Classical Arabic Music: Takseems (Improvisations) - Κλασική Αραβική Μουσική:Ταξίμια (Αυτοσ

Arabic music isn’t like Western music (it isn’t like Turkish or Persian music either). The Arabic music we use for dance often has Western influences. The following are notes on classical Arabic music. The tonal system divides an octave into twenty-four (non-equal) intervals. Each tone has its own name (which is not repeated in the next octave) and is defined by its position relative to other tones – rather than absolute pitch. In fact the pitch can deviate by as much as a fourth from the nominated pitch. (The independence in pitch is possible because Arabic music does not use harmony – no chords to sound ’off’.) The tones are arranged in over seventy maqamat. These are made from seven tones from the octave in a combination of augmented, major, medium, and minor second intervals. (In comparison the Turkish system also uses natural fifths and fourths) It is the use of the medium second (about a three-quarter tone) which gives Arabic music its unique quality. Each maqam has a nucleus