Resources / Makams / Perde — the named pitch positions
Perde — the named pitch positions
What a perde is
Established A perde is a named pitch position in the Turkish system. Not a
note name in the Western sense — the names carry function and history, and the exact
tuning of a perde can shift slightly with context.
Turkish notation writes rast as G by convention. Actual sounding pitch depends
on the ahenk (see 03-theory/turkish-vs-arabic.md).
Main octave, ascending from rast
Established Principal perdeler with their conventional written pitches:
| Perde | Written | Commas above rast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rast | G | 0 | Reference |
| Nim Zirgüle | A♭↓ | 4 | |
| Zirgüle | A♭ | 5 | |
| Dügâh | A | 9 | Karar of Uşşak, Hicaz, Hüseynî, Kürdî |
| Kürdî | B♭ | 13 | |
| Segâh | B♭↑ | 17 | Neutral third. Karar of Segâh, Hüzzam |
| Bûselik | B | 18 | |
| Çârgâh | C | 22 | Perfect fourth above rast |
| Nim Hicaz | D♭ | 26 | |
| Hicaz | C♯ | 27 | |
| Dik Hicaz | C♯↑ | 28 | |
| Nevâ | D | 31 | Perfect fifth. Güçlü of many makams |
| Nim Hisar | E♭ | 35 | |
| Hisar | E♭↑ | 36 | |
| Hüseynî | E | 40 | |
| Acem | F | 44 | |
| Eviç | F♯↓ | 48 | Neutral seventh |
| Mahur | F♯ | 49 | |
| Gerdâniye | G | 53 | Octave |
The comma values are the AEU theoretical positions. Practice Performance
deviates, particularly for segâh and eviç.
Below rast
Established
| Perde | Written | Commas below rast |
|---|---|---|
| Yegâh | D | 22 |
| Hüseynî-aşiran | E | 13 |
| Acem-aşiran | F | 9 |
| Irak | F♯↓ | 5 |
| Geveşt | F♯ | 4 |
Names ending in -aşiran are the lower-octave forms. Kaba prefixes the octave
below that.
Above gerdâniye
Established
| Perde | Written |
|---|---|
| Muhayyer | A |
| Sünbüle | B♭ |
| Tiz Segâh | B♭↑ |
| Tiz Bûselik | B |
| Tiz Çârgâh | C |
| Tiz Nevâ | D |
Tiz = high. Tiz durak generally means the octave above the karar.
Naming logic worth knowing
Established Several perde names come from Persian ordinals counting positions
on the instrument: dügâh (2nd), segâh (3rd), çârgâh (4th), pençgâh (5th),
şeşgâh (6th), heftgâh (7th). Yegâh is the 1st. This is why the same words appear
as both perde names and makam names — the makam is named for where it rests.
Nim = half/lesser, marking a slightly lower variant. Dik = sharp/high, marking a
slightly higher one. So nim hicaz < hicaz < dik hicaz, separated by single commas.
Implementation note
Store perde as a first-class entity, not as a label on a pitch:
interface Perde {
id: string;
name: string;
writtenPitch: string; // 'G', 'B♭'
commasAboveRast: number; // AEU theoretical
practiceRange?: [number, number]; // in commas, where measured
register: 'kaba' | 'asiran' | 'main' | 'tiz';
}
Makam definitions then reference perde IDs rather than absolute pitches, which is both closer to how the theory works and easier to transpose correctly.
Sources
- Karl Signell, Makam: Modal Practice in Turkish Art Music (Seattle: Asian Music Publications, 1977; repr. Da Capo Press) — perde names, functions, and the rast-as-G notational convention
- Rauf Yekta, "La musique turque," in Encyclopédie de la musique et Dictionnaire du Conservatoire, ed. Albert Lavignac (Paris: Delagrave, 1922) — an early systematic account, in a Western language, of perde names and the Persian-ordinal naming logic (dügâh, segâh, çârgâh, etc.)
- Ozan Yarman, "79-Tone Tuning & Theory for Turkish Maqam Music" (PhD dissertation, Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory, 2008) — comma positions of perdeler and their divergence from measured practice
- Murat Aydemir, Turkish Music Makam Guide (Istanbul: Pan Yayıncılık, 2010) — perde reference tables as used in practice