Uşşâk
- Effect
- Laughter (dilhek)
- Hour
- As the sun sets
Uşşâk is one of the twelve cycles, and it lives on today as a simple makam. It comes to rest on dügâh; its dominant is nevâ; its course is ascending. It has a subtlety all its own: on the way down, the segâh pitch is lowered by a comma or two. It is grave and dignified; it carries both devotional and passionate feeling. Its repertoire stretches from Nâyî Osman Dede to Tatyos Efendi.
In the account attributed to Safiyyüddin, as in the list attributed to Fârâbî, Uşşâk is the makam of laughter. Şirvânî writes that it gives strength and courage. Şuûrî, for his part, sees in it something that brings sleep and ease. Şuûrî places it at sunset; in the list Şirvânî transmits, it is the makam of noon. Şuûrî says Uşşâk is the makam best suited to the gatherings of the Turks; Şirvânî, too, finds it suited to the nature of the Turks. Şuûrî links it to the sign of Pisces.
Sources: Scale and character: Özkan, "Uşşak", TDV İA, XLII, 231-232 (2012). The twelve cycles: Özkan, "Makam", TDV İA. Laughter: Akdoğan, AÜİFD XLVIII/1, 80; Kalender, AÜİFD XXIX, 362. Strength and noon: Akdoğan, 79-81. Sleep and ease, sunset, Turkish gatherings, zodiac sign: Şuûrî, Turabi edition, 163-166; Kalender, 363.
What is written here is not a treatment recommendation; it is one culture's way of hearing sound.