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Rast Analyses

Rast is, to my mind, the most important and central of the Arabic Maqamat. In Syria the motto is "If your night is going to be long, sing in Rast," because there are so many great and well-known songs in this maqam. Several of those songs are contained on this page, songs every arab musician of any experience must know, like Ghannili Shwayya, Ya Shadi il-Alhaan, and Ya Maal ish-Sham. And a maqam so well used is likely to have not only numerous very common pathways, but a large number of additional, alternate pathways--and even those are well known enough to occur in numerous instances. Rast is, in that sense, a "Big" maqam, with a large network of modulatory options, or to put it another way, a large vocabulary of Ajnas within its overall melody.

Below is the large list of ajnas incuded within Maqam Rast which are represented at least once on this page; compare that with the "pedagogical version" of the Maqam Rast network I developed as part of the Demo site in 2010. You will find that the principal ajnas - the ones which are most common - are the same, while the version presented on this page is much more complete, containing some of the rarer ajnas like Musta3aar and Sikah Beladi, which were left out of the earlier demo page.

01

(Aruh Li Meen)

02

(Aruh Li Meen)

03

(Aruh Li Meen)

10

(Aruh Li Meen)

39

(Aruh Li Meen)

40

(Aruh Li Meen)

51

(Aruh Li Meen)

10

(Ijma3 Shufna)

13

(Ijma3 Shufna)

16

(Ijma3 Shufna)

68

(Aruh Li Meen)

69

(Aruh Li Meen)

70

(Aruh Li Meen)

17

(Aruh Li Meen)

25

(Aruh Li Meen)

28

(Aruh Li Meen)

16

(Sihtu Wajdan)

17

(Sihtu Wajdan)


(Maqam Rast, Kirdan, Sazkar)

This first version of Maqam Rast, or, if you like, member of the Rast maqam family, is variously known, often simply as Rast, but also as "Maqam Kirdan" (referring to the note on which the melody starts, the octave above the root, a note which is known in the turkish naming system as "Kirdan"), or as "Maqam Sazkar" (the maqam name given to both "Ya Shadi il-Alhan" and "Sihtu Wajdan" in the collection Min Kunuuzina, despite it being known as "Rast" in other collections, such as Sabah Fakhri's majesterial recorded collection of Waslas known as Naghmat il-Ams), which refers to the raised second scale degree that occurs in some versions of these songs, including the Marie Jubran version of "Sihtu Wajdan" presented here.

The main defining ajnas of this version of Rast are: 2nd Rast 5/8, Nahawand 5, Hijaz 5, and Rast 1, presented in a descending order.

Ya Shadi il-Alhan

[song page with full recording]

01

02

03

melody dips below down to 3

04

05

06

07

melody variant reaches up to 11

08

09

10

11

12

Sihtu Wajdan

[song page with full recording]

01

melody extends to 9

02

03

04

Melodic emphasis on 3 (sikah)

05

06

2 instances of raised 2nd = "Sazkar"

07

repeat of first melody

08

09

10

melodic emphasis on 3

11

12

raised 2nd = "Sazkar"

13

real tonicization, unlike #5 & #11

14

Sikah with raised 2nd

15

16

other versions use Hijaz 5 (no raised 4)

17

other versions use Sikah 3

18

raised 6 to erase previous flat-6 of Hijaz

19

return to first melody

20

21

22

sikah emphasis

23

24

Sazkar with use of raised 2nd

Hayrana Leh

[song page with full recording]

01

02

03

04

05

06

just 3-4-5 here

07

08

again, just 3-4-5

09

10

11

could parse #10-11 together as "Rast 8"

12

dips to 4

13

14

use of raised 6 after Hijaz 5 to return to Rast 1

15

alternate parse of #05-09, including dips to 3-4-5

16

alternate parse of #10-11, including 2nd Rast area

17

final dip to 4 may seem momentarily like Ajam

18

19

use of raised 6 to return to Rast 1

20

(although melody here spans 6 to 9)

21

22

23

(although melody dips to 4)

24

25

26

27

stretches from 3 up to 9

28

29

30

31

use of raised 6 to return


(Maqam Suznak)

This version of Rast, known sometimes as "Maqam Suznak" for its emphasis on Jins Hijaz on the 5th scale degree, is also known simply as Rast, with an emphasis on 5. "Ghannili Shwayya" emphasizes the "Suznak" aspect, in that all verses end using Hijaz 5 as the second-to-final jins. Aruh Li meen is broader, (see extended discussion of Aruh Li meen), having many options of Rast pathways, but always emphasizing the 5th scale degree as the most important secondary tonic... and then in its final verse giving some time to the Secondary Rast pathway that dominates the first version of Rast.

Ghannili Shwayya

[song page with full recording]

01

02

melodic inclusion of 4 under tonicized 5

03

04

5-6-7 shared Bayati & Saba; ornamentation ambiguous

05

strong emphasis on 7 (3rd note above Nahawand 5)

06

phrase endings on 4, but tonic still 5

07

I'm told old man's voice is Zakaria Ahmed

08

again, melodic inclusion of 4

09

10

11

flat-5 distinguishes from Sikah 3

12

starts 3-4-5

13

14

could chose a later parse point

15

between Sikah 3 & Hijaz 5 here.

