Middle-Eastern music: Difference between revisions

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Important EDOs that meet these requirements are [[53edo]] and [[72edo]]. Both of these have found a certain dissemination in middle-eastern music.

For ~~turkish~~ music, Ozan Yarman also proposes [[34edo]], [[41edo]] and [[46edo]], within limits also [[29edo]], as acceptable compromises. 29edo, 34edo and 41edo have the property that the larger neutral second has a character close to a minor wholetone, and, playing the Rast maqam with it, the third note is less a neutral third than a 5/4-style major third. This matches the Turkish variant of Rast which indeed has such a third - the Arabic variant, however, is lower. 41edo, 34edo and 29edo can thus be considered suited for Turkish music but less so for Arabic music.

For Turkish music, Ozan Yarman also proposes [[34edo]], [[41edo]] and [[46edo]], within limits also [[29edo]], as acceptable compromises. 29edo, 34edo and 41edo have the property that the larger neutral second has a character close to a minor wholetone, and, playing the Rast maqam with it, the third note is less a neutral third than a 5/4-style major third. This matches the Turkish variant of Rast which indeed has such a third - the Arabic variant, however, is lower. 41edo, 34edo and 29edo can thus be considered suited for Turkish music but less so for Arabic music.

And here we see another nemesis of the tentatives to establish a common tuning standard: there is not one Middle-Eastern system but many. There are, by the way, not just differences between Arabic and Turkish systems but also regional differences within the respective cultures...

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== Unequal temperaments for maqamat ==

In equal temperaments, as seen above, there is always a tradeoff between the diverging requirements of high pitch accuracy and a manageable pitch count. One possible way out of this dilemma is use of unequal temperaments. These allow for playing of multiple maqamat with comparatively few notes, with, on the other hand, restrictions in the possibilities to modulate.

In equal temperaments, as seen above, there is always a tradeoff between the diverging requirements of high pitch accuracy and a manageable pitch count. One possible way out of this dilemma is use of unequal temperaments. These allow for playing of multiple maqamat with comparatively few notes, with, on the other hand, restrictions in the possibilities to modulate, at least from a fixed Arabic or Turkish perspective.

A paper by [[Erv Wilson]], describing a variety of layouts of Mideast tunings on generalized keyboards, can be found here: [http://anaphoria.com/RAST.PDF http://anaphoria.com/RAST.PDF].

@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 Important EDOs that meet these requirements are [[53edo]] and [[72edo]]. Both of these have found a certain dissemination in middle-eastern music.
-For turkish music, Ozan Yarman also proposes [[34edo]], [[41edo]] and [[46edo]], within limits also [[29edo]], as acceptable compromises. 29edo, 34edo and 41edo have the property that the larger neutral second has a character close to a minor wholetone, and, playing the Rast maqam with it, the third note is less a neutral third than a 5/4-style major third. This matches the Turkish variant of Rast which indeed has such a third - the Arabic variant, however, is lower. 41edo, 34edo and 29edo can thus be considered suited for Turkish music but less so for Arabic music.
+For Turkish music, Ozan Yarman also proposes [[34edo]], [[41edo]] and [[46edo]], within limits also [[29edo]], as acceptable compromises. 29edo, 34edo and 41edo have the property that the larger neutral second has a character close to a minor wholetone, and, playing the Rast maqam with it, the third note is less a neutral third than a 5/4-style major third. This matches the Turkish variant of Rast which indeed has such a third - the Arabic variant, however, is lower. 41edo, 34edo and 29edo can thus be considered suited for Turkish music but less so for Arabic music.
 And here we see another nemesis of the tentatives to establish a common tuning standard: there is not one Middle-Eastern system but many. There are, by the way, not just differences between Arabic and Turkish systems but also regional differences within the respective cultures...
@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 == Unequal temperaments for maqamat ==
-In equal temperaments, as seen above, there is always a tradeoff between the diverging requirements of high pitch accuracy and a manageable pitch count. One possible way out of this dilemma is use of unequal temperaments. These allow for playing of multiple maqamat with comparatively few notes, with, on the other hand, restrictions in the possibilities to modulate.
+In equal temperaments, as seen above, there is always a tradeoff between the diverging requirements of high pitch accuracy and a manageable pitch count. One possible way out of this dilemma is use of unequal temperaments. These allow for playing of multiple maqamat with comparatively few notes, with, on the other hand, restrictions in the possibilities to modulate, at least from a fixed Arabic or Turkish perspective.
 A paper by [[Erv Wilson]], describing a variety of layouts of Mideast tunings on generalized keyboards, can be found here: [http://anaphoria.com/RAST.PDF http://anaphoria.com/RAST.PDF].