Chris_Khouri - 1-14-2005 at 09:14 AM
Hi guys,
If I asked somebody to play the same song startin from different notes, say, forexample, a bayat song or ta2seem on C and then on D and then on F,
will a good oud musician be able to move easily move from one note to the other. Does it take alot of time to get adjusted to starting the bayat from
the C and then from the D, etc....
Can you guys do nice ta2seems not mater where you start or is it related to the note your playing your maqam on.
Sorry if my question is a little too vague or hard to understand.
Hilal 
Brian Prunka - 1-14-2005 at 01:35 PM
Hi Chris,
I'd say that it depends; there are some transpositions that are common and others that are rare.
The short answer is yes, that a highly skilled musician will probably be able to play something in various keys. But there are a lot of things to
consider. Some transpositions are a lot easier than others (Ajam on Ab is much easier than sikah on B, for example) and are more frequent and thus
more important to know.
First you should distinguish between a transposition as the basis for a taqsim or song and one that would be used as a modulation.
For instance, it doesn't really make much sense to play saba on C as the basis for a taqsim (although a good player could), because the essence
of Saba (the ornaments, development, motion, etc.) is related to the D string. There might be a reason for doing so (say, to accomodate a
singer's range, or simply to challenge oneself, or to discover new ideas), but it's not an ordinary occurence. However, it is common enough
that you might modulate to saba on C from another C-based maqam (like Farid in Raqsat el-Jamal: Hijaz on C to Saba on C). At first at least, it seems
to me to be more important to learn the standard positions for the maqamat before attempting more unusual transpositions (although excellent players
can make use of unusual transpositions during modulation to create a dramatic surprise for the listeners).
one transposition that's really important is to learn all the ajnas on the G string, because most of the maqamat modulate to G at some point. So
rast, ajam, nahawand, kurd, bayyati, saba, nawa'athar, hijaz, and even sikah should be learned on G. Almost as important is learning them on D,
C, F, and A, because they are very common points to modulate to as well. Once you feel pretty confident about those, then you might want to work on
some more obscure modulations (hijaz on F#, for example, or Nakriz on Bb, etc.)
hope this is helpful
Brian
Hey Brian
sydney - 1-14-2005 at 03:50 PM
How are you man? Long time no see
I hope you had a very good holidays.
Happy new year bro.
Re: Chris_Khouri's question
In addition to what Brian said, I pesonally played some of my own old taqaseems from a different notes or on a different scale to match a maqam of a
song. This not always easy Brian was right in that. You could make it too hard for your self some times.
It is better to learn everything the correct way then put your creative finger prints after.
Good luck Chris
Thanks guys,
Chris_Khouri - 1-15-2005 at 02:51 AM
Hi Emad and Brian,
I really apprecaite your help alot. The reason I asked this is because I am afraid that at some concerts/parties, one of the singers would ask me to
start a song according to this voice range.
You're reply was very informative. I will post some samples of my ta2aseem soon, perhaps later today.
Hilal
Brian Prunka - 1-15-2005 at 10:40 AM
Hey Emad,
yeah, i haven't been posting lately . . . just been busy. My holidays were nice, despite being stuck here because my flight (Delta) was
cancelled . . . thanks for asking. Happy new year to you too.
Brian