching modal framework in Persian classical music, consisting of an organized suite of traditional gušes.
Diatonic Master-Scale: The foundational 7-note reference scale (historically containing variable neutral wusta positions) from which regional modal variants are generated across an octave.
Dugāh / Dogāh: (Persian: "second place/position") The second degree of the fundamental Rāst scale; historically referring to both a pitch degree and an independent mode.
E
Esfahan / Iṣfahān: A compound modal structure / jins combination featuring a minor tetra- or pentachord joined with a lower Hijaz or Čahargah pentachord. Represents the flavor #8 on the 12 flavors system.
F
Farʿ (pl. Furūʿ): (Arabic: "branch" or "derivative") In medieval Arabic theory, a secondary or derivative modal structure branching off from a primary root mode (uṣl).
Finalis: (see Khātimih)
G
Guše (pl. Gušehā): (Persian: "corner") A distinct, short melodic type or structural composition in Persian classical music that forms the constituent parts of a dastgāh or avaz.
H
Hijaz / Hicaz: A foundational jins characterized by an augmented second interval between its second and third degrees. Represents the flavor #4 on the 12 flavors system.
Homāyun / Hümâyun / Hūmayūn: A compound modal structure found across Persian, Iraqi, Turkish, Azerbaijani, and Balkan traditions, characterized by a minor second combined with an augmented second interval in its lower tetrachord.
Husseini / Husayni / Hüseyni: A prominent jins and maqām built on the 5th degree of Bayati, also a general designation for the minor species with a lowered 2nd degree (equivalent to Bayati, Uşşak and Šur). In this form it represents the flavor #2 on the 12 flavors system.
I
Intonatsiya: (Russian: интонация) In Soviet music theory (Asafiev), the smallest meaningful unit of musical thought or expression formed by a completed tonal attraction and resolution (oborot).
Ist (I): (Persian: "stopping place") In Persian music theory, a temporary point of rest or cadence within a guše prior to the final cadential resolution (khātimih).
J
Jins (pl. Ajnas): (Arabic: "genus" or "type") A scalar building block (trichord, tetrachord, or pentachord) used as a constituent element in building a maqām.
Just Intonation: A system of tuning in which frequencies of notes are related by whole-number ratios (e.g., 3:2, 4:3, 5:4), producing pure, beatless intervals unlike equal temperament
K
Khātimih (K): (Persian: "conclusion" or "completion") The final cadential phrase or concluding pitch degree that resolves a modal performance back to the root tonic.
Khinsir: (Arabic: "little finger") In medieval lute ('Ūd) organology, the fret position corresponding to a perfect fourth interval above the open string ( ~498 cents).
Küçük Mücennep: (Turkish) In Ottoman/Turkish AEU theory, an interval equal to 5 Pythagorean commas (~112.8 cents), representing a small major semitone/neutral semitone.
Kurd / Kürdî: A foundational jins / mode corresponding to a Phrygian tetrachord or pentachord, defined by a natural minor second degree. Represents the flavor #7 on the 12 flavors system.
L
Lad: (Russian: лад, "mode" or "harmony") A Soviet theoretical concept defining mode not as a static scale, but as a system of dynamic, temporal gravitational forces between stable and unstable pitch functions.
Ladovy Rhythm: (Russian: ладовый ритм) Boleslav Yavorsky’s concept of the temporal unfolding of music through micro-gravitational attractions and resolutions of pitch intervals over time.
Limma: A Pythagorean minor semitone (ratio 256:243, approximately 90.2 cents).
M
Māhūr: a dang equivalent tp Western major tetrachord, also known under Arabic 'Ajam and Turkish Çârgâh. Represents the flavor #5 on the 12 flavors system.
Makam / Maqām (pl. Maqāmāt): (Arabic/Turkish: "place," "station," or "rank") The system of modal organization, melodic types, progression rules (seyr), and improvisation used across Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and Balkan traditions.
Master-Scale: The comprehensive pitch collection across an octave and a half to two octaves from which a given regional tradition draws its primary and auxiliary modes.
Mücennep (Büyük Mücennep / Küçük Mücennep): (Turkish: "neighboring/adjacent") In Turkish theory, the class of neutral or non-standard whole-tone/semitone intervals:
Küçük Mücennep: 5 commas (~112.8 cents).
