1 @c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
3 Translation of GIT committish: FILL-IN-HEAD-COMMITTISH
5 When revising a translation, copy the HEAD committish of the
6 version that you are working on. See TRANSLATION for details.
14 The purpose of this section is to highlight musical notation issues
15 that are relevant to traditions outside the Western tradition.
19 * Turkish classical music::
23 @subsection Arabic music
25 This section highlights issues that are relevant to notating Arabic
29 * References for Arabic music::
30 * Arabic note names ::
31 * Arabic key signatures::
32 * Arabic time signatures::
33 * Arabic music example::
38 @node References for Arabic music
39 @unnumberedsubsubsec References for Arabic music
42 @cindex medium intervals
46 Arabic music so far has been mainly an oral tradition. When music
47 is transcribed, it is usually in a sketch format, on which
48 performers are expected to improvise significantly. Increasingly,
49 Western notation, with a few variations, is adopted in order to
50 communicate and preserve Arabic music.
52 Some elements of Western musical notation such as the
53 transcription of chords or independent parts, are not required to
54 typeset the more traditional Arabic pieces. There are however
55 some different issues, such as the need to indicate medium
56 intervals that are somewhere between a semi-tone and a tone, in
57 addition to the minor and major intervals that are used in Western
58 music. There is also the need to group and indicate a large
59 number of different maqams (modes) that are part of Arabic music.
61 In general, Arabic music notation does not attempt to precisely
62 indicate microtonal elements that are present in musical practice.
64 Several issues that are relevant to Arabic music are covered
68 @item Note names and accidentals (including quarter tones) can be
69 tailored as discussed in @ref{Note names in other languages}.
71 @item Additional key signatures can also be tailored as described
72 in @ref{Key signature}.
74 @item Complex time signatures may require that notes be grouped
75 manually as described in @ref{Manual beams}.
77 @item @notation{Takasim} which are rhythmically free
78 improvisations may be written down omitting bar lines as
79 described in @ref{Unmetered music}.
86 @ref{Note names in other languages},
94 @node Arabic note names
95 @unnumberedsubsubsec Arabic note names
98 @cindex Arabic note names
100 The more traditional Arabic note names can be quite long and are
101 not suitable for the purpose of music writing, so they are not
102 used. English note names are not very familiar in Arabic music
103 education, so Italian or Solfege note names (@code{do, re, mi, fa,
104 sol, la, si}) are used instead. Modifiers (accidentals) can also
105 be used, as discussed in @ref{Note names in other languages}.
107 For example, this is how the Arabic @notation{rast} scale can be
110 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
113 do re misb fa sol la sisb do sisb la sol fa misb re do
118 @cindex Arabic semi-flat symbol
119 @cindex Semi-flat symbol appearance
121 The symbol for semi-flat does not match the symbol which is used
122 in Arabic notation. The @code{\dwn} symbol defined in
123 @code{arabic.ly} may be used preceding a flat symbol as a work
124 around if it is important to use the specific Arabic semi-flat
125 symbol. The appearance of the semi-flat symbol in the key
126 signature cannot be altered by using this method.
129 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
132 \set Staff.extraNatural = ##f
133 dod dob dosd \dwn dob dobsb dodsd do do
140 @ref{Note names in other languages}.
146 @node Arabic key signatures
147 @unnumberedsubsubsec Arabic key signatures
149 @cindex Arabic key signatures
151 In addition to the minor and major key signatures, the following
152 key signatures are defined in @code{arabic.ly}: @notation{bayati},
153 @notation{rast}, @notation{sikah}, @notation{iraq}, and
154 @notation{kurd}. These key signatures define a small number of
155 maqam groups rather than the large number of maqams that are in
158 In general, a maqam uses the key signature of its group, or a
159 neighbouring group, and varying accidentals are marked throughout
162 For example to indicate the key signature of a maqam muhayer piece:
169 Here @var{re} is the default pitch of the muhayer maqam, and
170 @var{bayati} is the name of the base maqam in the group.
172 While the key signature indicates the group, it is common for the
173 title to indicate the more specific maqam, so in this example, the
174 name of maqam muhayer should appear in the title.
176 Other maqams in the same bayati group, as shown in the table below:
177 (bayati, hussaini, saba, and ushaq) can be indicated in the same
178 way. These are all variations of the base and most common maqam
179 in the group, which is bayati. They usually differ from the base
180 maqam in their upper tetrachords, or certain flow details that
181 don't change their fundamental nature, as siblings.
183 The other maqam in the same group (Nawa) is related to bayati by
184 modulation which is indicated in the table in parenthesis for
185 those maqams that are modulations of their base maqam. Arabic
186 maqams admit of only limited modulations, due to the nature of
187 Arabic musical instruments. Nawa can be indicated as follows:
193 In Arabic music, the same term such as bayati that is used to
194 indicate a maqam group, is also a maqam which is usually the most
195 important in the group, and can also be thought of as a base
198 Here is one suggested grouping that maps the more common maqams to
201 @multitable @columnfractions 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6
202 @headitem maqam group
205 @tab Other maqmas in group (finalis)
213 @tab hussaini, muhayer, saba, ushaq, nawa (sol)
217 @tab shahnaz, shad arban (sol), hijazkar (do)
225 @tab hijazkar kurd (do)
229 @tab busalik (re), farah faza (sol)
233 @tab nawa athar, hisar (re)
237 @tab mahur, yakah (sol)
246 @lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,texidoc,doctitle]
247 {non-traditional-key-signatures.ly}
255 @rlearning{Accidentals and key signatures}.
