Maqam

A makam is the journey of notes moving in an order. It knows which pitch to begin from, where to pause, where to turn, and where to come to rest. That is why it is more than a scale; it is a state. The physicians and musicians of old believed that each makam awakens a different state in a person, and they classified them: one brings joy, one sleep, one courage.

The trace of this tradition reaches back to the Seljuk and Ottoman hospitals. Evliya Çelebi writes that a group of ten singers and instrumentalists was attached to the hospital of Sultan Bayezid II in Edirne for the patients, and that they came three times a week to give a musical performance. The patient lies down and listens; the aim is to change his state, to bring ease to his heart.

The effects of the twelve makams below are taken from the classification popularly attributed to al-Farabi. Most of these makam names appear in the "twelve makam" system that took shape after al-Farabi; it is more accurate to read the classification as a tradition of wisdom. The times of day are based on Ta'dîl-i Emzice, a work by the 17th-century physician Şuûrî Hasan Efendi.

On each makam's page you will find a piece produced with artificial intelligence, inspired by the mood of that makam. These pieces do not carry the microtonal subtleties of traditional performance exactly; each is an interpretation that opens the door of the makam a little. What is written here is not a treatment recommendation, but one culture's way of looking at sound.