Büyük Mücennep: 8 commas (~180.4 cents), representing a large whole tone / neutral tone.
Motaghayer (M): (Persian: "variable" or "changing") A pitch degree within a mode whose intonation or height changes dynamically depending on whether melodic movement is ascending or descending.
Mugham: The Azerbaijani classical modal tradition consisting of complex, multi-sectional suites combining improvised and composed passages.
Mütenebbi: (Turkish) In Ottoman theory, an interval equal to 1 comma (~22.6 cents), representing the smallest practical theoretical unit of alteration.
Mutlaq: (Arabic: "unrestricted" or "open") In medieval lute ('Ūd) organology, the un-fretted open string.
Muwwal (Jins): Also known as the Lydian Pentachord, a jins characterized by an augmented fourth degree. Represents the flavor #9 on the 12 flavors system.
N
Nawa: A modal structure with a minor tetrachord and a lower Husseini/Bayati tetrachord. In broader terms, a minor tetrachord also known as jins Nahawand (Arabic Maqam), Busalik (Turkish Makam) or a Persian dang Dašti. Represents the flavor #6 on the 12 flavors system.
Neutral Interval: An interval that falls approximately halfway between a Western major and minor interval (e.g., a neutral second of ~150 cents or a neutral third of ~350 cents).
Nikriz: A pentachordal jins characterized by a minor second followed by an augmented second between its second, third, and fourth degrees. Represents the flavor #10 on the 12 flavors system.
Nimat / Tikat: Microtonal divisions, commas, or auxiliary pitch positions used in theoretical literature to describe fine intonation variances.
Nizam: (Ottoman Turkish: Niẓām, "order" or "system") The modernized Ottoman infantry (Nizam-ı Cedid) established in the late 18th/19th century,
Node: In the rhizomatic modal model, a pivotal pitch center shared by adjacent ajnas that functions as a structural transfer point during modulation.
Nuba / Nūbāt (pl. Nūbāt / Nawbāt): (Arabic: "turn" or "shift") The monumental classical suite form of Arab-Andalusian music (preserved across North Africa in the Moroccan Āla, Algerian San'a, and Tunisian Ma'lūf), consisting of a fixed sequence of instrumental and vocal movements in a single mode.
O
Oborot: (Russian: оборот, "turnaround") In Soviet lad theory, a complete melodic figure or unit demonstrating the movement of an unstable pitch to its stable resolution center.
P
Peşrev / Beshraf / Bacheraf: (From Persian Pīšrow, "going before") The instrumental overture or grand introductory composition in Ottoman classical music, North African suites, and Eastern Arab instrumental music, traditionally structured in four sections (hanes) linked by a returning refrain (teslim).
Perde / Pardeh: (Persian/Turkish: "curtain," "fret," or "note/pitch")
A fret position on a long-necked lute (tār, setār, tanbur).
A specific pitch degree within the Persian or Ottoman theoretical scale (e.g., Dügah, Neva, Hüseyni).
Q
Qitʿa (pl. Qitʿāt): (Arabic: "piece" or "portion") Short, established melodic units and fixed motifs in the Iraqi maqām tradition (functionally parallel to the Persian guše).
R
Radīf: (Persian: "order" or "series") The canonized body and repertoire of dastgāhs and gušes preserved and transmitted orally in Persian classical music.
Rāst: (Persian/Arabic: "right," "correct," or "straight") The foundational mode and pitch degree across Middle Eastern modal systems, characterized by a neutral third degree. Jins Rast is a major tetrachord/pentachort with a lower third degree. Represents the flavor #1 on the 12 flavors system
Rhizomatic Model: An analytical framework that views maqām as a non-hierarchical, modular network of interconnected building blocks (ajnas / flavors) rather than a rigid linear scale.
S
Sabā / Sabâ: A unique and widely used jins / mode characterized by an asymmetrical, diminished tetrachord profile with a neutral second and flattened fourth degree. Represents the flavor #11 on the 12 flavors system
Sabbaba: (Arabic: "index finger") In medieval lute ('Ūd) organology, the finger position placed one whole tone ($9:8$, ~204 cents) above the open string (mutlaq).
