Going over maqamworld material I realize that there is certain numbers under each note of the maqam and I wonder how do you actually treat these
numbers, are these the comparative time one needs to take to let each note play before playing the next or is it the pitch playing each tome ?
Thanks for the clarification Danielo - 4-22-2010 at 07:50 AM
Hi,
there are just the intervals between adjacent notes (counted in fractions of a tone).
Dan
PS: I recommend Oudproff's DVD you'll find more material than on maqamworld (which is a good start but not always correct)fernandraynaud - 4-23-2010 at 01:15 AM
Oudprof's DVD helps in so many ways, it's the best $25 you can spend.
His Maqam Analyzer is a program (a spreadsheet actually) that allows you to enter info like root and dominant note, and the intervals (in quarter
tones). It then shows all the maqamat that fit the data you've supplied so far. You can use it to identify maqamat in existing music, but also to help
you "plan" improvisations.
Allow me to give an example of how I've used it. Let's say I want to base a piece on the A (La) string, so I want to know which maqamat have a tonic
in low A. There are 6 as I recall. And which of those start with a Bayat tetrachord? I think there are two. So maybe I'll start a Taqsim with one of
them, rooted on a Bayat on A. Then to plan modulations I can enter different intervals for the upper jins and it will show me what the resulting
maqamat are called, that's handy! With that information I can go back into the video clips and study how those maqamat have been played. It's a GREAT
little tool.
The starting tutorials are very useful, as are the exercises.
Then as you study a maqam (there are about 100), video clips show the fingering and then examples of how the seyir or "path" is worked. A typical
maqam will include 3-4 good example taqasim.
All in all this DVD is a jewel, especially for anybody who's studying on their own. Practicing within a maqam sets up a framework with rules and
expectations, which is exactly what a player needs to explore and develop creatively, instead of learning "songs". As to the latter, there's a little
bug so that it doesn't always obey the command to stop playing songs in the background as you read, and THOU SHALT learn a few songs whether you want
to or not.
Everyone abso-%$#@-lutely sh'oud have it!
Danielo - 4-23-2010 at 01:48 AM
Hi Fernand,
I have oudprof's first version of the DVD, the description of the maqamat is a bit too sketchy, i.e. little is said (sometimes nothing) about the seyr
and common modulations.
Has v.2. more stuff about this?
thanks!
Danfernandraynaud - 4-23-2010 at 07:24 PM
You know, I can't compare, I only have version 2. He includes several examples for most maqamat, which illustrate the seyir, but the text says little,
it only has room for the basic description of the maqam, as shown.
But where have you seen much written information on the Seyir? The Turkish tradition seems to have more prescribed seyir, but for the Arabic one, we
may have to scrape, like D'Erlanger's volume 5, and Marcus' dissertation.
Still, this DVD is a blessing, with the Analyzer and a collection of video examples organized for quick access I think it's fantastic. Just the
ability to immerse yourself in a different maqam every day for a practice session is very useful.
I have some bug reports and suggestions. More info on typical modulations would be great. It would make sense if we all submitted suggestions for what
we would like to see in version 3.
(Marcus, Scott Lloyd (1989). Arab music theory in the modern period, Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Published by U.M.I.
300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106.)
bibo10 - 4-23-2010 at 08:43 PM
I think i need to buy that DVD Danielo - 4-24-2010 at 05:11 AM
Thanks Fernand.
Looking at the Bayati description in the first version, the text is basically the same but there are less examples in mine - so the difference lies
in the videos not in the text!
The only source that comes to my mind regarding Seyr is Elranger's book. It's sometimes explicit in the description of the maqamat, otherwise it is
easy to understand from the taqsim scores.
(for those that don't have it yet here is a pdf of this great work).
DanAl Yahudi - 4-25-2010 at 03:12 AM
Fernand ,
Thanks for the tips regading the dvd.
I have an issue though and it sounds like you can clarify this for me.
I find it easy to pick up middle eastern songs or any other rythem and play it by ear, but it seams for me impossible to "hear" the maqam not to
mention improvise a little bit.
for instance, the "learn to play videos" on this website are ok for me to play until it come to the taqasims part where i lose track.
I am afraid to get frustrated with the dvd if it wont sexplain basic maqam and modulation stuff and assumes it is obvious.
I know basic notes but I tend to read them once just to pick it uo and take it from there.
Also, when I was starting out, several players told me to listen to the Samai for the makam I was trying to improvise on. The parts of the Samai give
you a few modulations for the makam they're written in. But first, watch the Tanrıkorur letcures, and see if this helps any.
Lastly, it helps to listen to taksims by players you like, and not just on Oud -- but violin, kanun, ney, clarinet, and vocals. Good luck man.
I am afraid to get frustrated with the dvd if it wont sexplain basic maqam and modulation stuff and assumes it is obvious.
I know basic notes but I tend to read them once just to pick it uo and take it from there.
Who am I to say? I'm a western trained musician, mostly self-taught at that, who has taken an interest in skarki music. Sazi's reference is one I was
going to suggest as well. Somehow playing the maqamat, learning to play them, triggers new ideas to improvise. Playing the lower jins then the upper
then together then switching out the upper for an entirely different one, there aren't that many, somehow opens up something that feels right, like
the sound of water running contains all notes and all melodies. Not much of an answer, sorry.
I should add that there is an element of concentration in any improv that is very important, somthing like listening to the notes themselves and how
they interact, at a much deeper level than a melody, and that is why studying the maqamat is so useful. It makes you feel those relations.
