עברית · English · العربية · Türkçe · Ελληνικά

An 8-week study plan

Published 6 October 2026

A plan that leads from a scale without quarter tones, through Hijaz, to Rast and Bayati with quarter tones, and on to combined maqamat. Each week states a goal, what to do on the site, and how to check progress. It suits players who already know basic fingering on their instrument, and you do not need to read notation. The plan relies on the tools explained in the user guide.

How to use the plan

• Time: about 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Short and daily is better than long and rare.
• Instrument: choose one instrument and stay with it. The bağlama has no positions view, so choose "All notes" and play an ascending and descending path.
• Root: start with D, and in weeks 7 and 8 try other roots.
• Tempo: start slow. Raise the tempo by 5 BPM only after three clean runs in a row.
• If you miss a day: do not worry, continue from the same point. If a week is hard: repeat it instead of moving on.

A daily routine of 25 minutes

1. 3 minutes, tuning: tune your instrument with the tuner.
2. 3 minutes, drone: turn on the drone on the root of the maqam. Hum or sing the root and hear how it blends with the sound.
3. 10 minutes, positions: choose one position, press "▶ Play" to hear it, then play it yourself with the metronome, up and down.
4. 5 minutes, the week's drill: the drill described for each week below.
5. 4 minutes, chords or improvisation: in weeks 1 to 3 play the five chords of the scale. From week 4 improvise for 2 minutes over the drone using the notes of one position.

Week 1: basics, metronome and a scale without quarter tones (Ajam)

Goal: get used to the fretboard and the metronome, and play one position without mistakes.

1. Open maqam Ajam on D. Choose "Positions" and a size of 3 frets.
2. Start "▶ Play" at 60 BPM and read the colors of the fretboard: red is the root, and all the rest are blue (no quarter tones).
3. Play position 1 yourself, up and down, with the click.
4. In the "Chords of the scale" card play the five chords at an even tempo.

Success check: position 1 up and down at 60 BPM, three times in a row without a mistake, and you can point to the root and the third degree.

Week 2: minor and Phrygian (Nahawand and Kurd)

Goal: hear the difference between three maqamat without quarter tones.

1. Open Nahawand and then Kurd on D, with a drone on the root.
2. Compare with Ajam from last week: what changes in the third and the second degree.
3. Play two positions in each maqam at 70 BPM.

Success check: you hear without looking which of the three is playing (major, minor or darker), and you play two positions at 70 BPM.

Week 3: Hijaz and the augmented second

Goal: get to know a maqam with a characteristic leap, still without quarter tones.

1. Open Hijaz and turn on the drone on root and fifth.
2. In the "Scale structure" card find the interval between the second and third degrees: three semitones.
3. Start "▶ All positions" at 60 BPM, then play one position at 70 BPM.
4. Invent a four-note phrase and play it over the drone.

Success check: positions 1 and 2 at 70 BPM, and 30 seconds of improvisation over the drone using the notes of one position.

Week 4: first quarter tones (Rast)

Goal: play and hear a correct quarter tone, and check it with the tuner.

1. Read the article Quarter tones: what they are and how to play them.
2. Open Rast on D. The yellow notes are F♯↓ and D♭↓. Turn on the drone on the root.
3. Play the yellow note slowly, and check it with the tuner in quarter-tone mode: the needle should be close to 0. On guitar you get a quarter tone with a gentle sideways push of the string. On the bağlama it sits on the fret.
4. Turn on "Microphone practice" at 60 BPM and get a first summary.

Success check: at least 8 out of 15 notes correct in microphone practice, and the yellow note within ±15 cents on the tuner. This is a start, and the numbers will rise.

Week 5: Bayati

Goal: master one quarter tone on the second degree.

1. Open Bayati on D and compare it with Nahawand: the difference is the quarter tone on the second degree.
2. Turn on a count-in of 4 beats and two repeats, and raise 5 BPM on each repeat.
3. Microphone practice at 70 BPM, twice a day.

Success check: 10 out of 15 notes correct in microphone practice at 70 BPM.

Week 6: Saba and Sikah (many quarter tones)

Goal: try maqamat rich in quarter tones, at a slow tempo.

1. Open Saba and Sikah. In Sikah five of the seven degrees are quarter tones.
2. Work at 50 to 60 BPM, with a drone, and hear each note against the drone before you play it.
3. Run microphone practice on one position of each maqam.

Success check: one position of each maqam at a slow tempo, and at least 8 out of 15 notes correct. If it is hard, stay in this week a few more days.

Week 7: combined maqamat

Goal: understand a maqam as two segments: a lower segment from the root and an upper segment from the fifth degree.

1. Open Nikriz, Suznak, Hijaz Kar and Nawa Athar.
2. On each maqam page read the structure, and choose two to practice.
3. Play the two segments separately and then together, at 70 BPM, on root D and on another root of your choice.

Success check: you explain each of the two maqamat you chose as two segments, and play one position in each at 70 BPM.

Week 8: review, speed and improvisation

Goal: put everything together and check your progress.

1. Choose three maqamat: one without quarter tones, one with one or two quarter tones, and one combined.
2. Turn on a count-in of 4, unlimited repeats and a tempo increase of 5 BPM, and try to reach a clean 80 BPM.
3. Improvise for two minutes in each maqam over a drone. Record yourself and listen.
4. Do microphone practice in Rast and Bayati, and write down the results.

Success check: 12 out of 15 notes correct in Rast at 70 BPM, and a clean 80 BPM in one of the maqamat.

After the eight weeks

• Return to the week that was hardest, and raise the tempo in it.
• Learn the other maqamat and scales on the site, and move to more roots, including quarter-tone roots.
• Add chords in the tuning of your instrument to your practice.
• It is recommended to consult a teacher or an experienced player, and to listen to recordings of players. The site helps with learning and practice, and does not replace a teacher.

A progress log to copy

• Week: ___ | Maqam: ___ | Instrument: ___
• Clean tempo (BPM): ___
• Microphone practice: ___ out of 15 notes
• Notes and decision for next week: ___

Tools on the site

← Home