Šāhed (Š): (Persian: "witness" or "observer") In Persian music theory, the most prominent, emphasized, or frequently repeated pitch center in a guše.
Sancak-ı Hümayun: The imperial Ottoman war standard raised during state ceremonies and military campaigns.
Schenkerian Analysis: A Western analytical framework developed by Heinrich Schenker based on reducing tonal compositions to an underlying, generative deep structure (Ursatz).
Segāh: (Persian: "third place") The third degree of the fundamental Rāst scale, characterized by a neutral pitch position; also an independent primary modal system, and its base trichord. Represents the flavor #3 on the 12 flavors system
Seyr: (Arabic/Turkish: "path," "journey," or "course") The prescribed directional trajectory, register movement, and modulatory path followed during the performance of a maqām.
Sevdah / Sevdalinka: A traditional genre of urban folk music from Bosnia and Herzegovina characterized by melismatic, emotionally expressive vocal delivery influenced by Ottoman modal structures.
Šōbe / Šūbe: (Persian/Turkish: "branch") A derived modal branch or secondary section within traditional Middle Eastern modal systems.
Sopriazhenie: (Russian: сопряжение, "coupling" or "conjunction") Boleslav Yavorsky's term for the structural linkage between an unstable, gravitating pitch and its resolution point.
Šūr: A primary modal system in Iranian music characterized by a neutral second degree, based on dang Šur (equivalent to Husseini, Bayati, and Uşşak)
T
Tab' / Taba' (pl. Ṭubū'): (Arabic: "nature," "temperament," or "humor") The traditional North African (Maghrebi) term for mode or maqām, historically linked to medieval humoral pathology, elements (fire, earth, air, water), and psychological states.
Tahrir:
(Persian) A rapid, ornamentative vocal technique utilizing falsetto breaks and melismas.
(Iraqi) The non-metered introductory vocal opening section of an Iraqi maqām performance.
Tanini: (Turkish) In Turkish theory, a standard Pythagorean whole tone equal to 9 commas (~204 cents; ratio 9:8).
Tarkīb: (Arabic: "composition," "synthesis," or "combination") The structural combining and stacking of smaller ajnas to construct complex, multi-segmented maqāmāt.
Təsnif / Tasnif: A composed, metered vocal song within Persian and Azerbaijani classical modal music.
Tyagotenie: (Russian: тяготение, "gravitational attraction" or "pull") In Soviet lad theory, the kinetic pull exerted by an unstable pitch degree toward a stable tonal center.
U
Urbild / Urpflanze / Ursatz: Archetypal, primordial structural concepts drawn from German Romantic philosophy (Goethe) and Schenkerian music theory denoting fundamental forms from which complex variations derive.
Uṣl (pl. Uṣūl): (Arabic: "root" or "foundation") In medieval Arabic theoretical treatises, a primary root mode from which secondary branches (furūʿ) derive.
Uşşak / Oshshaq / 'Ushshāq: (Turkish: Uşşak, Arabic: 'Ushshāq, "lovers") A term typically describing a core modal structure, with distinct regional and historical definitions:
Turkish Makam: The Ottoman/Turkish minor with a neutral second degree (equivalent to Husseini, Bayati, and Šur)
Arabic Maqām: A primary mode in the Arab system built on Dūgāh that shares its scalar pitch collection with Bayati, but traditionally features a distinct melodic path and emphasis.
Medieval Theoretical System: One of the 12 primary historical modes (awāzāt / shudūd) documented in 13th–15th century Arabo-Persian treatises (such as those of Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Urmawī and Al-Lādhiqī).
W
Wusta: (Arabic: "middle finger") In medieval lute ('Ūd) organology, the variable finger position located between the index (sabbaba) and ring (binsir) finger frets:
Wusta al-Furs: The "Persian" middle finger fret (a minor third interval, ~304 cents).
Wusta al-Zalzal: The "Zalzalian" middle finger fret (a neutral third interval,~355 cents).
Y
Yegāh / Yekgāh: (Persian: "first place") The lowest foundational pitch degree of the master scale
Z
Zalzal / Zalzalian Third: Named after the 8th-century court musician Manṣūr al-Zalzal, a neutral third interval (~355 cents) positioned between a minor third and a major third, serving as a defining characteristic of Arab and Near Eastern modal aesthetics.
