Mike's Oud Forums

Karcigar help

Jonathan - 2-18-2006 at 07:30 AM

Does this maqam have a different name? I am trying to find some information on it from maqam world, and just don't see it there.
What are the specifics on this one? It sounds like:
E F(???) G A B(one half flat) Csharp D but I am not sure. It sounds like a C is often substituted for the Csharp.
Any help is appreciated.

al-Halabi - 2-18-2006 at 08:14 AM

Karcigar is also called Bayati Shuri in Arab music.
If you can be more precise about the intonation of the second degree it would be easier to figure out what this mode might be. If the second degree is a half-flat then it could be Karcigar, with an Ussak tetrachord on E followed by a Hijaz pentachord on A. The B in Karcigar is played by Turkish musicians higher than it would be in Hijaz, actually as a low half-flat (even though it appears in Turkish notation as flattened by four commas as is common for the second degree of Hijaz).

mavrothis - 2-18-2006 at 09:37 AM

Hi Jonathan,

Karcigar is a beautiful makam with lots of great classical pieces written in it. It has a great detail to it in which often you'll play it like Huseyni, and then slide the Huseyni note down to Dik hisar and make the hicaz on Neva (A string - second).

Often when playing this type of a Hicaz on the Neva position, it is not played exactly as written. It is written that the note after Neva is Hisar, but it is played mostly like Dik hisar (like a Segah note on the Neva string). So instead of using your 1st on Hisar and 4th finger on Evic to play the Hicaz form here, you can use your 1st moved up a little to Dik hisar and your 3rd, hitting the Evic note). Of course the Dik hisar is not a static note, but you will slide from Huseyni to it and also from Dik hisar to a more Hisar note as you descend past Neva.

Do you have the Kemani Tatyos Efendi CD's with the Kudsi Erguner ensemble? There are two pieces by Tatyos (and one keman taksim) which you can also find notation for easily, this should help you figure out how to play the makam.

Take care,

mavrothis

Jonathan - 2-18-2006 at 09:41 AM

Thanks, guys. I don't know what I would do without your help. al-Halabi, I checked, and it is Bayati Shuri.
Mav, I do have that cd. I know that this is not that common of a maqam, but I like it a lot. I am familiar with the Tateos compositions in karcigar, and there are some Turkish folk tunes that are in Karcigar, as well (Bu Gege being my favorite).
Now I have to start working on it.
Thanks again.