What is Maqam?

Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

So you want to know the secrets of Maqam.

Maqam – the melodic system of Arabic music - can often seem confusing and even exclusive, right?

The Worldly Hope men set their hearts upon

Turns ashes – or it prospers; and anon,
Like Snow upon the Desert’s dusty Face,
Lighting a little hour or two – is gone

Don’t worry: in this video I will demystify maqam for you and show you the best way to learn.
You probably have some other questions like:

• Is a Maqam a scale?
• How do I learn to hear and play microtones or quartertones?
• How does Maqam relate to actual music?
• How do you improvise in Maqam?

We’ll answer those questions, but my goal in this masterclass is a little bigger: If you stick with me I’m going to
completely change the way you think about music, “music theory,” and how to learn music.

--------- First thanks to Patreon supporters!

Ok, so here’s what I’ll cover in this video: First I’ll give you a brief introduction to my perspective, then we’ll
listen to some songs in Maqam Rast; then we’ll analyze those songs, then we’ll use that analysis to understand
the big picture of Maqam, after which I’ll give you my definition of Maqam and answer all the questions you’re
wondering about, and finally I’ll give you some tips and point you to resources to help you continue your studies.
Sound good?
[read Rubaiyyat]
Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays
What is Maqam? Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

So, what is a Maqam? A lot of people talk about musical scales when they want to approach it, but that’s actually
backwards. A maqam HAS a scale, but that doesn’t mean it IS a scale.

To begin to understand what it IS, let’s start with a simple question: you like music, don’t you. Have you thought
about why?

Think for a moment about a song or piece of music you really love – you like to hear it over and over again, don’t
you. And when you’ve heard it over and over again, you know exactly what’s going to happen next. What if a
different singer or player covers the same song? If they do something different than the version you’re used to,
the differences really stand out, don’t they. You expect one thing, and you get something else.

Now expand that a little bit. What’s your favorite kind of music? Let’s imagine for a minute that it’s your guilty
pleasure, contemporary top 40 hits. When you hear a new song in this genre, a lot of what happens is familiar,
right? But then sometimes there’s something unexpected, and that unexpected moment really draws your
attention. If you know about “Chord sequences” then one thing that happens is that the new song throws in a
new chord that’s not typical for the genre. But that new chord is typically blended in with stuff you’re already
familiar with – if the WHOLE song used unusual chords, you wouldn’t feel it was part of the genre. Same with the
beat of the song, or the melodic patterns. You have expectations, and sometimes they are met, sometimes
they’re not. Behavioral psychologists would call this “intermittent reinforcement,” but this has also been known
for a long time as a principle of aesthetics in all the arts: what makes something beautiful and attractive? A
certain amount of expectation, and a certain amount of surprise – in the right balance. But you can’t have any
surprises if you don’t have expectation in the first place, right?

If that’s the case, then what is the BASIS for that expectation? It’s familiarity with repeated patterns, isn’t it.

Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays

What is Maqam? Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

That being said, the best thing for you to do right now is to pause this video and listen a few times to the songs
we’re about to discuss. Linked below is a playlist I created of songs in Maqam Rast, and the first 5 of them are
the songs analyzed in chapter 17 of the book Inside Arabic Music. [5 names]

If you take the time to do that before watching the rest of this video, you’ll get way more out of what I’m about
to show you, because understanding maqam is about FEELING expectation, not just intellectually knowing it’s
supposed to be there. [repeat] I know you want to learn as much as you can about this, so give yourself that
time, because it will really pay off for you. The more times you listen, the more familiar the songs will be, won’t
they. So hit pause now and follow the playlist link below.

Welcome back. Now that you’re a little more familiar with the melodies of these songs, let’s start by trying to
understand the simplest of them: Ya Shadi il-Alhan. It starts []: [go through song, notice changes]

What is the tonic of this song? Maybe you haven’t heard of a “tonic” before. [define then sing]
We can use the tonic to define the basic scale of maqam. Do Re Mi. I prefer 1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8. 5 is always 5.
Listen to it. 5 is a very important note as we’ll see. Pitch Memory.

So now let’s go through the song again and see how it sits on the scale. Change to 7 – change to Nahawand. This
change is what we call a “jins.” Change in 6 – Hijaz. Rast at the bottom, Rast at the top = Upper Rast.

For those of you who have been following this series, you know I’ve already created separate lessons for each of
these “ajnas.” If you’re totally new here, then you will want to watch those next.
Either way: Summarize Jins definition.
Summarize each of the Ajnas: Rast, Hijaz, Nahawand, Upper Rast, Rast on Octave.

OK let’s go through the piece jins-by-jins again.

