Maqam Saba on guitar

The notes, one by one

Steps are counted in equal quarter tones of 50 cents, the usual written convention for Arabic maqam. Real intonation shifts with region, maqam and player. Pitches are given in cents above the tonic; a fretted semitone is 100 cents.

Ajnas

A maqam is built from small units of three to five notes, each with its own colour. These are the units of Maqam Saba.

• Jins Saba

  On D, 4 notes

  D · E half-flat · F · G♭

• Jins Hijaz

  On F, 4 notes

  F · G♭ · A · B♭

• Jins Ajam

  On B♭, 3 notes

  B♭ · C · D

Sayr

Jins Saba on the tonic, Jins Hijaz overlapping it from the third degree, F, then a third jins on B flat.

1. Jins Saba establishes the maqam around the tonic, D, up to its narrow fourth, G flat.
2. Jins Hijaz overlaps it from the third degree, F, and carries the melody up to B flat.
3. On B flat the third jins is either Ajam, which arrives on the octave D, or Nikriz, which arrives on D flat instead.

Example phrase

Climbs Jins Saba to rest on F, leans on G flat, goes up through Jins Hijaz to B flat, comes back down to the tonic and settles there after touching the C below it.

A short outline written for Fretwise that follows the sayr above. It is not a quotation from the repertoire. Press “Play the phrase” on the neck to hear it.

Sources

• MaqamWorld: Maqam Saba

Tuning convention: 24-tone equal temperament. Intervals are written as in the source; practice varies by region and player.