Rhythm, Syntax, and Rhetorical Pauses in the Turkish Taksim

Yoram Arnon

The taksim (Arabic, taqsim) is a solo, improvised, instrumental genre performed in the classical musics of the Arab world and Turkey. The rhythm of the taksim is often termed “free,” or “non-metrical” in ethnomusicological writings, and usûlsüz (lacking metricity, usûl) in Turkish musicological writings. This ambiguity of description and definition has caused both Turkish and non-Turkish researchers to avoid the subject and to concentrate on tonal-melodic analysis. This study illustrates a preliminary method for the analysis of the rhythm of the taksim, focusing on what can be considered the most basic temporal structure of the taksim—its division by pauses into sections and units. This kind of structure, which is suggested by other studies of the taksim, resembles grammatical and syntactical structures because it relies on a hierarchy of structural levels. The analysis of the use of pauses in taksims performed by the tanbur master Necdet Yasar, has revealed a careful organization of the relation between pauses and played material. Though other unmetered genres exist in Turkish classical music, one could say that the rhythm of the taksim represents a unique rhythmic phenomenon against the metered rhythm (usûl) of the main corpus of this music. It is here argued that the unique rhythm of the taksim is connected to a distinctive function served by this genre—its use as a tool for individual artistic expression. This connection is formed by the metaphor of speech, which Turkish musicians apply to the performance of the taksim. In this metaphorical and analogical context, the rhythm of the taksim is conceived as the rhythm of speech or oration in the artist’s “musical verbalization." Mastering the performance of the taksim means using its rhythm as a rhetorical device to convey musical meanings.

ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY SOCIAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE RHYTHM, SYNTAX, AND RHETORICAL PAUSES IN THE TURKISH TAKSIM Department: Advanced Studies in Music Program: Ethnomusicology M.A. Final Project Yoram Arnon DECEMBER 2007 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to all MIAM family members, who made studying such an enjoyable experience. For their help, I would like to thank Dr. Robert Reigle, who instilled within me enthusiasm and provided me with new insights, and Prof. ehvar Be iro lu who helped me explore Turkish classical music and uncover the concepts of Turkish musicology. Special thanks go out to Dr. Paul Whitehead and Tolgahan Ço ulu for their help in handling the complexities of formalities. For their financial support of my studies in Turkey, I would like to thank The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, the State of Israel Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Division for Cultural and Scientific Affairs, and the Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education. During my years of studying Turkish music, I have always been welcomed by musicians and teachers who have willingly shared their knowledge with me, among them are Engin Baykal, Mehmet Emin Bitmez, Osman Nuri Öpekel, Yavuz Özüstün, Reha Sa ba , Yurdal Tokcan, and Alâeddin Yava ça. I have used this knowledge as a basis for the perceptions and insights presented in this study. Some of the work presented here is based on various formal and informal interviews that I conducted with Turkish musicians. For this study, I interviewed Murat Aydemir, Reha Sa ba , Yurdal Tokcan, and Necdet Ya ar; I thank them for their help. When I first started studying the musics of the Middle East, I took theory and analysis courses with Dalia Cohen, Taiseer Elias, Peretz Eliyahu, and Walter Feldman; this work is inspired by what I learned from them. I am also indebted to my teachers Nassim Dakwar, Yair Dalal, and Shlomo Takhalov, who provided knowledge and encouragement. My wife, Robin, and her mother, Annalee Greenberg, guided me through the mazes of English tenses and prepositions; if this work displays any clarity of reading, it is due to their invaluable help. My brother Amir was extremely helpful with statistics and analysis. My sisters, Orna and Tamar, helped me with other practical aspects of this work. My parents and family supported me during my years of studying in Turkey; without their help, this work could not have been accomplished. Yoram Arnon December 2007 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. vi CONTENTS OF THE CD-ROM ........................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. vii ÖZET ........................................................................................................................ ix 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 1 2. DEFINING THE TAKSIM ............................................................................... 5 2.1 History, Etymology, and Function ................................................................. 5 2.2 What Is the Taksim? ...................................................................................... 6 2.3 A Model of the Taksim – Levels on a Concrete–Abstract Continuum........... 7 2.3.1. First Level: Tonal Melodic Material .................................................. 8 2.3.2. Second Level: Formal Structure ........................................................ 9 2.3.3. Third Level: Rhythmic Material and Temporal Structure ............... 10 2.3.4. Improvisation ................................................................................... 14 2.4. A Model of the Taksim – Conclusions ....................................................... 17 2.5. Individual Expression and Conveying Makam ........................................... 18 3. FREE RHYTHMS ........................................................................................... 21 3.1 Defining Free Rhythms ................................................................................. 3.2 Studying Free Rhythms ................................................................................ 3.3 Free Rhythm Genres in Asian Art Musics – Abstract Melody .................... 3.4 Text, Speech, and Expression ...................................................................... 3.5 Transcribing and Analyzing Free Rhythms ................................................. 3.6 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 21 25 27 28 30 31 4. STUDYING THE TAKSIM ............................................................................ 32 4.1 Transcribing the Taksim .............................................................................. 4.2 Sections in the Taksim – Structural Levels .................................................. 4.3 Melodic Material vs. Time and Rhythm ....................................................... 4.4 Symbolic Meaning and Social Contexts ...................................................... 4.5 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 32 35 37 39 40 5. TRANSCRIBING AND ANALYZING PAUSES IN THE TAKSIM ......... 43 5.1 Orienting Transcription................................................................................. 5.2 Types and Species of Temporal Units ......................................................... 5.3 A Continuum of Types of Temporal Units .................................................. 5.4 Defining a Pause .......................................................................................... 5.5 Necdet Ya ar ................................................................................................ 5.6 Transcription of Pauses ................................................................................ 5.7 Usage of Pauses in the Taksim ..................................................................... 5.7.1 Starting with Longer Pauses ............................................................ 5.7.2 Pause Lengths .................................................................................. iii 43 44 45 46 47 48 57 57 58 5.7.3 Long Played Sections ....................................................................... 5.7.4 Clusters of Short Pauses ................................................................... 5.7.5 Pauses of the Same Length .............................................................. 5.8 The Use of Pauses on Various Structural Levels ......................................... 58 58 58 61 6. THE RHETORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RHYTHM OF THE TAKSIM ........................................................................................................... 65 6.1 The Discourse on the Rhythm of the Taksim ............................................... 6.2 The Taksim as Verbalization ....................................................................... 6.3 The Rhythm of the Taksim as the Rhythm of Speech ................................. 6.4 The Importance of Performance Context and Settings ................................ 6.5 Richness of Influence and Individual Expression ........................................ 6.6 The Syntactical Structure of the Taksim ...................................................... 65 66 67 69 69 71 7. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................. 74 APPENDIX: MUSICIANS’ BIOGRAPHIES ..................................................... 76 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................. 