Makam: Modal Practice In Turkish Art Music

I have two rare and valuable books in my shelf among the others. "Music and Song in Persia: the Art of Avaz," by Lloyd Miller, is considered by some to be the last word on Persian traditional music. Signell's "Makam: Modal Practice in Turkish Art Music" is the other one, and I can say this much: if you want to get an inside-out look at Turkish art music without going to Turkey or learning to speak Turkish, this is the book you want. Signell did the right thing: rather than merely go and study the natives, he "went native"--he learned to play the ney, and studied the music to learn it and not merely to study it. This approach, coupled with a familiarity with Western music and the theory behind it, enables Signell to root out the structure embedded in the traditions he studied. Whether you are trying to learn to play this music or just looking to understand how it all works, the information in this book will deepen your understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of traditional Middle-Eastern music.

I have not read the whole book,but it is one of the best I have found so far....covers a great deal of material useful to a musician wishing to play this music,with many,many examples of written music and complete songs to illustrate.somewhat hard to understand at first for me,requires rereading and studying....great glossary,notes and references...I have used this to find where to place the frets on my saz....

This book is a wonderful opportunity for everyone interested in learning about makam musical system, dr. Signell explained it really to the very detail.Also, in the second part of the book, there are examples and guide how to perform and play in the proper way.I found it extremly helpful for broadening my knowledge about the complete makam system.

The most comprehensive book about turkish maqam .

excellent read for all university musicians

Not worth the cost.

The author, Karl Signell, spent four years studying and teaching in Turkey and the original book began as his doctoral dissertation in 1973 which made it into paperback in 1977 and has been revised several times with a digital edition in 2004.One very useful page is the pronunciation of the Turkish letters, which is quite different to English pronunciation.Signell first discusses the historical evolution of Turkish notation and the history of the music. Dealing with Classical and Contemporary music he then explains Turkish intervals in a readable and understandable way. These intervals have general rules but depending on the individual Makam and the artist playing it, these intervals might vary.The chapter on Intervalic structure gives many examples of scales and pitches along with a diagram of a Tanbur neck that has been fretted for a twenty four note octave. Tetrachords and Pentachords are well explained and how they are used to build Makam scales.The book goes on to discuss Tonal Centres, Modulation, Stereotyped Phrases and Tessitura, all these have examples and I’ve counted 114, plenty to work at.

Covers the field quite well (but I think another one is better & of more practical use - Ederer's book on lulu.com)