258 @rinternals{KeySignature}.
265 @node Arabic time signatures
266 @unnumberedsubsubsec Arabic time signatures
268 @cindex Arabic time signatures
272 Some Arabic and Turkish music classical forms such as
273 @notation{Semai} use unusual time signatures such as 10/8. This
274 may lead to an automatic grouping of notes that is quite different
275 from existing typeset music, where notes may not be grouped on the
276 beat, but in a manner that is difficult to match by adjusting
277 automatic beaming. You can override this by switching off
278 automatic beaming and beaming the notes manually. Where matching
279 existing typeset music is not an issue, you may still want to
280 adjust the beaming behaviour and/or use compound time signatures.
284 @lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,texidoc,doctitle]
285 {compound-time-signatures.ly}
287 @lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,texidoc,doctitle]
288 {arabic-improvisation.ly}
294 @ref{Automatic beams},
295 @ref{Unmetered music},
296 @ref{Automatic accidentals},
297 @ref{Setting automatic beam behavior},
298 @ref{Time signature}.
304 @node Arabic music example
305 @unnumberedsubsubsec Arabic music example
307 @cindex Arabic music example
308 @cindex Arabic music template
309 @cindex Template Arabic music
311 Here is a template that also uses the start of a Turkish Semai
312 that is familiar in Arabic music education in order to illustrate
313 some of the peculiarities of Arabic music notation, such as medium
314 intervals and unusual modes that are discussed in this section.
316 @lilypond[quote,verbatim]
320 \set Staff.extraNatural = ##f
321 \set Staff.autoBeaming = ##f
325 re4 re'8 re16 [misb re do] sisb [la sisb do] re4 r8
326 re16 [misb do re] sisb [do] la [sisb sol8] la [sisb] do [re] misb
327 fa4 fa16 [misb] misb8. [re16] re8 [misb] re [do] sisb
328 do4 sisb8 misb16 [re do sisb] la [do sisb la] la4 r8
331 title = "Semai Muhayer"
332 composer = "Jamil Bek"
343 @node Further reading
344 @unnumberedsubsubsec Further reading
349 @emph{The music of the Arabs} by Habib Hassan Touma [Amadeus Press, 1996],
350 contains a discussion of maqams and their method of groupings.
352 There are also various web sites that explain maqams and some
353 provide audio examples such as :
357 @uref{http://www.maqamworld.com/}
359 @uref{http://www.turath.org/}
362 There are some variations in the details of how maqams are grouped,
363 despite agreement on the criteria of grouping maqams that are
364 related through common lower tetra chords, or through modulation.
367 There is not a complete consistency, sometimes even in the same
368 text on how key signatures for particular maqams should be
369 specified. It is common, however, to use a key signature per
370 group, rather than a different key signature for each different
373 Method books by the following authors for the @dfn{Oud}, the Arabic lute,
374 contain examples of mainly Turkish and Arabic compositions.
382 Ibrahim Ali Darwish Al-masri
387 @node Turkish classical music
388 @subsection Turkish classical music
390 This section highlights issues that are relevant to notating Turkish
394 * References for Turkish classical music::
395 * Turkish note names::
399 @node References for Turkish classical music
400 @unnumberedsubsubsec References for Turkish classical music
402 @cindex Turkish music
403 @cindex Ottoman music
404 @cindex comma intervals
408 Turkish classical music developed in the Ottoman Empire in a
409 period roughly contemporaneous with classical music in Europe,
410 and has continued on into the 20th and 21st centuries as a
411 vibrant and distinct tradition with its own compositional
412 forms, theory and performance styles. Among its striking
413 features is the use of microtonal intervals based on @q{commas}
414 of 1/9 of a tone, from which are constructed the melodic
415 forms known as @notation{makam} (plural @notation{makamlar}).
417 Some issues relevant to Turkish classical music are covered
421 @item Note names and accidentals are provided in
422 @ref{Non-Western note names and accidentals}.
427 @node Turkish note names
428 @unnumberedsubsubsec Turkish note names
430 @cindex Turkish note names
434 Pitches in Turkish classical music traditionally have unique
435 names, and the basis of pitch on 1/9-tone divisions means
436 makamlar employ a completely different set of intervals from
437 Western scales and modes: @notation{koma} (1/9 of a tone),
438 @notation{eksik bakiye} (3/9), @notation{bakiye} (4/9),
439 @notation{kücük mücenneb} (5/9), @notation{büyük mücenneb}
440 (8/9), @notation{tanîni} (a whole tone) and
441 @notation{artık ikili} (12/9 or 13/9 of a tone).
443 From a modern notational point of view it is convenient to
444 use the standard Western staff notes (c, d, e, ...) with
445 special accidentals that raise or lower notes by intervals
446 of 1/9, 4/9, 5/9 and 8/9 of a tone. These accidentals are
447 defined in the file @file{makam.ly} (to locate this file on
448 your system, see @rlearning{Other sources of information}).
449 A more detailed description is provided in
450 @ref{Non-Western note names and accidentals}.