80 DISCOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 85 iv LIST OF FIGURES Page No. Figure 2.1 A model of the taksim ............................................................................... 8 Figure 2.2 A model of the taksim against a continuum of description ..................... 18 Figure 3.1 The organization of rhythm in music (Clayton 1996: 329) ..................... 24 Figure 4.1 Real-time taksim transcription (Erkmen 2007)........................................ 34 Figure 4.2 An example of a transcription by Touma (1971: 44)............................... 35 Figure 4.3 Rubin’s Vase ........................................................................................... 40 Figure 4.4 Symbolic Poles of the taqasim (Racy 2000: 316).................................... 40 Figure 5.1 A continuum of types of temporal units .................................................. 45 Figure 5.2 Examples of rhythmic contexts................................................................ 47 Figure 5.3 Transcription of pauses in Hicazkar Taksim ........................................... 49 Figure 5.4 Transcription of pauses in Irak Taksim ................................................... 50 Figure 5.5 Transcription of pauses in Hüseyni Taksim ............................................ 51 Figure 5.6 Transcription of pauses in Mahur Taksim ............................................... 52 Figure 5.7 Transcription of pauses in Nihavend I Taksim........................................ 53 Figure 5.8 Transcription of pauses in Nihavend II Taksim....................................... 54 Figure 5.9 Transcription of pauses in U ak Taksim ................................................ 55 Figure 5.10 Comparing transcription of pauses in seven taksims by Necdet Ya ar . 56 Figure 5.11 Sequence of pauses ................................................................................ 58 Figure 5.12 Sequence of pauses ................................................................................ 58 Figure 5.13 Pauses of the same length ...................................................................... 59 Figure 5.14 Same length in a melodic repetition ..................................................... 59 Figure 5.15 Same length in a period-like context ..................................................... 59 Figure 5.16 Same length in a melodic sequence ....................................................... 59 Figure 5.17 A mixture of pauses of similar lengths .................................................. 60 Figure 5.18 A mixture of pauses of similar lengths in melodic repetition................ 60 Figure 5.19 A mixture of two lengths in a melodic sequence................................... 60 Figure 5.20 A repetition of same length of pause when repeating a cadence ........... 61 Figure 5.21 Use of longer pauses to divide sections of gradual elaboration............. 62 Figure 5.22 Use of pauses to divide multi-level structures ....................................... 63 v Page No. LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1 Statistics of seven taksims by Necdet Ya ar ............................................. 57 CONTENTS OF THE CD-ROM Example 1 Necdet Ya ar. Mahur Taksim, 00:00 – 00.10 Example 2 Necdet Ya ar. Nihavend I Taksim, 03:32 – 03:42 Example 3 Necdet Ya ar. Mahur Taksim, 01:03 – 01:12 Example 4 Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey. Hicaz Taksim, 01:55 – 02:01 Example 5 Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey. Suzidil Taksim, 00:40 – 00:45 Example 6 Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey. Hicaz Taksim, 00:12 – 00:17 Example 7 Necdet Ya ar. Huseyni Taksim, 00:00 – 00:30 Example 8 Necdet Ya ar. Huseyni Taksim, 01:39 – 01:50 Example 9 Necdet Ya ar. Hicazkar Taksim, 00:26 – 00:37 Example 10 Necdet Ya ar. Nihavend II Taksim, 00:00 – 00:11 Example 11 Necdet Ya ar. Nihavend I Taksim, 00:00 – 00:14 Example 12 Necdet Ya ar. Ussak Taksim, 00:49 – 01:09 Example 13 Necdet Ya ar. Irak Taksim, 00:48 – 01:01 Example 14 Necdet Ya ar. Nihavend II Taksim, 00:24 – 00:50 Example 15 Necdet Ya ar. Ussak Taksim, 03:30 – 03:50 Example 16 Necdet Ya ar. Mahur Taksim, 02:17 – 02:31 Example 17 Necdet Ya ar. Mahur Taksim, 00:02 – 00:11 Example 18 Necdet Ya ar. Mahur Taksim, 01:13 – 01:22 Example 19 Necdet Ya ar. Mahur Taksim, 00:00 – 01:40 Example 20 Necdet Ya ar. U ak Taksim PDF File Rhythm, Syntax, and Rhetorical Pauses in the Turkish Taksim vi University : Istanbul Technical University Institute : Institute of Social Sciences (MIAM) Subject : Music Programme : Master of Arts Area of Concentration : Ethnomusicology Supervisor : Dr. Robert Reigle Thesis Type and Date : Final Project – December 2007 Abstract: RHYTHM, SYNTAX, AND RHETORICAL PAUSES IN THE TURKISH TAKSIM Yoram Arnon The taksim (Arabic, taqsim) is a solo, improvised, instrumental genre performed in the classical musics of the Arab world and Turkey. The rhythm of the taksim is often termed “free,” or “non-metrical” in ethnomusicological writings, and usûlsüz (lacking metricity, usûl) in Turkish musicological writings. This ambiguity of description and definition has caused both Turkish and non-Turkish researchers to avoid the subject and to concentrate on tonal-melodic analysis. This study illustrates a preliminary method for the analysis of the rhythm of the taksim, focusing on what can be considered the most basic temporal structure of the taksim—its division by pauses into sections and units. This kind of structure, which is suggested by other studies of the taksim, resembles grammatical and syntactical structures because it relies on a hierarchy of structural levels. The analysis of the use of pauses in taksims performed by the tanbur master Necdet Ya ar, has revealed a careful organization of the relation between pauses and played material. Though other unmetered genres exist in Turkish classical music, one could say that the rhythm of the taksim represents a unique rhythmic phenomenon against the metered rhythm (usûl) of the main corpus of this music. It is here argued that the unique rhythm of the taksim is connected to a distinctive function served by this genre—its use as a tool for individual artistic expression. This connection is formed by the metaphor of speech, which Turkish musicians apply to the performance of the taksim. In this metaphorical and analogical context, the rhythm of the taksim is vii conceived as the rhythm of speech or oration in the artist’s “musical verbalization.” Mastering the performance of the taksim means using its rhythm as a rhetorical device to convey musical meanings. Keywords: taksim, taqsim, taqasim, improvisation, free rhythm, non-metrical, nonmetrical, unmetered, usulsüz, pauses, verbalization, speech, rhetoric, oration. viii Üniversitesi : stanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Enstitüsü : Sosyal Bilimler (MIAM) Anabilim Dalı : Müzik Programı : Yüksek Lisans Tez Danı manı : Dr. Robert Reigle Tez Türü ve Tarihi : Bitirme Projesi / Aralık 2007 Özet: TÜRK MÜZ TAKS M’ NDE R T M, SENTAKS VE RETOR K DURAKLAMALAR Yoram ARNON Taksim (Arapça, taqsim), Arap dünyası ve Türkiye’deki klasik müzik repertuarında solo olarak çalınan ve emprovizasyon (do açlama) unsurları içeren enstrümantal bir tarzdır. Etnomüzikolojik ara tırmalarda “serbest,” ya da “ölçüsüz” gibi terimlerle adlandırılan Taksim ritminden, Türkçe müzikoloji literatüründe “usulsüz” (ölçü, yani usul’den yoksun) olarak bahsedilir. Ritim unsurunun açıklanmasındaki bu belirsizlikten dolayı, Türk ve yabancı ara tırmacılar bu konuyu bir kenara bırakmı ve daha çok tonal-melodik analiz konusuna e ilmi lerdir. Bu çalı ma, taksim ritminin analizi konusunda bir ba langıç metodu olu tururken, taksim’in en temel tempo yapısı olarak kabul edilebilecek olan, duraklamalarla çe itli kesitlere bölünmesi özelli ine odaklanır. Taksim üzerine yapılmı di er çalı malarda da bahsedilen bu tempo yapısı, aslında, hiyerar ik olması sebebiyle, bir nevi, gramer ve sentaktik yapılara benzer. Tanbur ustası Necdet Ya ar’ın icra etti i taksim’lerdeki duraklamaların analizi sonucunda, çalınan eserle aralarında dikkatlice planlanmı bir ba oldu u ortaya çıkmı tır. Türk klasik müzi inde daha ba ka ölçüsüz tarzlar da yer alır. Ama, taksim ritmi, Türk klasik müzi inin temel eserlerindeki ölçülü ritim (usul) kavramına kar ı gelen kendine özgü bir ritmik olgudur. Bu çalı mada, taksim’in kendine has ritminin aslında bu tarzın ba ka bir fonksiyonuyla alakalı oldu undan bahsedilmi tir –ki isel sanatsal ifadenin bir aracı olarak kullanımı. ix ki unsur arasındaki bu ba , Türk müzisyenlerin taksim icrasında uyguladı ı mecazi konu ma ile sa lanır. Bu mecazi ve analojik ba lamda, taksim ritmi, sanatçının “müzikal sözlü ifadesi”ndeki konu ma ya da diskur ritmi olarak ele alınır. Taksim icrasında ustala mak, onun ritmini, müzikal anlamları ifade etmek üzere retorik bir araç olarak kullanmaktır. Anahtar kelimeler: taksim, taqsim, taqasim, emprovizasyon (do açlama), serbest ritim, ölçüsüz, usulsüz, duraklamalar, sözlü ifade, konu ma, retorik, diskur. x 1. INTRODUCTION The taksim is a unique genre in Turkish classical music. It is unique because it is improvised and because it has an unmetered rhythm. These characteristics distinguish it from other genres, both vocal and instrumental, that form the main corpus of this music. The taksim is improvised. This means that its content is not pre-composed but is generated during performance. The practice of performing a taksim resembles precomposition in some respects, such as using the same melodic material (makam) and melodic progressions (seyir), but it employs different processes and different models than those used for pre-composition. This practice can be termed real-time composition. The product of this form of composition, the taksim, is inimitable, unrepeatable, and is easily distinguishable from a pre-composed piece. The second unique characteristic of the taksim is its rhythm and time structure. The rhythm of the taksim is not subjected to the prevalent rhythmic system of Turkish classical music—the usûl. In fact, when considering literature and discourse on Turkish classical music, no restriction at all can be found concerning the rhythm of the taksim and its temporal structure.1 Even the length of the taksim is not restricted, and presumably, a taksim can last from a few seconds up to a few hours. This does not mean that there are no restrictions in musical practice. When listening to taksims one can hear that musicians use certain rhythmic formulas , adhere to certain rhythmic conventions, and limit their rhythmic material to conform to certain aesthetic ideals. Nevertheless, these rhythmic characteristics are not formulated in any discussion—not in literature and not amongst musicians. 