TURKISH MUSIC DICTIONARY

See Notation System.

The old name for the makam Bûselik in Turkish Classical Music.

Style.

The old name for books of Turkish, Persian and Arabic music theory. The word is the plural of the Arabic devr, meaning "cycle," and refers to the cyclical descriptions of the tones, makams and usûls that have come down through the different schools of musical theory.

A compound makam of Turkish Classical Music.

See Hegit.

The singing style of Erzincan's Kemaliye-Eğin province. The term is used chiefly to refer to the uzun hava style of the area.

A stringed instrument played with a plectrum, used in Turkish Classical Music.

The name used, mostly by older people, for the most musically highest ranking people in musical gatherings which include religious/mystic discussions, mainly in Southern Anatolia and occasionally in central and western Turkey. These people are considered worthy of this title because of their mastery of style and the knowledge of old repertoire.

"To pass the hand over;" a method of playing long-necked strings instruments by brushing the palm of the right hand over the strings.

An old folk makam of the Elazığ and Urfa regions, and an uzun hava sung in this makam. The course of the makam Elezber contains elements of that of the makams Uşşâk, Hüseynî and Gerdâniye.

See Notation Systems

The term for songs sung mostly within a one-octave range. Tunes that go beyond an octave into the high register are called yüksek hava (high airs), which is very important information from the standpoint of folk etymology. Tunes known as engin hava include henna songs, some laments, deyiş etc.

In Turkish Classical Music, the name given in some edvars to the terennüm section of vocal works in the high forms such as kâr, beste and semâî.

Lit. "Male mouth/voice." The general name for songs of which the subject and singing style reflect the male character. Examples of genres known as "erkek ağzı" are koçaklama, yiğitleme (songs in praise manliness, heroic deeds) and those with obscene lyrics. Despite this, the themes of erkek ağzı songs and the women's counter part, kadın ağzı, often overlap. Still, the singing style is always different.

The term for the singing style, including the local accent, of the city of Erzurum. The main characteristics of the Erzurum style are heavy vibrato and abundant syncopation.

A melodic pattern in common use among the aşıks of Eastern Anatolia and the heavy style of divan sung in this melodic pattern.

A rest.

Vibrato.

In Turkish Classical Music, the four-note scale pattern achieved by transposing the segâh tetrachord to the note ırak, in order to form a whole tetrachord.

A makam used in Turkish Classical Music. Some theoreticians consider it a transposed (şed) makam, while others consider it a compound makam. The makam's basic scale is created by transposing the basic scale of Zirgûle'li Hicaz to ırak (Fa/F 4 komas sharp). Onto this scale, a Segâh and Müstear tetrachord or pentachord on eviç (Fa/F 4 komas sharp) is added. The makam is descending in character. Its tonic is ırak (Fa/F 4 komas sharp), and its dominants are eviç (Fa/F 4 komas sharp) and nîm hicâz (Do/C 4 komas sharp). Its suspended cadences are the flavors Müstear transposed to eviç (Fa/F 4 komas sharp), Hicâz transposed to nîm hicâz (Do/C 4 komas sharp), Nikrîz transposed to segâh (Si/B one koma flat) and sometimes Segâh transposed to nîm hicâz (Do/C 4 komas sharp).

See Evc-Hûzî

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by adding a Bûselik pentachord to the Evc scale. Its tonic is dügâh (La/A), and its dominants are evc and ırak

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by adding the scale of the makam Gerdâniye to the Evc scale.

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by adding the scale of the makam Hûzî to the Evc scale. Its tonic is dügâh (La/A).

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by adding the scale of the makam Isfahân to the Evc scale. Its tonic is dügâh (La/A).

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by Akın özkan. Its tonic is hüseynî aşîrân.

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by the addition of a Kürdî tetrachord to the Evc scale. It is believed to have been created by Sultan Selim III.

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, and is created by adding the basic scale of any makam in the Hicâz family to the Evc scale. Its tonic is dügâh (La/A).

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music.

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by adding the Nihâvend makam to the Evc scale. Its tonic is rast (Sol/G). No examples have survived to the present.

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music.

A variant of the makam Evc used in Turkish Classical Music, created by adding the makam Sabâ onto the Evc scale.

A nine-beat minor usûl used in Turkish Classical Music. It is created by combining Sofyân and Türk Aksağı with its three-count at the beginning. Its 9/4 form is known as Mevlevî Evferî. It used used in the şarkı, türkü and ilâhî forms as well as Mevlevî ceremonies.

A 19-beat major usûl found in Arab countries in which the Turkish Classical Musical system is used.

See Evc.

A 26-beat major usûl used in Turkish Classical Music, created by combinging one Türk Aksağı, two Sofyân, another Türk Aksağı and two more Sofyân. It is used in forms such as ilâhî, beste, şarkı and peşrev.

The adhan, the call to prayer in Muslim societies. It is a form of religious music, sung at certain hours of the day from mosques in a way as to be heard outside, in various makams, in free meter. There are also composed ezâns.

1. Melody, tune.

2. A general term for "music," used in many areas of Anatolia and including the concepts of melody, air, makam etc. In some areas the word appears as ezgü or özgü. It is the root of a great many derivative words, such as ezgilendirmek, ezgilemek, ezgi ağzı, ezgi düzeni, etc. The most commonly used is ezgilemek.

To set a poem to music, either already extant or newly composed.

Lit. "the walk of the melody," i.e., the course of the melody, the melodic progression.