As I introduced in my article, Arabic Maqam Theory – A Brief Introduction, there are many maqams that are commonly used in the Middle Eastern music, and each maqam has smaller sections. Some maqams sound very similar because they share same notes. Same but different. This may have caused some of you to think, “Do I need to learn all these maqams before I can play the Oud?”
The answer is no. Here, I created a video to show you how you can utilize just 1 maqam to play many different songs. I used Maqam Hijaz in this video.
The songs covered in this video:
Midnight Sun by Hossein Behroozinia (Iran)
Ah Ya Zein by Mohammed El-Bakkar (Lebanon)
Zeina by Mohamed Abdul Wahab (Egypt)
Raqsat al Gamal by Farid Al Attrach (Egypt)
Qadukka Al Mayyas (Iraqi Traditional)
Zeina by Mohamed Abdul Wahab (Egypt)
El Rey Nimrod by Aman Aman (Sephardic)
Ah Ya Zein & El Rey Nimrod use the 5th note of the hijaz scale to bring out the melody. I am playing Hijaz in D, so that makes the 5th note an A. Going up the scale and resting on the 5th in Persian music is called Bidaad. It is such an important and distinct melody that it is even given a name. Bidaad is part of the repertoire of the Radif which I also discuss here.
If you were worried about rushing to learn all the many maqams out there before watching the video, I hope it made you feel a bit better. Sure, it is great to know all kinds of maqams, their construction, and ways to move from one to another. And it does take some time to develop the ear for it and make it part of your music. But don’t let that stop you from playing one maqam, delving into it and learning all its subtleties. Try playing a few songs in the same maqam and learn how it works. Then move onto another maqam and do the same. With a lot of practice, and regular listening, you will be recognizing all different songs and maqams and playing them like it’s your second nature.
Special thanks to those who helped me with music research on Mike’s Oud Forum.
thank u very much, this is so helpful
You’re welcome. Thanks for your comment! Let us know if there are any other topics you would like us to write about or make a video about! Thanks!
I like your work, thank you a lot
You’re very welcome! Let me know if there is any way it can be improved.
Hi Navid,
Thank you for the post, can you please email me the music sheet for midnight sun by hossein behroozinia?
where i can get the notes from the midnight song?
soon i will get the master programm from u navid, is it possible to get the notes also from these 2 songs in the viedeo?
greets from germany
I will email them to you. I don’t have the notes for the other songs. But you can probably find Zeina online if you search for it and the one by Farid Al Atrach.