1. Sing using “jins names”

Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays

What is Maqam? Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

2. Look at jins box diagram – introduce the book & thank Johnny and do again
3. Look at notation. This is the only time I’ll be showing you music notation, because focusing on the jins box
notation will give you a clearer picture of what is happening.

To summarize
We used 4 different ajnas, occurred in a particular sequence, and some were more prominent than others. This
now sets up an expectation for you. The more you remember, the stronger the expectation. So now let’s
compare with the next song.

Hayrana Leh.
Sing chorus only, without diagram
Whole song, look at analysis.
Summarize – 1. Same basic ajnas.
2. some sequences the same Upper Rast ➔Nahawand. Nahawand ➔ Hijaz
3. Some sequences different. Memory more complex, alternate pathways.

Matakhudshi - same opening from end of 20th century, as from beginning.

Il-Hubb Kullu

Ya Wabuur

• Expectations are built from repeated sequences going into MEMORY.

• Some things more common than others.
• Multiple pathways.
• [main summary points from book CH 17 pp 270, 274-6 and p. 326.]

Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays

What is Maqam? Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

• P. 328 Interpolation as delaying memory, intermittent reinforcement.

o You want the Hijaz more when you didn’t get it yet. [play example] so it’s part of the maqam, not
separate. Drama of contrast between ajnas and delay of expectation depends on MULTIPLE options,
so those options have to be built in.
• We can draw a network.

What happens if you listen to a bunch of songs? You build memory, which is the basis of expectation. The
frequency in your brain and the paths in your brain tend to match the average frequency in all the songs. If a
community of people do this, then all of them match up with the frequencies and the networks.

“A Maqam is a finite network of familiar pathways among ajnas practiced within a particular
community.”
[Footnote: This is actually a principle of the mathematics of communication – ergodic.]

So let me address a few of the main questions you might have, and then I’ll tell you how to use the rest of the
videos I’ve posted in order to learn maqam, as well as other helpful resources out there.

Is a Maqam a scale? No. ……..

How do I learn microtones or quartertones? You notice that we haven’t talked about it. But if you copied
everything I did, and if you copy the jins lessons, then you’re already learning about it.
Some of you want to be able to DEFINE the microtones, and that’s a bigger subject. DEFINING is different
than LEARNING.
If you simply want to learn it, then don’t worry about the definition, and focus on copying the exact
sounds from me and from other musicians and from the songs you hear. The more you worry about

Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays

What is Maqam? Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

the definition, the less you’ll be listening and present, and the more you’ll be stuck in your head, and
the less well you’ll be able to actually learn it.
But we’ll discuss the definition in a future lesson – stay tuned.

How does Maqam relate to actual music? – we saw that in the songs. The
maqam is the abstraction from the collective knowledge contained in the songs

How do you improvise in Maqam? By knowing the melodies, by knowing the pathways.
This is the big picture, but to get down to the smaller scale you have to know all the jins melodies,
Just like learning vocabulary. Improvisation in music = speaking in a language.
which is the point of the jins lessons. (vocabulary)

The way this series is structured:

• Jins videos,
• Maqam videos,
• a few videos teaching you how to learn by ear if you haven’t developed that skill
• some videos in topics in maqam theory.

once you understand this – UNIT 1 – you can jump around in the lessons I’ve given, make sure you learn the main
ajnas, and then the maqamat. Eventually all the maqamat will be up. (may be up already).

Listening to more songs and melodies is the most important thing.

Resources to find songs and info:

• Maqam World + also scalar.
• Maqam Lessons
Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays
What is Maqam? Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

• Youtube – have to search in Arabic, but the Umm Kulthum Channel.

We already discussed the equivalence between the networks of music in your memory ( = expectation), that in
the community, and that in the music.

Before you go, think about these questions:

How do you think the process of learning affects [learning is also a time sequence, you learn one thing then
another]
• the structure of music in your memory - what and how you expect….
• how you experience the music,
• and the joy you derive from it?
What happens if you follow a set of written rules and try to memorize them and try to fit the music you hear into
those rules,
vs. a playful, open experience of copying what you enjoy, and allowing connections to grow organically?

How do you think this relates to the best way to learn to speak a new language?

Once we realize that structure of music comes out of something – content – that is the possession of a particular
community,
what are the politics of seeing it that way? How does it relate to the politics of languages? High vs. low
English, dying languages.

How does an individual distinguish herself when there is so much collective knowledge? How does that work in
spoken language?
Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays
What is Maqam? Lesson 12: Masterclass (Inside Arabic Music Ch 17)

Let me leave you with a few other thoughts.

Aristotle, the poetics.
Gjerdingen, Music in the Galant Style

Thanks Patreon. subscribers, and those who have been reading and recommending my book “Inside Arabic
Music,” co-authored with Johnny Farraj, the creator of Maqam World.com

Taqsim Rast.

Copyright 2021 Sami Abu Shumays