[lilypond.git] / Documentation / user / world.itely

@c -*- coding: utf-8; mode: texinfo; -*-
@ignore
    Translation of GIT committish: FILL-IN-HEAD-COMMITTISH

    When revising a translation, copy the HEAD committish of the
    version that you are working on.  See TRANSLATION for details.
@end ignore

@c \version "2.11.51"

@node World music
@section World music

The purpose of this section is to highlight musical notation issues
that are relevant to traditions outside the Western tradition. 

@menu
* Arabic music::                
@end menu

@node Arabic music
@subsection Arabic music

This section highlights issues that are relevant to notating Arabic
music.

@menu
* References for Arabic music::  
* Arabic note names ::          
* Arabic key signatures::       
* Arabic time signatures:: 
* Further reading::  
@end menu

 
@node References for Arabic music
@unnumberedsubsubsec References for Arabic music 

@cindex Arabic music
@cindex medium intervals  
@cindex maqam 
@cindex maqams

Arabic music so far has been mainly an oral tradition.  When music
is transcribed, it is usually in a sketch format, on which
performers are expected to improvise significantly.  Increasingly,
Western notation, with a few variations, is adopted in order to
communicate and preserve Arabic music. 

Some elements of Western musical notation such as the
transcription of chords or independent parts, are not required to
typeset the more traditional Arabic pieces.  There are however
some different issues, such as the need to indicate medium
intervals that are somewhere between a semi-tone and a tone, in
addition to the minor and major intervals that are used in Western
music.  There is also the need to group and indicate a large
number of different maqams (modes) that are part of Arabic music.
  
In general, Arabic music notation does not attempt to precisely
indicate microtonal elements that are present in musical practice.

Several issues that are relevant to Arabic music are covered 
elsewhere: 

@itemize
@item Note names and accidentals (including quarter tones) can be
tailored as discussed in @ref{Note names in other languages}.

@item Additional key signatures can also be tailored as described
in @ref{Key signature}.

@item Complex time signatures may require that notes be grouped
manually as described in @ref{Manual beams}. 

@end itemize 

@seealso

Notation Reference:
@ref{Note names in other languages},     
@ref{Key signature},
@ref{Manual beams}.

Snippets:
@rlsr{World music}.
 

@node Arabic note names 
@unnumberedsubsubsec Arabic note names 


@cindex Arabic note names 

The more traditional Arabic note names can be quite long and are
not suitable for the purpose of music writing, so they are not
used.  English note names are not very familiar in Arabic music
education, so Italian or Solfege note names (@code{do, re, mi, fa,
sol, la, si}) are used instead.  Modifiers (accidentals) can also
be used, as discussed in @ref{Note names in other languages}. 

For example, this is how the Arabic @notation{rast} scale can be
notated:

@lilypond[quote,verbatim]    
\include "arabic.ly"
\relative do' { 
  do re misb fa sol la sisb do sisb la sol fa misb re do 
}
@end lilypond


@seealso 

Notation Reference:     
@ref{Note names in other languages}.

Snippets:
@rlsr{World music}.


@node Arabic key signatures
@unnumberedsubsubsec Arabic key signatures 

@cindex Arabic key signatures

In addition to the minor and major key signatures, the following
key signatures are defined in @code{arabic.ly}: @notation{bayati},
@notation{rast}, @notation{sikah}, @notation{iraq}, and
@notation{kurd}.  These key signatures define a small number of
maqam groups rather than the large number of maqams that are in
common use. 

In general, a maqam uses the key signature of its group, or a 
neighbouring group, and varying accidentals are marked throughout 
the music.

For example to indicate the key signature of a maqam muhayer piece:  

@example
\key re \bayati 
@end example

Here @var{re} is the default pitch of the muhayer maqam, and
@var{bayati} is the name of the base maqam in the group. 

While the key signature indicates the group, it is common for the
title to indicate the more specific maqam, so in this example, the
name of maqam muhayer should appear in the title.

Other maqams in the same bayati group, as shown in the table below:
(bayati, hussaini, saba, and ushaq) can be indicated in the same
way.  These are all variations of the base and most common maqam
in the group, which is bayati.  They usually differ from the base
maqam in their upper tetrachords, or certain flow details that
don't change their fundamental nature, as siblings. 

