עברית · English · العربية · Türkçe · Ελληνικά
Articles on maqamat, quarter tones and stringed instruments
Short, practical explanations for anyone learning maqamat and stringed instruments. Every article links to a fretboard, the tuner or a maqam on the site, so you can try it right away.
Quarter tones: what they are and how to play them on guitar
What a quarter tone is, which maqamat use it, how to play it on a guitar with regular frets, and how to practice it with a drone and a tuner.
ReadMaqam Rast for beginners: notes, structure and practice
Maqam Rast simply: the notes on D and on C, the quarter tones, the structure of its segments, and practice steps on guitar, bouzouki or bağlama.
ReadTetrachordo or trichordo bouzouki: what is the difference
The difference between a tetrachordo bouzouki (C F A D) and a trichordo (D A D): number of strings, tuning, chords, and how to start learning.
Read
Frequently asked questions
What is a maqam?
A maqam is a melodic mode in Middle Eastern and Arabic music: a scale together with rules of movement, emphasized notes and an emotional character. Some maqamat, such as Rast, Bayati and Saba, include quarter tones, notes that lie between two semitones.
What is a quarter tone, and how do you play it on guitar?
A quarter tone is half of a semitone (50 cents), the smallest step in a 24-note octave. On a guitar with regular frets you get it by a slight string bend, and on this site's fretboard quarter tones are marked in yellow.
Which maqamat and scales are on the site?
Rast, Bayati, Hijaz, Sikah, Saba, Nahawand, Ajam, Kurd, Nikriz, Suznak, Hijaz Kar and Nawa Athar, plus 22 Western scales and modes: major and minor scales, modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian and more), pentatonic and symmetric scales.
What is the difference between a tetrachordo and a trichordo bouzouki?
A tetrachordo bouzouki has four pairs of strings tuned C F A D, and a trichordo has three pairs tuned D A D. The site shows the fretboard, scales and chords for both.
How do you tune a bağlama (saz)?
The bağlama is tuned by düzen (tuning). The site includes 21 common tunings, such as Bağlama düzeni, Bozuk and Kara düzen, lets you shift the tuning by semitones, and shows scales and chords for the tuning you chose.
How does the tuner work?
The tuner listens through the microphone or a sound card and detects pitch in semitones or quarter tones. It is set up for guitar, bouzouki, bass and bağlama, and shows which string you play and how many cents it is off.
How do you practice positions with a metronome?
Choose "Positions" in the view and press play: the notes of each area of the neck flash and sound one after another at the metronome's tempo, in a recorded instrument sound. You can add a count-in, repeats and a tempo increase.
What is a drone and why practice with it?
A drone is a sustained background tone on the root of the scale. With it you hear each note's relation to the tonic, which helps especially when learning quarter tones and intonation.
Is the site free?
Yes, the site is free, needs no registration, and works in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Turkish and Greek, including on a phone.