Say you’ve just learned Bayati on the oud. You can find the half-flat, play the scale and come back down. Then you put the oud down and wonder, “What songs should I listen to or learn so I can actually grasp how Bayati sounds like?” One of my students built a website for himself that gives you a lovely answer to that question. It’s called Masters of Tarab. If I’d had this website when I was learning oud, it would have been so useful. I could have gone straight from a name in my lesson notes to an evening of listening.
There are several ways into the catalogue. You might have an artist in mind, or be curious about a particular genre, country or decade. For an oud player, the way in that I find especially interesting is the maqam wheel. Here’s how I’d use it, and a little exercise you can try today.
Start with one slice of the maqam wheel
Open the interactive maqam wheel and find the orange Bayati family. Look along that band and you’ll see Bayati, Shuri, Husayni and other names. Now select Bayati itself. You can look at its notes, see the ajnas (the smaller melodic units that make up a maqam), and follow the list of songs. If you already have your oud out, you can jump straight to the Bayati listening playlist.
I like that you can work backwards, too. Choose a jins near the centre and see which maqamat use it. If the opening of a new piece reminds you of something you already play, that gives you a specific question to investigate. Do the two melodies start on familiar ground? Where do they go their separate ways?
Explore Arabic maqam, Iraqi maqam, Turkish makam and Persian dastgah
The screenshot shows the Arabic and Iraqi view. The site also gives the traditions room to speak for themselves. That matters when a familiar name turns up in a different musical setting. Here are four places to start.
- Arabic maqam — If you’re working through Bayati, Rast or Hijaz in your oud lessons, start here and explore how the ajnas fit together.
- Iraqi maqam — Look up Lami or Mukhalif, then return to the wheel and find where your choice sits alongside the Arabic repertoire.
- Turkish makam — Explore the Turkish names and the melodic building blocks called çeşni. Pick one makam and spend a little time with its own vocabulary.
- Persian dastgah — Start with Shur. Then look for names such as Dashti and Abu Ata. If you’ve come to Persian music through Arabic oud, this gives you a way to explore those relationships on their own terms.
Follow a musician through the catalogue
Some days I’d rather start with a musician whose playing I love. The artist directory is the quickest way in. For instance, open Jalal Zolfonun’s works timeline for a route into Persian setar playing. Make a playlist of the most catchy tunes so you can study it later.
For a different question, open the interactive artist map. It places singers and composers across time and shows the works that connect them. If you know a song through its singer, follow the connection to its composer. That can take you to another voice, another song, and a corner of the repertoire you’d have had little reason to search for by name.
Try this tonight
- Open the Bayati playlist and start listening.
- Make a playlist of your favorite songs in each maqam.
- Learn to hum or sing the melody while listening.
- Try to translate what you hear into your oud playing.
That’s how I’d start using my student’s site. Ten minutes with two recordings can give you something quite specific to bring into tomorrow’s practice. When you’re ready to try a different maqam, the playlist directory is a good place to choose your next listen.
If you liked this, then explore the top ranked classic Arabic music by maqam.