The other maqam in the same group (Nawa) is related to bayati by
modulation which is indicated in the table in parenthesis for
those maqams that are modulations of their base maqam.  Arabic
maqams admit of only limited modulations, due to the nature of
Arabic musical instruments.  Nawa can be indicated as follows: 

@example
\key sol \bayati
@end example

In Arabic music, the same term such as bayati that is used to
indicate a maqam group, is also a maqam which is usually the most
important in the group, and can also be thought of as a base
maqam. 

Here is one suggested grouping that maps the more common maqams to
key signatures: 

@multitable @columnfractions 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6
@headitem maqam group 
  @tab key 
  @tab finalis 
  @tab Other maqmas in group (finalis)  
@item ajam 
  @tab major 
  @tab sib 
  @tab jaharka (fa)
@item bayati 
  @tab bayati
  @tab re
  @tab hussaini, muhayer, saba, ushaq, nawa (sol) 
@item hijaz 
  @tab kurd
  @tab re 
  @tab shahnaz, shad arban (sol), hijazkar (do)
@item iraq 
  @tab iraq
  @tab sisb
  @tab - 
@item kurd 
  @tab kurd
  @tab re
  @tab hijazkar kurd (do) 
@item nahawand 
  @tab minor
  @tab do 
  @tab busalik (re), farah faza (sol)
@item nakriz 
  @tab minor
  @tab do 
  @tab nawa athar, hisar (re)
@item rast 
  @tab rast
  @tab do
  @tab mahur, yakah (sol)
@item sikah 
  @tab sikah
  @tab misb
  @tab huzam 
@end multitable          

@snippets


@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,texidoc,doctitle]
{non-traditional-key-signatures.ly}


@seealso

Notation Reference:     
@ref{Key signature}.
 
Learning Manual:
@rlearning{Accidentals and key signatures}.

Internals Reference:
@rinternals{KeySignature}.

Snippets:
@rlsr{World music}, 
@rlsr{Pitches}.


@node Arabic time signatures
@unnumberedsubsubsec Arabic time signatures 

@cindex Arabic time signatures
@cindex Semai form 
@cindex taqasim 

Some Arabic and Turkish music classical forms such as
@notation{Semai} use unusual time signatures such as 10/8.  This
may lead to an automatic grouping of notes that is quite different
from existing typeset music, where notes may not be grouped on the
beat, but in a manner that is difficult to match by adjusting
automatic beaming.  You can override this by switching off
automatic beaming and beaming the notes manually.  Where matching
existing typeset music is not an issue, you may still want to
adjust the beaming behaviour and/or using compound time
signatures.

@c FIXME: move to snippet?  -gp note for gp
For improvisations or @notation{taqasim} which are temporarily
free, the time signature can be omitted and @code{\cadenzaOn} can
be used.  You might need to adjust the accidental style, since the
absence of bar lines will cause the accidental to be marked only
once:

@example  
#(set-accidental-style 'forget)
@end example 

@snippets

@lilypondfile[verbatim,lilyquote,texidoc,doctitle]
{compound-time-signatures.ly}


@seealso 

Notation Reference:
@ref{Manual beams},
@ref{Automatic beams},
@ref{Unmetered music}, 
@ref{Automatic accidentals}, 
@ref{Setting automatic beam behavior}, 
@ref{Time signature}. 

Snippets:
@rlsr{World music}.

@node Further reading
@unnumberedsubsubsec Further reading

@enumerate

@item 
The music of the Arabs by Habib Hassan Touma [Amadeus Press, 1996], 
contains a discussion of maqams and their method of groupings.

There are also various web sites that explain maqams and some 
provide audio examples such as :

@itemize @bullet 
@item 
@uref{http://www.maqamworld.com/}
@item 
@uref{http://www.turath.org/}
@end itemize  

There are some variations in the details of how maqams are grouped, 
despite agreement on the criteria of grouping maqams that are 
related through common lower tetra chords, or through modulation.  

@item 
There is not a complete consistency, sometimes even in the same 
text on how key signatures for particular maqams should be 
specified. It is common, however, to use a key signature per 
group, rather than a different key signature for each different 
maqam.
  
Oud methods by the following authors, contain examples of 
mainly Turkish and Arabic compositions. 

@itemize @bullet
@item 
Charbel Rouhana
@item 
George Farah
@item 
Ibrahim Ali Darwish Al-masri
@end itemize
@end enumerate