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PROPOSÄ°NG A "MAKÂM MODEL" BASED ON MELODIC NUCLEI
“The Examples of Hüseynî and Hicaz Families”
M. ErtuÄŸrul Bayraktarkatal, Cenk Güray
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Makâm can be identified as the main mechanism for ‘melodic construction’ regarding the music genres in Anatolia and the neighboring geographies. This paper intends to define the concept of makâm within a music practice-based approach, constructed on the idea of a ‘melodic nucleus’ giving the specific melodic characteristic and the sound of the makâm. All the makâm structures in the paper are described in a modular system developed by the connection of several ‘melodic nuclei’ to each other following a specific melodic pattern/formula based on different functions attributed to the pitches gathered in the specific pitch-group of the given makâm and resulting in a differentiable ‘sound’ which is reflected by this ‘pattern’. To demonstrate this approach, various musical examples basing on two major families of makâm in Anatolian music history and Turkish music-namely Hüseynî and UÅŸÅŸâk had been analysed and the main melodic patterns giving the specific melodic characteristics to the members of these makâm families were tried to be discovered.Then these melodic patterns or the melodic nuclei were expressed in generic formulas representing the specific melodic functionalities of the pitches through which the melody is constructed. Afterwards, the possible ways of combining a single melodic nucleus with other melodic nuclei within a modular framework was searched, to have the basic melody evolved into a more complex one, sustaining the ‘specific colours’ of the “melodic nuclei” it is composed of. Finally, the makâm structures that can be categorized under Hüseynî and UÅŸÅŸâk families were discussed further to reveal their specific melodic characteristics differentiating them from the other category members.
Keywords: makâm, melodic nuclei, melodic pattern, pitch group
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