1 Therefore, one might say that the rhythm of the taksim is improvised and that its unmetered rhythm is, in fact, an “improvised” rhythm. Nevertheless, I avoided this kind of observation since it would necessitate an extensive discussion about the nature of improvisation. Moreover, there exist in Turkish classical music both metered forms of improvisation as well as unmetered pre-composed genres. In literature about the taksim, these two characteristics (improvisation and “free rhythm”) are usually presented as two separate issues. 1 Since the taksim exhibits such characteristics of freedom (improvisation and unmetered rhythm), it is only natural that it is essentially a solo performance genre.2 The taksim is considered by musicians to be the best form for individual expression, and musicians who master the art of taksim performance are held in great esteem. Historical evidence shows that the taksim was already used for individual musical expression in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and it might be that it developed as a unique genre for this exclusive purpose. We can assume that this distinctive function performed by the taksim is strongly connected with its unique characteristics—its improvised nature and its unmetered rhythm. This study approaches the subject of the rhythm of the taksim from a number of perspectives: Chapter 2 explores the way the taksim in general, and its rhythm in particular, are defined, described, and characterized by literature and Turkish music theory: Any Turkish classical piece is composed by using melodic material, rhythm, and formal structure. In the case of pre-composed genres, these components are represented by the systems of makam and seyir, usûl, and generic forms (such as pe rev, arki, saz semaisi) respectively. These systems are concretely described and characterized by Turkish musical theory and composition practice, and their rules are well formulated. Yet, when considering the way these components are described and characterized when discussing the taksim, certain differences between their descriptions are apparent. While the melodic material of the taksim relies heavily on makam and seyir, as in pre-composed genres, its rhythmic material is neither defined nor described at all, or it is described very abstractly. This obscurity in the description of rhythm in the taksim allows for a variety of individual interpretations and for the formation of distinctive individual styles. It also enables more flexibility in adjusting the rhythmic characteristics of the taksim according to performance contexts and settings. Chapter 3 examines those rhythms that are termed free rhythms in various musics of the world. Such rhythms are usually classified in musicological literature as related to each other in some respect or another. Since the rhythm of the taksim is supposedly related to these rhythms, or shares certain characteristics with them, some theoretical approaches and methodologies for study might be gained by examining 2 Some sub-genres of the taksim involve several players. See also Stubbs 1994: 244ff. 2 concepts and ideas concerning these rhythms. One of the more insightful realizations derived from such a comparison, is the similarity in characteristics and in functions between the taksim and other Asian classical unmetered genres, especially the Hindustani alap. Free rhythm genres are employed in Asian art musics for exposing and introducing modes, and are used mostly in the context of a solo performance; they are often described as related to speech rhythms and to expressive devices. In Chapter 4, I examine some of the literature concerned with the study and analysis of the taksim. This chapter looks at the various problems concerning the rhythmic transcription of the taksim and some of the approaches used for solving these. It also surveys some of the studies of the taksim—studies concerned with musical analysis and those focused on social-psychological and ethnographic aspects. From these, some conclusions that are relevant to the arguments of the present study are summarized and emphasized. A preliminary approach and method to the transcription and analysis of the rhythm of the taksim is presented in Chapter 5. This approach stresses the importance of focusing transcription on the specific aspect of the music that is studied—in this case, rhythm. The transcriptions presented here are visual representations of the most basic level of rhythmic and temporal structure of the taksim—its division into sections and units by using pauses. By following this basic graph while listening to the musical examples, one can identify various melodic contexts in which pauses are used, as well as a careful organization of played sections and pauses. This usage and organization creates a hierarchical structure in which played sections and pauses appear on various structural levels. Chapter 6 focuses on the conception of the rhythm of the taksim by Turkish musicians. In this chapter, I use some formal and informal interviews, which were conducted specifically for this study with four prominent Turkish classical musicians: Reha Sa ba , Murat Aydemir, Necdet Ya ar, and Yurdal Tokcan. I also make use of information and knowledge I gathered in my four years of studying music in Istanbul, meeting musicians, and being exposed to the musical culture of the city. While conducting interviews, I discovered that musicians do not think about, or formulate ideas concerning rhythm in the taksim, in a concrete, practical way. Instead, discourse about the rhythm of the taksim tends to use philosophical ideas, metaphors, and analogies. The most recurrent of these analogies is the analogy of 3 language and speech. In this analogical context, mastering the taksim means mastering the art of verbalizing one’s individuality while staying within the framework of aesthetical rules and conventions. The rhythm of the taksim, therefore, is conceived as the rhythm of speech and oration; it has a rhetorical significance as an important means for expressing, or “verbalizing,” ideas in the performance of musical “oratory” or “sermon.” With relation to pauses, this significance is represented by the analogy musicians make between pauses and punctuation marks—an important syntactical-rhythmical device without which no “meaning” can be conveyed. When considering these analogies in light of the analysis findings presented in Chapter 5, and in other studies of the taksim and other non-metered improvisational genres, a striking resemblance between the structure of the taksim and syntactical and rhetorical structures of written language and oratory becomes apparent. This resemblance suggests that similar perceptual and cognitive processes might be behind the generation of these two forms of performance—unmetered musical improvisation and carefully structured oratorical speech. 4 2. DEFINING THE TAKSIM The taksim is defined by the Redhouse dictionary as an “instrumental improvisation (corresponding to a vocal gazel).” Trying to go beyond this generalized definition and to establish a more detailed and definite one proves to be a difficult task. In order to explore the subject of the definition of the taksim, this chapter uses sources by both Turkish and non-Turkish writers. Some of the Turkish sources that have been used were written by highly appreciated performers (for instance Alâeddin Yava ça, Cinuçen Tanrıkorur, and Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey); as such, they represent not only scholarly views, but performers’ views as well. Furthermore, non-Turkish writers (such as Walter Feldman, Karl Signell, and Frederick Stubbs) usually have a deep acquaintance with Turkish classical music theory and performance practice. 2.1 History, Etymology and Function The taksim is an important musical genre throughout the Arab world and in Turkey.3 While its main function is to introduce the makam of the vocal or instrumental piece that follows it, the taksim grew to be the most important form of musical and artistic expression for the instrumentalists of these areas. However, Turkish writers hardly give considerable attention to the taksim. As Walter Feldman notes, the taqsim of the Arab world has been much more extensively researched (1996: 273; an exception is the book that is dedicated to the subject of the taksim by the Turkish author Onur Akdo u, 2006b [1989]). According to the Redhouse Dictionary, the word taksim means “division; partition, distribution” and the meaning of its plural, taksimat, means “divisions, sections.” It is suggested that the use of this word as a musical term refers to the sectioning of the fasıl cycle by the taksim, or the sectioning of the makam system by the player, since the taksim usually features modulation (Feldman 1996: 275 ff.; Yava ça 2002: 105). 