Applied
Practice
How to practice makam and dastgah effectively, with meshk.app as a companion tool.
- 01Using Meshk: From Theory to PracticeA friendly guide to meshk.app, the practice tool behind this site — which instruments and modes it covers, how to get sound out of it in three clicks, and how to use it alongside these articles.
- 02Ear Training for Neutral IntervalsA practical guide to hearing the microtonal intervals that define makam and dastgah music — the pitches between the frets that no piano can play, and how to train your ear to recognize them.
- 03Fretless Technique for Modal MusicPractical guidance for developing pitch accuracy on fretless instruments like the oud — finding microtonal positions by ear, building muscle memory, and bridging the gap between theoretical comma positions and real finger placement.
- 04How to Practice a New DastgahA structured approach to learning an unfamiliar Persian dastgah — from first listening through radif study to free improvisation, with concrete steps for each phase.
- 05The Meşk Tradition: Face-to-Face Musical TransmissionHow Ottoman and Persian classical music was taught before notation — the master-student meşk system, what it transmitted that notation cannot capture, and what survives of it today.
- 06How to Practice a New MakamA step-by-step method for learning any makam from scratch — from deep listening through guided improvisation — rooted in the oral tradition and applicable whether you are working through your first makam or your fifteenth.
- 07From Western Training to Modal MusicA practical guide for Western-trained musicians approaching Turkish makam and Persian dastgah — what transfers, what doesn't, the mindset shifts that matter, and how to start.
- 08A Microtonal Ear Training CurriculumA structured progression for developing the ability to hear, identify, and produce the microtonal intervals of makam and dastgah music — from neutral seconds through moteghayyer, built on what psychoacoustic research tells us about interval learning.
- 09Practice Routines for Makam and Dastgah MusiciansStructured daily and weekly practice frameworks for students of Turkish makam and Persian dastgah music — how to balance technical exercises, radif/taksim study, repertoire, and ear training within a sustainable routine.