May is Maqam Month – Learn 1 Maqam a day

Navid
daily maqam

May is Maqam Month. Let’s dedicate ourselves to learning maqams (maqamat). I’m posting a YouTube short everyday until the end of May to introduce a different maqam to you. I’ll also give an important nugget that will give you a new edge on each maqam. Click here to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you get notified when a new video has been published. Check out the playlist below: Want…

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Taqasim: Avoid playing the same thing again and again.

Navid
oud taqsim

This is a question I get regularly, and it’s one that me and everyone go through from time to time. I would recommend practicing creating simple phrases, and trying different ways of saying the same thing. Different stroke pattern, different number of notes, or stop on a different note, make a daily habit out of practising and taking some risks. Play something that doesn’t make sense. See what you can…

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Intonation, Compositional Intention, and Aesthetic in Shared Ottoman & Arabic Repertoire

Navid
maqam rast

A fascinating phenomenon in middle eastern music is that we have in Arabic and Turkish repertoire some shared repertoire that originate from the Ottoman school of music that permeated their way into Arabic music. However, these pieces are generally performed in such a way as to demonstrate a unique aesthetic. An important distinction between Turkish and Arabic renditions of the same composition are in the intonation of microtones employed in…

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Sufi music vs “Classical” music?

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sufi music

It’s actually difficult to distinguish between what really is “sufi music” and what is “Classical music” in the context of Persian music, especially if you are new to the culture and don’t speak the language. There is a lot of overlap. Any instrumental music could potentially be Sufi, however, not all music can be Sufi music.  Music with lyrics that deal with politics, romantic love, or everyday mundane things would not be heard in Sufi contexts. It depends on the purpose…

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3 things you’re doing to sabotage your taqasim skills

Navid
taqasim skills

In the last post I told you a story about my “avant-garde genius” Oud playing skills.  Basically, my point was that everyone starts out playing a taqasim not knowing what the hell they are doing.  Not being able to play a taqasim is going to make you feel like a Oud beginner forever.  You’re going to yearn for those times where you can just grab your Oud and make beautiful…

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There’s no manual on how to play a taqsim…

Navid

Part 1 of 3 There’s no how-to manual on how to play a taqasim.  Most students get thrown to the wolves when they learn taqasim with their teachers telling them to “just feel it”, “create your own melody”, etc, etc, etc.  AND, very few teachers know how to teach melody creation, or how to go about playing a taqasim.  This is one of the plateaus we reach when learning Oud…

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