3 Despite minor differences, the Turkish taksim and the Arab taqsim are essentially the same genre. It is beyond the scope of this study to discuss these (mainly stylistic) differences; therefore, this study will focus on the Turkish taksim as its main object of analysis, but will touch on the Arab taqsim when relevant. 5 Another explanation links this musical term with a similar poetic term (Feldman: ibid.). Both Feldman and Akdo u track the origins of the taksim as an unmetered improvisational form, back to references made by medieval theorists, such as AlFarâbi. The taksim might be related to the Qur’anic chant (tajwîd, qirâ’ah) since these genres share some common characteristics (Feldman 1996: 277, 283–4). This relationship is especially relevant in light of the fact that the taksim is commonly described as analogous to speech, recitation, and oratory (see Chapter 6). However, the taksim only acquired its present form in Turco-Arabian music during the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth—the time when Prince Dimitri Cantemir compiled his famous theoretical treatise, which contains many references to this genre (Feldman 1996: 282, 285). At the time of Cantemir, the term taksim referred to both the instrumental and the vocal genres; however, today, the vocal taksim is known in Turkey as gazel.4 Some writers provide lists and definitions of many sub-genres of the taksim—genres that serve different functions within the different cyclical (“suite-like”) forms such as the fasıl and the Mevlevî ayîn. (Yava ça 2002: 105; Akdo u 2006a [1986]: 2 ff.; Tanrıkorur 2005: 51; Stubbs 1994: 237–50) 2.2 What Is the Taksim? The taksim as it is performed today is in most cases an unmetered, instrumental, solo improvisation that serves mainly to expose or introduce a makam, or to establish a transition between makams. Though this characterization has many variants, this is the main form of taksim performance. This form of performing the taksim is the most widespread, especially when it serves various significant and unique functions—functions that are specifically associated with the taksim. The performance of the taksim is also used for two very important purposes: as a pedagogical-didactic device for the teaching and “conveying” of makam and seyir (melodic progression) and as a tool for individual artistic expression. 4 Though the gazel is described by many writers as the vocal equivalent of the taksim (Tanrıkorur: 51; Yava ça: 105; Öztuna 1990; Feldman 1996: endnote 98) it is rare today to hear an unaccompanied gazel, performed or recorded—they are usually accompanied by some kind of a rhythmic-melodic ostinato. Taksims, on the other hand, are usually played solo. 6 By examining literature on the taksim, written by both Turkish and non-Turkish writers, and by considering performers’ views, we can deduce the following four features as constituting the taksim’s most elementary definition. The taksim is a musical improvisation. Unlike a pre-composed piece, which is the product of careful composition, the taksim is the product of intuitive performance. The tonal-melodic material of the taksim is determined by the melodic features of the makam (or makams) on which it is based, and on aesthetic rules of modulation. It is described and characterized by the terms and rules of makam and seyir—the same melodic terms and rules that apply to any other Turkish classical genres. The formal structure of the taksim is the fundamental formal structure that constructs most, or almost all, Turkish classical genres. This formal structure consists of an introduction, a development, and a conclusion. The rhythm of the taksim is unmetered (usûlsüz). 2.3 A Model of the Taksim – Levels on a Concrete–Abstract Continuum Based on the above list, a model of the taksim, as a musical genre, can be constructed by using the following three components: tonal-melodic material; formal structure; and rhythmic material and temporal structure.5 Improvisation is the element that links these components, affects them, and ties them together to create an improvised musical genre (see figure 2.1). In other words, improvisation is the form of “composition” for the taksim. A similar model could also be constructed for precomposed genres, but the linking element for these would be pre-composition and not improvisation. 5 This categorization into pitch, duration, and form, might seem like imposing European and universal conceptions on Turkish music. In reality, however, this kind of categorization can be deduced from Turkish music theory. It should also be noted that Turkish musicologists (as well as Western) do not always make the distinction between form and genre; words such as tür, form and biçim are used interchangeably. 7 improvisation im pr o n TAKSIM o ati vis Melodic Material pro im vis ati on Formal Structure Time & Rhythm Figure 2.1 A model of the taksim. When examining the descriptions and characterizations of the components of the taksim, three levels of concreteness in these descriptions can be discerned. The “level of concreteness” stands for the degree by which the information supplied in the description represents practical, detailed, and formulated musical information. The level of concreteness can also stand for the amount of restrictions implied by the description. Since the level of concreteness in the descriptions of each of the components of the taksim varies, it is possible to place these descriptions on a concrete–abstract continuum. 2.3.1 First Level: Tonal-Melodic Material By far the most concretely described and characterized component of the taksim is its tonal-melodic material.6 The melodic material of the taksim is the melodic material that constitutes the makam on which it is based (or modulates to) and therefore relates to the whole makam system. This melodic material is defined and governed by the rules and conventions of makam and seyir (melodic progression). The melodic material of the taksim is the same melodic material that is used for any other Turkish classical musical genre—it is governed by the same rules, and its theoretical and practical fundamentals are established in theoretical treatises and in discourse among musicians. The actual act of melodic improvisation in the taksim is compared by writers to a process of “extemporaneous composition” (irticâlî bestekârlik, irticalî beste, kompozisyon in Öztuna 1990; Tanrıkorur 2005: 50). 6 The shorter term melodic material will be used for convenience. 8 The taksim allows for greater freedom with modulation than pre-composed pieces. However, the exact definition of modulation within the makam system is problematic.7 Most makams have typical modulations and note alterations that are commonly associated with them (Signell 1977: 77–82, 112, 143), or are an integral part of their structure and melodic progression (seyir; see also Feldman, 1996: 271). Several sub-genres of the taksim employ several makams, and some taksims (such as the fihrist or “index” taksim) modulate extensively through many makams; however, the most basic and common performance of the taksim nowadays is the type that is based on a single makam, with modulations appearing as a variation.8 While modulations to other makams occur in most taksims, especially in their development section, the taksim, like any other musical form, has to modulate back to its original makam in its conclusion section. For all of the above reasons, modulation is considered, in the context of the present discussion, as part of the melodic characteristics of the taksim. The improvised nature of the taksim allows the player to use this melodic material to compose-perform his own interpretation of the makam with greater flexibility than in pre-composed genres. The musician can use extensive modulations and ornamentation, can perform variations on phrases, or quote phrases from pre-composed genres and famous taksim recordings, or, to give a rather extreme example, he or she can imitate animal voices with the instrument, like the famous Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey used to do. Nevertheless, the musician must adhere to the rules of makam and seyir, which are concretely defined and described (Signell 1972); if not, the performance would not be considered a taksim, and will remain only a do açlama—an improvisation.9 2.3.2 Second Level: Formal Structure Compared with its melodic material, the formal structure of the taksim is less concretely described. This formal structure prevails (with some variations) in almost all Turkish classical genres; it consists of an introduction (giri , zemîn), a 7 Feldman cites Powers as describing at least three kinds of modulation (1996: 289; see also Signell 1977:66). 8 “Bir saz sanatkârının belli bir makamda yaptı ı irticalî beste” (Tanrıkorur 2005: 50). Also Akdo u 2006a: 2. This convention can also be affirmed by surveying recordings and performances. 