Bayati is one of the most common maqamat in Middle Eastern singing and playing, with a tender, warm character. Its second degree is lowered by a quarter tone, which sets it apart from an ordinary minor scale.
Choose an instrument and a root above to see Bayati on the fretboard.
Note: a regular flat (like E♭) is a semitone, so it is blue. Only a half-flat (↓, e.g. E↓ or B↓) is a quarter tone, shown in yellow. Each quarter tone is drawn inside the fret box above it, and if that box also holds a regular note, both are shown side by side. Play it by bending the string or on a fretless guitar.
Degrees: 1 - ½b2 - b3 - 4 - 5 - b6 - b7
Notes on D: D E↓ F G A B♭ C
Notes on C: C D↓ E♭ F G A♭ B♭
In maqam Bayati the quarter tones are on degrees 2. On D these notes are E↓. On the fretboard they are marked in yellow, and the symbol ↓ marks a note lowered by a quarter tone (half-flat).