16

again, ambiguous (=#04). Coloring it Saba this time

17

strong emphasis on flat-7

18

19

Aruh li meen

[song page with full recording]

01

long passage in one jins, eventually up to 6

02

03

04

05

intro to 2nd verse; starts 3-4-5

06

strong emphasis on 4--feeling like Nakriz 4

07

08

just hint of Hijaz (flat 6)

09

2nd verse--long passage in Rast

10

prominent Hijaz of 2nd verse => Maqam Suznak

11

12

extended passage in Hijaz

13

use of raised 6 to return to Rast

14

shared verse ending

15

16

17

3rd verse; brief start on 1

18

a unique jins, raised 4 in Sikah Beladi to emphasize 5

19

3 is where Hijaz occurs in Sikah; this resembles that

20

21

22

23

like #19, intervals not exactly Hijaz, but similar

24

25

26

melody doesn't dip underneath tonic

27

reaches up to 8 at end

28

back to instrumental, Sikah-Beladi 8

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

making our way back to a stable 5...

37

also includes 3-4-5

38

39

final phrase ambiguous, leading to Saba

40

strong "tone painting" here--"I cover my tears" etc.

41

lowered 4 distinguishes this from Hijazkar 5

42

use of raised 6 to return to Rast

43

shared verse ending

44

45

46

4th verse intro

47

unusual usage of flat 7 w/o resolution to Nah. 5

48

49

very striking!

50

51

(tonicizing 8 from below)

52

53

emphasis on 3, not tonicized yet

54

55

56

emphasis on 3

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

very conclusive phrase! pointing to the end

66

first extended emphasis on Nahawand

67

68

69

70

Raised 4 (2 relative to Sikah tonic) distinguishes from Sikah

71

emphasis on 4

72

73

Again, some might call this "Nakriz 4"

74

75

76

77

78

(again, emphasis on 4)

79

80

81

strong flat-7

82

83

alternate parse of #81-2; descent within Rast from flat-7

84

shared verse ending

85

86

Fakkaruni, Verse 1

Fakkaruni includes elements of both of the previously presented versions of Maqam Rast, starting with the emphasis on 5 common to the second version of Rast. After going into very distant territory indeed, with the "True Rast 5" in sample #13 (see the explanation for why this is a unique modulation in the sections on Jins Secondary Rast and Unique Maqam Pathways), this verse of Fakkaruni concludes with the descending Rast of the first version.

[song page with full recording]

01

02

with raised 4 => immediate strong tonicization of 5

03

04

tonicizing 5 from underneath

05

really only 5-4 with natural 4 (as opposed to half-# or #)

06

alternate parse of #02-03

07

tonicizing 5 from underneath

08

again, just 5-4 with natural 4 (as in jins Rast 1)

09

Strong Ajam feeling on 7

10

emphasis is still Nahawand 5, though in area of Rast 1

11

Strong Ajam 7

12

still emphasizing/tonicizing 5 here

13

a unique occurrence; the typical jins on 5 tonicizes 8

14

flat-7 pulls us back here

15

dips all the way down to 2 in Rast area

16

back to typical use, tonicizing 8 (contrast with #13)

17

really only flat-6 to 5

18

end of verse 1


(Maqam Dalansheen, Rast Octave, & Jiharkah)

The last version of Maqam Rast presented here focuses primarily on the octave tonic, but unlike the first version of Rast (a.k.a. Kirdan a.k.a. Sazkar), this version remains on the octave, frequently using the Jins Rast above the octave, and the Jiharkah variant of those octave melodies; as well as using the Secondary Saba Jins, which, when it occurs in a more dominant/opening function defines "Maqam Dalansheen." Descent to the root tonic occurs, if at all, only at the very end of the song, or at the end of a few key phrases.

Mawwal Rast "Fein ya gameel wa3dak"

[song page with full recording]

01

02

dips to 7 & 6

03

04

05

06

07

dips to 7 & 6

08

09

ends on 6

10

flat-9; 6 emphasized but not tonicized

11

resolution to 5 of 2nd Saba 6/8

12

phrase end 6

13

14

15

16

end on 6

17

really just a slide down 8-5

18

19

20

goes up to 10-9-8

21

22

descends to 4 at phrase end

23

24

25

descent from 9

26

27

Ya Maal ish-Sham

[song page with full recording]

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

(octave)

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

(octave)

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

(octave)

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

resolution down 6 =>5

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

Ijma3 Shufna

[song page with full recording]

01

02

03

04

05

including 6 & 7 underneath octave tonic

06

07

including the area of 2nd rast

08

09

10

11

12

13

brief dip into 2nd Rast territory

14

emphasis on 9, 2nd degree above 8

15

resolution of #14

16

a typical rast modulation.

17

18


Mawwal "Kull illy habb itnasaf"

This Mawwal draws on elements of all three previous versions of Rast in its opening phrases, starting with an emphasis on the 5th, moving up to the octave and the Rast jins above the octave, and then transitioning via the Secondary Saba Jins, to an area that is so unusual that it cannot be considered a part of Maqam Rast--the use of Ajam on the same tonic (for a longer discussion and analysis of this mawwal, see the "Unique Pathways" page).

[song page with full recording]

01

02

03

04

05

06

end of qanun intro, start of layali

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

qanun jumps octave at end, anticipating--

14

extended passage includes resolutions to 5

15

16

17

18

19

20

violin tarjama (probably Gameel Ouweis)

21

22

23

24

#20-24 textbook "Dalansheen" passage

25

let the intensification begin!

26

typical Saba modulation

27

could start to just call this "Saba 6"

28

about as distant as possible to go from Rast 1!!

29

Sikah 4 part of this jins, from #25

30

finally, proper resolution 6-5

31

Suddenly transported!

32

33

a completely unique modulation from Rast!

34

35

36

37

38

39

not sure if this return really works, but it's genius!

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<< Previous: VII. The Big Picture ^ Current: Analyses by Maqam ^ "Maqam Analysis: A Primer" >>