9 The ud player, Yurdal Tokcan, who released an album comprised only of improvisations, has told me that he decided to have the subtitle “Taksimlar – Do açlamalar” since he did not think that all of the music in the album could fall under the category of taksim. 9 development (geli me, miyân), and a conclusion (sonuç, karar, or again zemîn). In the introduction, the main makam of the taksim is presented. In the development, some form of modulation with or without a move to a different register or a rise in density takes place, and consequently some degree of tension is introduced. The conclusion presents a move back to the original makam and a release of the tension that was created in the development.10 In metered, pre-composed genres, this basic structure (or a variation of it) defines clearly the way a piece is composed. Combined with generic rules and conventions of composition this formal structure creates quite uniformly structured pieces in each musical genre.11 In the taksim genre, this basic structure enjoys more flexibility. The player gets a chance to present special deviations from conventions, and to define a unique individual version of the structure. Since the taksim does not define its temporal structure as pre-composed pieces do (in terms of number of measures for example), the player can organize the length of the formal sections more freely. The freedom given to the musician also allows, to a certain extent, for changes in the order and characteristics of the basic structure and its constituent sections. 2.3.3 Third Level: Rhythmic Material and Temporal Structure Closest to the abstract end of the concrete–abstract continuum of description and characterization lie the taksim’s rhythmic material and temporal structure.12 Feldman notes that “until the present day Turkish musical theory has created no way of defining the metricity of the taksim genre” (1996: 278). The lack of definition seems to be accepted, and therefore the whole issue is usually not discussed at all. Where there is a reference to the subject, Turkish writers usually describe the rhythm of the taksim as usûlsüz (Öztuna 1990b; Tanrıkorur 2005: 50; Akdo u 2006a: 2; Torun 1996: 333). The term usûlsüz means “without an usûl.” The term usûl in Turkish classical music can be described as encompassing the meanings of both metre and 10 This structure is termed by Signell “exposition – development – recapitulation” or an ABA form (1977: 67); the third section returns to the main makam and therefore can be seen, in a modal sense, as another A section, or another zemîn. Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey uses the terms zemîn, miyân, and karar (1993 [ca. 1900]: 37). According to Torun, this structure was termed by Suphi Ezgi ba langinç – meyan – nihayet (Torun 1996: 332). 11 Historical differences not withstanding. 12 As an abbreviation for “rhythmic material and temporal structure,” the term rhythm will be used. 10 rhythmic pattern.13 In a broader sense, usûl can refer to the complete rhythmic system of Turkish classical music, as the term makam can refer to its whole pitch system. The rhythm of any pre-composed genre in Turkish music is based upon an usûl, and therefore can be considered as restricted or metered.14 The concept of usûl is discussed extensively elsewhere (Signell: 16; Stubbs 1994: 43–54; Tanrıkorur 2003:143–9) but for the present discussion it is enough to note how the description of the rhythmic aspect of the taksim is done using a negative.15 This negative description does not give any information on what the rhythm of the taksim is, it just defines what it is not—it is not an usûl. This abstract conceptualization of the rhythm of the taksim goes back to seventeenth and eighteenth century writings. In his theoretical treatise, Cantemir wrote: “Nevertheless, the melody of the taksîm is not bound to any usûl or to any regulation. . . . But the melody of the taksîm manifests only the power of the musician” (ca. 1700: VII: 67, quoted in Feldman 1996: 279). Charles Fonton, a French traveler who visited Istanbul in the mid-eighteenth century and wrote an essay about the musical life there, comments: It [the taksim] is not constrained by measure, as are the pe revs, because he [the musician] may change it at will and because the taksim must not follow any of the usuls of which we have spoken. (Fonton 1989 [1751]: 2) The situation is not much different when examining definitions given by modern non-Turkish writers. Habib Touma, for example, writes: “the rhythmic-temporal structure is not subject to a fixed organization” (1999: 97). In Western literature, the terms that are usually used to describe this rhythm are “non-metrical,” “non- 13 Usûl can be termed a “rhythmic mode.” This term creates some parallelism between the differences of scale vs. mode, and metre vs. rhythmic mode. 14 Exceptions to the present discussion are a few genres, such as the durak and the na’at, which are pre-composed genres but share rhythmic characteristics with the taksim. Though these genres probably have some connection with the taksim, they can be considered marginal to the main corpus of pre-composed Turkish classical music. See also Feldman 1996: 277. 15 Examples of negative or obscure descriptions are numerous: Yılmaz (2000: 241) uses the term usûle uydurulmadan, which means “without conforming to the usûl”—again a negative definition. Cemîl Bey (1993 [ca. 1900]:34) describes the taksim as usûl kaydında âzâdedir which means “free from the restrictions of usûl.” Akdo u (2006a: 4) quotes the theoretician Ekrem Karadeniz (1904–1981) defining the taksim as “independent of lyrics and metre” (güfte ve usûlden ba ımsız; no citation is given) and Feridun Darbaz as defining it as “with free accents” (serbest tartılarla; no citation is given). 11 measured,” and “free.”16 Except for a few instances, most of the information available on the rhythm of the taksim is based on intuitive observations and insights—not on analytical conclusions. One of the temporal features of the taksim that are referred to by many sources is its length. According to these, the taksim is not restricted by time. Feldman, for example, describes the tradition of long, extended taksims practiced by the Mevlevî ney players (1996: 98). Öztuna asserts that the taksim is not limited by time: it can be shorter than half a minute or longer than one hour (1990b). Fonton describe it thus: “There are some who succeed perfectly in these taksims which they prolong for hours…” (1989 [1751]: 2). In his discussion of the main characteristics of the taksim, Feldman describes the rhythm of the taksim as having “specific rhythmic idioms within an overall flowingrhythm context” (1996: 277). He uses the term “flowing” after Frigyesi (1993: 66–7) who suggests this term instead of the common “free” and “non-metrical” alternatives. It is not clear what exactly Frigyesi refers to by the term “flowing,” and she does not explain why she had chosen this term. If “flowing” stands for smooth changes in rhythmic characteristics, it definitely cannot describe the rhythmic phenomena of the taksim. Many taksims feature sudden alteration of tempo, abrupt pauses, and quick changes of rhythmic patterns. On the other hand, more properly, “flowing” may stand for the cognitive process behind a taksim performance—the rhythm follows the artist’s “flow” of expression since there is no restriction by meter. When discussing the possible relationship between the taksim and Qur’anic chant (tajwîd), Feldman expands on his use of “specific rhythmic idioms”: In general, in the Turkish tajwîd (tecvit) style the rhythmic idioms are quite genre specific and allow for relatively smaller amount of individuality on the part of the performer. The overall impression is of less rhythmic “freedom” than in the taksim. In the 20th century, the great exponents of taksim favor different rhythmic idioms even on the same instrument. For example, the idioms used by the tanbûr masters 16 Throughout the present study, the term unmetered will be used to represent this rhythmic characteristic. I find this term to be preferable since it denotes a quality derived from an action (or rather, the lack of an action). The term free rhythm will be used mostly in the Chapter 3 because of its widespread use in scholarly works. 12 Necdet Ya ar and Mes’ut Cemîl differ greatly from those of Mes’ut’s father Cemîl Bey and Cemîl’s follower zzettin Ökte. (1996: 284) Can we conclude, therefore, that the rhythm of the taksim is indeed free? Is it not “genre specific”? Does it remain for each performer to define his own “rhythmic idioms,” or in other words, to develop his own rhythmic style? It seems that, as far as literature and discourse are concerned, there are no restrictions and limitations as to what kind of idioms can be used. It might be natural to project the ideas about rhythmic freedom on the issue of “improvisation” in the taksim. If the rhythm of the taksim is so free, it can be assumed that the rhythmic aspect of the taksim is “where” most improvisation takes place. However, confronting such an assumption would involve long discussions on the nature of improvisation—a challenging subject with many (rather polemic) implications. The findings of Bruno Nettl and Ronald Riddle (1973) seem to challenge the suggestion that the rhythm of the taksim is mostly improvised. Their analysis and comparison of 16 taksims performed by Jihad Racy present conclusions that indicate repeating patterns in the use of rhythm in the taksim: We find that the performances are relatively unified in terms of the use of melodic devices, ornamentation, and rhythm. In these respects, the musician does more or less the same thing in each taqsim, although he does not follow the same procedures in each section of a given taqsim. It is in matters of length, arrangement of sections, and modulation practice that he provides variety. Thus it is these aspects of the music which might be labeled as more truly “improvised” while those revolving about melodic devices and rhythm, which are constant throughout our sample, might best be labeled as “performance practice.” (1973: 28–29; my underlining) In these conclusions, we can find the common concept of improvisation as a process in which a basic model undergoes variations according to specific patterns (see Nettl 1998: 13–4; 2001: 3; Pressing 1998: 51). This distinction between two aspects of the performance of a taksim—“improvised” and “performance-practice”—probably led Nettl and Riddle to draw the above conclusions about rhythm in Racy’s taksims. 