Nikriz Makamı: The Augmented Second in the Middle

Most makams that carry the augmented second place it near the bottom of their scale — the Hicaz family builds its identity on that very position, a leap encountered almost immediately after the karar. Nikriz takes the same interval and shifts it upward, embedding the artık ikili between the third and fourth scale degrees of its pentachord. The result is a sound that shares Hicaz's tension but delays its arrival, creating a different pull entirely — one that Ottoman sources associate with heroic and martial character.

The mid-pentachord augmented second

Established The defining feature of Nikriz is the position of its augmented second within the lower çeşni. Where the Hicaz dörtlü opens with a small interval and places the augmented second as its second step, the Nikriz beşli delays it by prefixing a whole tone:

• Hicaz dörtlü: S(5)-A(12)-S(5) — the augmented second is the second interval, arriving early.
• Nikriz beşli: T(9)-S(5)-A(12)-S(5) — the augmented second is the third interval, arriving later.

Established Structurally, the Nikriz beşli is a whole tone prefixed to the Hicaz dörtlü. The same two perdeler — dik kürdî and nim hicaz — are involved in both cases, and the augmented second between them is the same 12 commas (approximately 272 cents). But because Nikriz's karar sits on rast rather than dügâh, this interval falls between the third and fourth scale degrees instead of the second and third. The opening whole tone (rast to dügâh) establishes a stable major-second foundation before the chromatic tension arrives — the ear has a moment to settle before the leap, rather than encountering it immediately.

Çeşni construction

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

• Nikriz beşli (rast to nevâ): T-S-A-S = 9+5+12+5 commas (31 total) — the pentachord that gives the makam its name. The augmented second of 12 Holdrian commas (approximately 272 cents) sits between dik kürdî and nim hicaz, flanked by two küçük mücennep intervals of 5 commas each.

• Rast dörtlü (nevâ to gerdâniye): T-K-S = 9+8+5 commas (22 total) — the same tetrachord found in the upper register of Rast makamı. Its büyük mücennep interval (8 commas, approximately 181 cents) introduces a neutral degree that does not map cleanly to 12-TET, making Nikriz only partially playable on fixed-pitch instruments.

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

Attested Özkan notes that the güçlü at nevâ can also support a Bûselik dörtlü (T-B-T = 9+4+9 commas) in the upper register, producing a variant with a lowered seventh degree. Both upper çeşni options are historically attested.

Scale in Holdrian commas

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

Established The ascending intervals in commas are: 9-5-12-5-9-8-5. The first four intervals (9-5-12-5) form the Nikriz beşli; the remaining three (9-8-5) form the Rast dörtlü. The 12-comma augmented second between the third and fourth degrees — dik kürdî to nim hicaz — is the widest single step in the scale.

Functional pitches

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

• Karar (resting tone): Rast (G) — where phrases and the piece conclude. Unlike Hicaz, which settles on dügâh, Nikriz rests on the lower rast.
• Güçlü (dominant/strong tone): Nevâ (D) — the junction between the lower beşli and upper dörtlü. Half-cadences at nevâ take Rast çeşni coloring, momentarily shifting the modal flavor.
• Yeden (leading tone): Irak — pulling upward toward the karar in cadential motion.

Attested Secondary cadences appear at dügâh, where a Hicaz çeşni character emerges — a structural echo of the Hicaz dörtlü embedded within the Nikriz beşli.

Seyir: the melodic path

Established Nikriz's seyir is classified as çıkıcı (ascending): the melody typically begins near the karar, rises through the Nikriz beşli to expose the augmented second, and continues upward through the güçlü into the upper Rast dörtlü before returning for the final cadence.

Practice In taksim performance, a Nikriz seyir commonly unfolds as:

1. Open at or near the karar (rast), establishing the tonal center.
2. Ascend through the Nikriz beşli, dwelling on the augmented second between dik kürdî and nim hicaz to expose the makam's identity.
3. Pass through the güçlü (nevâ) and explore the upper register with Rast dörtlü coloring.
4. Descend through the güçlü, with Rast-colored half-cadences at nevâ, and make a final descent through the Nikriz beşli to rest on rast.

Attested Özkan notes that despite the ascending classification, the lower register sees considerable expansion through transposition of the Rast dörtlü below the karar, reaching as far as yegâh. Modulations into Rast, Uşşak, and Hümâyûn are common during extended seyir.

Nikriz and Neveser

Established Nikriz and Neveser share identical lower pentachords — the Nikriz beşli. They differ only in the upper çeşni:

Attested Neveser is attributed to the composer Hammâmîzâde İsmâîl Dede Efendi (1778--1846), whose name for it — neveser, "new composition" in Persian — reflects its status as a deliberate creation rather than an inherited mode. Nikriz, by contrast, is described by Özkan as one of the oldest makams in Turkish music.

Established The distinction matters because Neveser, with its two augmented seconds (one in the lower beşli, one in the upper Hicaz dörtlü), is the makam that corresponds to what Western theory calls the "double harmonic minor" or "Hungarian minor." Nikriz, with only one augmented second, does not. Conflating the two is a common error in cross-cultural comparisons.

Not the double harmonic minor

Established Internet sources frequently identify Nikriz as the "double harmonic minor scale." This is incorrect. The correct correspondences are:

Established Nikriz has one augmented second; the double harmonic minor has two. Nikriz has a major sixth degree (hüseynî); the double harmonic minor has a minor sixth (acem). The confusion likely arises because Nikriz and Neveser share the same lower pentachord — both open with the same four intervals — but their upper registers are distinct modes with different characters.

Practice Any 12-TET comparison necessarily distorts these relationships. The Nikriz beşli's intervals of 5 and 12 commas do not align precisely with semitones, and the upper Rast dörtlü's büyük mücennep (8 commas, approximately 181 cents) has no 12-TET equivalent. These Western scale names orient the ear, but they are not equivalences.

Practice guidance

Practice Nikriz rewards players who already have experience with Hicaz — the augmented second is identical in size and quality, only its context changes. The challenge is training the ear to expect the leap after a whole tone and a küçük mücennep, rather than almost immediately above the karar. Practicing the Nikriz beşli as an extension of the Hicaz dörtlü — prefix a whole tone, keep everything else — is an effective starting point.

Practice Drone work on rast is essential. Because the karar sits a whole tone below the beginning of the chromatic action, the opening step from rast to dügâh must feel like a stable departure, not a destination. Ascending and descending the beşli against a sustained rast drone builds the internal map of where the augmented second lives relative to the tonal center.

Practice Pay attention to the transition at nevâ: the shift from Nikriz beşli to Rast dörtlü changes the modal character markedly. The lower pentachord is tense and chromatic; the upper tetrachord is stable and neutral. Learning to feel this boundary — and to make half-cadences at nevâ that acknowledge both colors — is where Nikriz performance becomes expressive.