Ever wonder how modulations work in taqsim? Ever find yourself listening to a taqsim and never understanding what’s going on?
This week I attempted to put some Maqam stuff into the technique series. You’re going to see how you can use Jins Rast to move into other Maqamat.
The use of Jins Rast is something I wanted to add into the Maqam Mastery Program but realized it was too big for the program, and slightly beyond its scope. But here is a little hint of what I mean by using Jins Rast to modulate.
I’ve played a taqsim and tried to describe what I’m doing during each movement into another Maqam.
Check out the video!
Taqsim with Jins Rast
Difficulty: advanced
What?
Jins Rast is a sequence of 4 and sometimes 5 notes. It is basically,
whole step, 3/4, 3/4, (whole step)
C, D, Eqb, F, (G)
On the Arabic Oud, you can start Jins Rast in different keys. Usually on C, G, and F. Those are the most comfortable places to start it. But you can also start it on A, and D as well.
Why?
Why use Jins Rast? I’ve shared more of my thoughts on this in this article here.
The Secret to Playing Taqsim Using Jins Rast
Jins Rast can be found (hidden) in many different Maqamat. This is one of the first reasons why using it is easy.
How?
Using Jins Rast seems to neutralize the Maqam played before it making it easier for your ear to digest modulating into another Maqam. That’s really all there is to modulation, finding ways to change the Maqam without sounding too sudden. The greatest modulations are sneaky!
What Next?
Modulation in Arabic music is tricky. At Oud for Guitarists, we found that many people wanted to learn how to do it, and how to really master the Maqamat, so we made a learning program exactly for that purpose.
The Maqam Mastery Program helps you learn Maqamat systematically and focuses on ear training to help you recognize different Maqamat by ear.
Next week you’re going to see some right hand strumming techniques, so stay tuned, and if you haven’t already subscribed to the newsletter you do so below!