13 Nevertheless, these conclusions should not lead to a general assumption that rhythm in the taksim is uniform. To begin with, it is questionable to what extent improvisation can be measured quantitatively. Furthermore, these conclusions were drawn from a study of performances by only one performer. It may be that these rhythmic characteristics represent Racy’s style or Arab style in general. This assumption is further supported by the fact that the writers observe differences in rhythmic characteristics between Racy’s performances on the buzuk and on the nai (1973: 28).17 Without going into a discussion on the nature of improvisation, the above statements about personal rhythmic idioms, unified use of rhythm, and idiomatic rhythmic differences between performances on different instruments suggest a connection between the rhythm of the taksim and style. It can be assumed that the freedom in the rhythm of the taksim allows the musician to further develop his own style—his way of expressing individuality—beyond the possibilities offered by melodic improvisation alone. Touma makes a similar suggestion: “The rhythm characterizes the performer’s style and is dependent upon his manner and technique of playing,” (1971: 39). This connection—i.e., between rhythm and individuality in the taksim— is probably one of the key reasons why the taksim is often described by musicians as analogous to speech, or more philosophically, to a verbalization of the musician’s inner artistic world. 2.3.4 Improvisation Improvisation is the feature that differentiates the taksim from any pre-composed piece, metered or unmetered.18 Sometimes it seems that in Turkish classical music instrumental improvisation is synonymous with taksim. Other versions of improvisation (such as the çiftetelli), are either listed as a sub-genre of the taksim or are considered “folk” or semi-classical genres. Improvised sections within precomposed pieces are often indicated by “Taksim” in printed scores. On the other hand, musicians usually make a distinction between a taksim and an improvisation; they stress that not any improvisation can be considered a taksim. 17 These differences are quite similar to the differences between taksims performed on the ney and the tanbur as they are described by Frigyesi (1993: 65) 18 Akdo u stresses that the taksim’s most important feature is improvisation. “Taksim’in en önemli ögesi do açlama olu udur.” (2006a: 2). 14 In discourse on the taksim, Turkish writers and musicians use the terms do açtan or do açlama, which mean “improvisation” and are derived from do aç, “inspiration” (Akdo u 2006a: 2). On other occasions, they use the terms improvize (Yava ça 2002: 105) and irticâlen or irticâlî, which mean “extemporarily” (Tanrıkorur 2005: 50–1; Öztuna 1990; Akdo u 2006a). Feldman usually puts “improvisation” in quotation marks and seems to have some reservations about the term. He prefers using the term “performance-generated” (1996: 274–6), which is similar to a definition given by Tanrıkorur (2005: 51).19 Apparently, Cantemir and his contemporary theorists did not have a term for this concept, nor did Fonton mention this feature, though it is apparent from his description (Feldman 1996: 280, 288).20 The extent of the improvisatory elements in the Turkish taksim is viewed by Feldman to be a unique and novel feature of the Turkish taksim as it came to be defined in Cantemir’s treatise. Cantemir compares the Turkish taksim to the Persian one (which later came to be known as âvâz). According to him, Persian musicians based their improvisations on pre-composed learned sections, and this kind of taksim was considered by the Turks to be “formalized” (ibid: 285–7, 298). This system is the antecedent to the radîf system of modern Iran, in which “the âvâz is based upon memorized modal units” (ibid: 286) and “has been conceived of as a loose recreation of specific melodic nuclei, rather than a broad performance generation” (ibid: 298). The Turkish taksim, on the other hand, “precludes learned tune-like models” (ibid: 276). In a passage that explains these differences, Cantemir suggests that the more improvised nature of the Turkish taksim, compared to the Persian one, is related to the taksim’s unmetered rhythm. In other words, Turkish musicians concluded that since the rhythm of the taksim is free from restrictions of usûl, so should its melodic material be free from learned motives: However, among the musicians of Turkey (ehl-i musikâr-i Rûm) this type of formalized (kalıplı) taksîm is not accepted, and they remove it from the sphere of music. And why do they remove it? They adduce this proof: for example, due to the fact that the beste, the kâr, and the naks, the pe rev and the semâî are all bound to the usûl, they 19 “ cra edildi i anda do an”. See also Feldman’s note about various connotations and implications of these terms (1993: 25, footnote 8) 20 Some contemporary writers do not use the term improvisation. Yılmaz, for example, describes the performance of a taksim as “making (traveling) a seyir of the notes of the makam with beautiful melodies” (makamın seslerinde güzel na melerle seyir yapmak (dola mak) tir; 2001: 241) 15 demonstrate the power of the knowledge of the composer. But the melody of the taksîm manifests only the power of the musician. (ca. 1700: VII: 67, quoted from Feldman 1996: 285) The situation today is different. The existence of taksim recordings, and the modern method of studying taksim performance from these, may have changed the balance between learned materials and improvised ones. A listener who is familiar with old and important taksim recordings might recognize in modern performances motives and quotations taken from these. Indeed, this practice is not always perceived unfavorably, since it represents the artist’s knowledge of, and respect for, the taksims of the “old masters.” As in many other aspects of taksim performance, a fine balance must be maintained—in this case between using motives and quotations on the one hand, and being original and avoiding of plagiarism on the other. Little information is available about the actual role of melodic motives in the Turkish makam system in general and in the taksim in particular. Cantemir himself talks about terakib—an ambiguous term that Feldman suggests might refer to “melodies which may be created in the concluding sections of the seyir, to more-or-less stereotypical cadential patterns…” (ibid: 1996: 259). Some work on the subject of motives has been done by Signell (1977: 125–33), Stubbs (1994: 174 ff.), and Yahya (2002). A similar concept to the Persian, somewhat “pre-composed,” taksim (âvâz) is found in Akdo u’s definition of what he calls the “traditional taksim” (2006a: 2). Akdo u differentiates between two forms of the taksim: the “traditional taksim” and the “free taksim” (geleneksel taksim and özgür taksim). The main purpose of the traditional taksim is to represent a makam. It is based on a core, a nucleus melody (çekirdek ezgi), which is ornamented and improvised on by the player. This taksim’s main purpose is to show the notes of the makam and its seyir and to stress important notes by resting on them (asma karar); therefore, the traditional taksim is not “free.”21 As an example, Akdo u gives the taksims that appear in the old theoretical treatises (edvar). It appears that what Akdo u describes as the “traditional taksim” is some form of a didactic taksim, used for teaching or conveying makam and seyir, and not a performed artistic sub-genre. 21 “Yani, geleneksel taksim özgün de ildir,” (ibid). 16 As was shown in this section, improvisation in the taksim is perceived and conceived in many different ways. Considering these, we can conclude that the taksim can be defined as a “real-time composition,” that is, it is composed during performance. This element differentiates it from any pre-composed genre. Improvisation is the feature of the taksim that affects all its components (melodic material, formal structure, and rhythm) in a complicated array of interrelations. It provides a form of composition that is freer than pre-composition, and it offers a greater flexibility concerning rules and conventions. 