Hicaz Makamı: The Augmented Second and the Sound of the Eastern Mediterranean

Hicaz is the sound most people mean when they say "Middle Eastern music." Its defining interval — the augmented second between a flattened second degree and a raised third — is instantly recognizable, appearing in Turkish classical and folk music, Arabic Quran recitation, klezmer, flamenco, and Bollywood film scores. No other makam spans so many traditions under so many names.

The augmented second

Established The sound that defines Hicaz is the artık ikili (augmented second), an interval of 12 Holdrian commas (approximately 272 cents). This sits between a Western major second (200 cents) and a minor third (300 cents) — large enough to feel like a leap, small enough to remain melodic. The interval appears between the second and third scale degrees: from the lowered second (dik kürdî) up to the raised third (nim hicaz), spanning a gap that has no equivalent in any Western major or minor scale.

Established In 12-TET approximation, this interval collapses to exactly 300 cents (three semitones, enharmonically a minor third). The AEU theoretical value of 272 cents is audibly narrower — roughly a quarter-tone difference. This compression is one reason 12-TET renderings of Hicaz, while recognizable, lack the taut, pulled quality of the interval as performed on fretless instruments.

Çeşni construction

Established Hicaz is built from two çeşni joined at nevâ, the güçlü:

• Hicaz dörtlü (dugah to neva): S-A-S = 5+12+5 commas (22 total) — the tetrachord that gives the makam its name and its sound. The two flanking küçük mücennep intervals (5 commas each) frame the central augmented second, creating a symmetrical structure around the leap.

• Rast beşli (neva to muhayyer): T-K-S-T = 9+8+5+9 commas (31 total) — the same pentachord that defines Rast makamı, here serving as the upper register. Its neutral intervals (the 8-comma büyük mücennep and 5-comma küçük mücennep) are the reason Hicaz is only approximately playable in 12-TET: the lower Hicaz dörtlü maps reasonably to a piano, but the upper Rast beşli does not.

Established The full construction — Hicaz dörtlü plus Rast beşli — sums to 53 commas (one octave), as Holdrian comma arithmetic requires of any complete AEU scale.

Scale in Holdrian commas

Established The ascending scale, in commas above the karar (dügâh):

Established The ascending intervals in commas are: 5-12-5-9-8-5-9. The first three intervals (5-12-5) form the Hicaz dörtlü; the remaining four (9-8-5-9) form the Rast beşli. The 12-comma augmented second between the second and third degrees is the widest single step in the scale — it is the interval the ear locks onto immediately.

Functional pitches

Established Hicaz designates three functional pitches that govern its melodic behavior:

• Karar (resting tone): Dügâh (A) — where phrases and the piece conclude, always with Hicaz çeşni coloration.
• Güçlü (dominant/strong tone): Nevâ (D) — the junction between the lower dörtlü and upper beşli. Half-cadences at nevâ characteristically take on Rast çeşni coloring, momentarily shifting the modal flavor.
• Yeden (leading tone): Rast (G below the karar) — a whole tone below dügâh, pulling upward toward the karar in cadential motion.

Seyir: the melodic path

Established Hicaz's seyir is classified as inici-çıkıcı (descending-ascending): the melody typically begins in the middle or upper register, descends through the güçlü to the karar, and explores both directions from there. This contrasts with Rast, whose seyir is purely ascending.

Practice In performance — particularly in taksim — a Hicaz seyir commonly unfolds as:

1. Begin in the vicinity of the güçlü (nevâ) or slightly above, establishing the upper Rast beşli region.
2. Descend through the Hicaz dörtlü, exposing the augmented second, and cadence temporarily on the karar (dügâh).
3. Explore upward again, reaching hüseynî and beyond into the upper register.
4. Return through the güçlü, with Rast-colored half-cadences at nevâ, and make a final descent through the Hicaz dörtlü to rest on dügâh.

Practice The half-cadences at nevâ with Rast coloring are a defining feature of Hicaz performance — they provide contrast against the tension of the augmented second in the lower register, briefly grounding the melody in Rast's more stable, neutral-third character before the final cadence reasserts Hicaz's identity.

The Hicaz family

Established Hicaz belongs to a family of four makams that share dügâh as their karar and use the Hicaz çeşni for their final cadences. They differ in their upper çeşni and the placement of their güçlü:

Established The first pair (Hicaz and Hümâyûn) use the Hicaz dörtlü in the lower register, with güçlü at nevâ. They differ only in the upper beşli: Hicaz uses Rast (with its neutral eviç degree), while Hümâyûn uses Bûselik (with its lower acem degree, avoiding eviç entirely — introducing eviç converts the passage to Hicaz). The second pair (Uzzâl and Zirgüleli Hicaz) extend the lower Hicaz çeşni into a beşli, pushing the güçlü up to hüseynî.

Practice These four makams modulate freely into one another during performance. A taksim that begins in Hicaz may pass through Hümâyûn by substituting acem for eviç, touch Uzzâl by expanding the lower çeşni to a beşli, or arrive at Zirgüleli Hicaz by introducing a second augmented second in the upper register. The family functions less as four discrete modes and more as a connected territory that performers navigate fluidly.

Hicaz across traditions

Attested The Hicaz çeşni — and scales built from it — appear under different names in an unusually wide range of musical traditions:

• Arabic: Maqam Hijaz, with Jins Hijaz as the root tetrachord. The Arabic system pairs Jins Hijaz with either Jins Nahawand (comparable to Turkish Hümâyûn) or Jins Rast (comparable to Turkish Hicaz) on the fourth degree. Maqam Hijazkar, built from multiple Hijaz ajnas, is the Arabic tradition's most common Hijaz-family variant.
• Jewish liturgical: Ahava Rabbah ("great love"), one of the primary prayer modes in Ashkenazi tradition, and a defining scale of klezmer music under the Yiddish name Freygish.
• Flamenco: The escala andaluza (Andalusian scale) or "Spanish Phrygian" — a foundational scale of southern Spanish music.
• Western theory: The fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, known as the Phrygian dominant.
• Indian classical: Raga Hijaz Bhairav (Basant Mukhari in Carnatic tradition).

Attested This cross-cultural prevalence reflects historical trade and cultural exchange routes — the name "Hicaz" itself refers to the Hejaz region of the Arabian Peninsula — but the specific tuning of the augmented second differs meaningfully between traditions. The AEU value of 12 commas (272 cents), the Arabic practice interval, and the 12-TET approximation (300 cents) are three distinct sounds. Treating them as interchangeable is a common error.

Established Hicaz is used extensively in Quran recitation, where Maqam Hijaz is one of the principal melodic modes for tajwid (recitation practice).

Practice guidance

Practice Hicaz is among the most immediately rewarding makams to learn — its augmented second is dramatic enough to be engaging from the first session, and its cross-cultural familiarity means most listeners already have some intuitive feel for the mode before studying it formally. The primary challenge is intonation: the AEU augmented second (12 commas, approximately 272 cents) must be learned as its own interval, not approximated from 12-TET's minor third (300 cents) or from a whole tone plus a quarter-tone.

Practice The upper register requires the same microtonal attention as Rast, since the Rast beşli above nevâ contains the neutral intervals (büyük mücennep and küçük mücennep) that distinguish Turkish makam music from any 12-TET grid. Drone work on dügâh, with careful attention to the augmented second's exact width, is the most effective entry point.