2.4 A Model of the Taksim – Conclusions The taksim, like any other Turkish classical genre, is composed by using three components: melodic material, formal structure, and rhythm. However, the taksim is a unique genre because of two main factors: The element that connects these components is improvisation and not precomposition. This changes the interrelations between these components and affects their characteristics to create a genre that is fundamentally different from any pre-composed genre. The way literature and discourse among musicians describe and characterize these components is different when referring to the taksim than when referring to pre-composed pieces. While in pre-composed genres, the descriptions and characterizations of these components are on a similar level of concreteness and detail (the well-formulated systems of makam and seyir, generic formal structures, and the system of usûl), in the case of the taksim, differences in the level of description can be discerned. This is especially true regarding the rhythm of the taksim, on which discussion is constructed from negatives and abstract ideas, and to a lesser extent, regarding formal structure. 17 im pro concrete D e s TAKSIM n atio vis Melodic Material pro im vis atio n Formal Structure Time & Rhythm improvisation c r i p t i o n abstract Figure 2.2 A model of the taksim against a continuum of description. Figure 2.2 places the model of the taksim against the axis of a concrete-to-abstract continuum. This continuum represents levels of concreteness in the description of the components of the taksim. 2.5 Individual Expression and Conveying Makam The taksim serves two unique and important functions that are not served by any other genre. The first one is its use as a means for conveying makam. In the context of a performance or a concert, this means introducing a makam before a precomposed metered genre in the same makam. In teaching settings, the taksim is used as a didactic tool for the teaching of makam and seyir (melodic progression). It was used this way in the past, in the old treatises and by teachers, and it is still used today, to some extent, for this purpose.22 Modern ethnomusicologists also used the taksim to explain makam and seyir (Feldman 1996: 467; Signell 1977: 114–7; Stubbs 1994; Yahya 2002). When talking about the Arab taqsim, Jihad Racy expands on the reasons why the taksim is used for such purposes: The t q sim genre in particular is recognized as the prime “translator” of the maq m t (plural of maq m) as theoretical modal structures, because it is considered “purely” modal. In other words, it flows 22 The issue of the change in musical education in Turkey, and its relation to the teaching and studying of the taksim, is a subject that deserves a separate discussion. For more details, see Behar 2006 [1998]. 18 typically without the imposition of an q ’ (plural, q ’ t), or “rhythmic mode,” and without the interference of a sung text. Furthermore, it follows relatively flexible structural tracks, without adhering to the fixed formal and melodic designs that characterize precomposed pieces. In various theory books, the sayr [Turkish seyir], literally “path,” or the brief description of how each mode is expected to unfold, implies that the purest realizations of the modes are textless, meterless, and nonstrophic, a stylistic profile epitomized by the t q sim. (2000: 309) The second unique and important function that the taksim serves is its use as a means for individual artistic expression. This is a very significant feature of the taksim and its importance is often stressed. Akdo u defines the twentieth-century taksim as a “form that enables the instrumentalist to exhibit his/her talent, skill, and knowledge in a free way” (2006a: 1).23 Musicians view the taksim as a performance of their musical skills and artistic expression. This is the time in the performance that everybody is focused on the musician as an individual—not on the ensemble as a whole or on the singer (see also Signell 1974: 45). Feldman quotes Cantemir as stressing the importance of individuality at the end of the seventeenth century (1996: 288). About 50 years later, Fonton gives a description of a performance of the taksim, which affirms that this importance could be sensed even by a European outsider: This caprice [the taksim] must be in the same mode as the air which will be played and in fact serves as a kind of transition to it. It is played by only one of the musicians assembled for the concert . . . There are some who succeed perfectly in these taksims . . . which they embroider in a hundred different ways. It is in these caprices that the talent of the musician develops. (Fonton 1989 [1751]: 2) Why is it that the taksim came to fulfill two such distinctly separate functions—on the one hand a “dry” didactic presentation, on the other, a powerful and expressive musical performance? The natural answer would be because of its improvised, un- 23 “Çalıcıların yetenek, beceri ve bilgilerini özgür olarak sergileyebildikleri bir tür olarak...” 19 composed character. If this is the case, then why was an unmetered improvisation chosen? In the case of the use of the taksim as a means for conveying makam, we can assume that an unmetered rhythm enables the player to convey the makam in its most abstract manifestation. In other words, the unmetered rhythm is the closest thing to “no-rhythm.” This feature enables the player to refer to aspects of pitch as detached from rhythm—to refer to the vertical dimension without referring to the horizontal one. When considering the use of the taksim as a means for individual artistic expression, the answer is similar. Most likely, the general improvised nature of the taksim leaves space for a special kind of creativity. Nevertheless, the undefined rhythm of the taksim seems to be the feature that connects it most strongly to its use for individual artistic expression. In section 2.3.3, it was argued that rhythm is one of the main factors in establishing a personal style of taksim playing. As will be shown in Chapter 6, this function is related to the fact that the taksim is conceptualized as a means for the verbalization of one’s inner artistic world. In this context, the taksim is made analogous with speech and the unmetered rhythm of the taksim is perceived as the rhythm of oration. 20 3. FREE RHYTHMS The unique rhythm of the taksim shares some characteristics with the rhythms of other composed, as well as improvised, genres in various musics around the world. The characteristics of these rhythms vary from one genre to another, and it is difficult to establish a concrete explanation as to why they should be categorized under one term. The thing that is common to all these rhythms, which are usually labeled “free rhythms,” is the lack of an explicitly discernible metric organization. The term free rhythms has various synonyms, such as “non-metric” (or “non-metrical”; with a hyphen or without), “ametrical”, “unmeasured”, “rubato”, “parlando-rubato”, “recitative-like”, and even “unrhythmical” (Idelsohn as quoted by Frigyesi 1993: 62). Very little theoretical and analytical work that deals specifically with free rhythms has been done.24 Two major theoretical discussions are presented by Judit Frigyesi (1993) and Martin Clayton (1996). The present chapter explores some of the ways free rhythms are defined and various issues concerning theoretical aspects and analytical methods that are related to free rhythms. 3.1 Defining Free Rhythms The term free rhythms (and its synonyms) does not represent uniform rhythmic conceptions, rules or even conventions, since its own definition, as we have seen in the case of the taksim, is an “un-definition”.25 The undefinition of these rhythms means that they usually exhibit absence, or flexibility, of one or more of the features that define “regular,” “organized,” and “strict” rhythms. In other words, free rhythms are not defined by their characteristics, but by the characteristics they lack, mainly metric organization, pulsation, or a steady tempo. The absence of one or more of these features might be complete (in rare cases) or temporary. However, as Frigyesi notes (1993: 67), this negative definition is generally problematic, and 24 The Grove Music Online does not have any entry, or even a subentry, under “free rhythm” or any of its synonyms. 25 Usûlsüz, lacking usûl (metric organization). Similarly, in Hindustani music, the rhythmic organization of the l p is termed anibaddh—unbound (Clayton 2000: 95). 21 especially when discussing musics in which non-metricity is the norm, such as Jewish liturgical music. As some writers observe, the distinction between rhythm and metre is not always made clear in Western musicology and theory (Thaut 2005: 6; Frigyesi 1993: 62; Sachs 1952). Clayton notes that “western musicology tends to assume the presence of metre as a precondition for musical rhythm” (1996: 324). When metre is conceived thus—as a closely related concept to rhythm—it usually denotes some kind of perceptible organization in time. Mieczyslaw Kolinski tries to distinguish between these two terms: “. . . rhythm may be defined as organized duration, metre as organized pulsation functioning as a framework for rhythmic design” (1973: 499). Justin London’s distinction is based more on a dichotomy of objective vs. subjective: “Broadly stated, rhythm involves the pattern of durations that is phenomenally present in the music, while metre involves our perception and anticipation of such patterns” (2001: §I, 1). Clayton makes a distinction based on the differentiation between the two main aspects of time perception—cyclicity and linearity: “. . . musical time exhibits two complementary aspects. One is periodicity, regularity, and recurrence, corresponds to the domain of metre, and gives rise to the concept of cyclicity. The other is gestural, figural, and (in principle) unpredictable and relates to the domain of rhythm” (2000: 23). If the term metre stands for “perceptible organization,” then the term non-metric can stand to represent an important feature of free rhythms—their lack of discernible organization, and their unpredictability. Yet in Western theory, where the principal perceptible organization of rhythm is found in the measure, the terms metre and measure are interchangeable; thus, we speak of a musical piece that has a ¾ metre. This confusion has led some scholars to use the term un-measured for such rhythms. Yet, while free rhythms might lack a sense of metre sometimes, this is not the only feature that is absent in their rhythm. Moreover, sometimes a free-rhythm form can exhibit metered rhythms temporarily. The use of the term free also raises a few problems. It is not clear how “free” most of the rhythms that are titled under this term are. The term free is strongly connected with the concept of “freedom” which suggests a total lack of restriction. Yet, the case is hardly ever so. It is a common thing for free rhythm forms to exhibit some level of metrical characteristics temporarily or alternately. Most of the so-called free 22 rhythm genres are subjected to some kind of rhythmic style, patterning, or any other kind of restriction. What is usually common to these restrictions is their abstract characterization by the musical culture that uses them; they are certainly not as firmly characterized as strict metered rhythms are. It is difficult to summarize a strict definition of the term free rhythm. Most writers prefer describing free rhythms rather than trying to cope with the definition of such a term. Thaut for example, gives a quick “undefinition” and then continues with a description: Ametrical rhythms are not organized within a metrical, pulse-based temporal framework. . . . Free rhythms blur the distinction between organization into metrical units and organization in rhythmic groupings. Free rhythms consist of extended or brief groups of rhythmic events that are characterized and distinguished from each other by changes in contour, timing, intervals, durations of sequences, tempo changes, or accent patterns. They are not random assemblies of time events… (Thaut 2005: 11) Such attempts at definition and description use terms such as metre, beat, and pulse, which themselves are not defined clearly or uniformly. Clayton, for example, uses the terms rhythm, pulse, periodicity, and meter, and defines free rhythms as those rhythms that lack periodicity or metre. The difficulty in defining metre, and therefore the difficulty in defining non-metricity, results in his distinction between a “scholarly” usage of the term metre and a “common sense” usage. Because some rhythms have a periodic organization that does not fall under the scholarly definition of metre, the term periodicity is used as an extension for the term metre. concludes his definition as follows: In more scholarly terms, a common-sense definition of ‘free rhythm’ as ‘the rhythm of music without metre’ would translate as the rhythm of music without pulse based periodic organization—in other words, free rhythm may or may not have a simple pulse but where this pulse is organized periodically, free rhythm cannot be said to exist. (ibid: 328–9; italics in the original) 23 He Figure 3.1 The organization of rhythm in music: the shaded area is referred to as ‘free rhythm’. (Clayton 1996: 329) As can be seen in figure 3.1, Clayton does not exclude all pulsed rhythms from the definition of free rhythm; he implies that there is a possibility of some pulsation, which is not always perceived, in any kind of music, including those musics that are defined as having free rhythm. One of the reasons that pulsation cannot always be detected is that pulses are not always temporally equal. The discussion about free rhythms reveals the polemic nature of the discourse about rhythm in general. As we have seen, defining such rhythms concerns a redefinition of our rhythmic terminology. Even the term rhythm itself does not seem to be uniformly defined; as Curt Sachs puts it: “What is rhythm? The answer, I am afraid, is, so far, just—a word: a word without generally accepted meaning.” (1952: 384). Twenty years later Kolinski (1973) was still conducting a discussion about the ideas expressed by Sachs, and this discussion continues to be relevant even in the new millennium. The discussion about free rhythms tends to concentrate on issues of pulse and metre, but seems to neglect the related topics of tempo and accentuation. Tempo and accentuation are conceived as closely related to pulse and metre, but such a direct correlation is not always accepted. Kolinski, for example, rejects the importance given to accentuation in forming metricity (1978: 241 ff.). Tempo changes are an important feature of some of the rubato genres of European music— genres that are classified under the “free rhythm” title. Since free rhythms can be characterized by so many features, we must conclude that there is a variety of such rhythms. Frigyesi suggests the existence of an “intermediate ground between entirely metric and entirely nonmetric rhythm” (1993: 64). Kolinski, when discussing the cognitive difference between rhythm and metre 24 suggests that “While this psycho-physically founded, and therefore cross-cultural, perceptual organization constitutes a substantial constraining factor, it allows nevertheless for a far-reaching socio-cultural diversification, . . . from a strict rigidity of durational and pulse values to a highly flexible rubato style” (1978: 241). Sachs, in a more poetic language, notes the importance of recognizing such a continuum between strictness and freedom: Order is the vast expanse between the deadly extremes of chaos and mechanization. There are numberless shades within this expanse, some of which draw closer to one of the poles, and some to the other: freedom is often not far from chaos; punctilious, frigid strictness stands next to mechanization. . . . Shades of the same phenomenon, they stretch between the extremes of chaos and metronomic lifelessness; and whatever we call music is nearer to one or to the other extreme, in a gradation similar to that in human locomotion between a leisurely stroll and stiff-legged goose-stepping, with a lightfooted, effortless walking pace somewhere in the middle. (1952: 388) If free rhythms represent so many kinds of “rhythmic freedom,” can we create a typology for the various kinds of rhythms that are assembled under the title of “freerhythms”? Such a possibility is suggested by the discussions of the freedom– strictness continuum presented above and more explicitly by Clayton (1996: 325). In any case, it is obvious that before free rhythm genres are studied further, constructing such a typology is impossible. 3.2 Studying Free Rhythms As noted by both Clayton (1996) and Frigyesi (1993), free rhythms received little attention in musicological and ethnomusicological writing. Clayton states that “very few writers have attempted any kind of analysis of music in free rhythm,” (1996: 323). Since many studies were done on various genres of free rhythm, what Clayton most likely means is that these studies are almost explicitly concerned with the melodic material of these genres, and not with their rhythm. Clayton suggests that the neglect of free rhythms by ethnomusicology is due to the “lack of suitable analytical techniques” (ibid: 331). He summarizes the reasons why such techniques and methodologies were not developed: 25 In this case, the reasons include the lack of adaptable methodologies in related academic fields such as Western musicology; the lack of (or perhaps our lack of awareness of) generally applicable ideas in other cultures; and the difficulties inherent in graphically representing free rhythm. (ibid: 331). Another important reason for the lack of a theoretical basis for the research of free rhythms is the comparative and universal implications of developing such a theoretical basis (ibid: 326). Comparative approaches are controversial in contemporary ethnomusicology, and are not always accepted. Perhaps since no unified theory for free rhythms was developed earlier, when universal and comparative approaches were prevalent, ethnomusicologists now prefer to neglect the subject altogether.26 Recently, Clayton, Sager, and Will suggest applying the concept of entrainment to the study of free rhythms (2004: 14–15). In their extensive and convincing presentation on this concept, the writers suggest what might be a universal approach to rhythmic analysis, based on accurate chronometric measurements. In the early days of ethnomusicology, some researchers saw free rhythms as a phase in the evolution of rhythm. Sachs, for example, says: “Free rhythm, a precious heirloom from our animal ancestry, is doubtless the earlier quality. Strictness comes with man” (1952: 389). Bela Bartok, on the other hand, saw free rhythms (what he termed parlando rubato forms), as an intermediate evolutional stage, between two kinds of strict rhythms (tempo giusto) He conceived the third level, the more evolved tempo giusto, as a “hardening” of the parlando rubato rhythm of the second stage into a strict metered rhythm. Parlando rubato rhythms, according to him, help to develop complexity of rhythm in the stricter forms of rhythm (Frigyesi 1982: 331– 2). Though comparative, universal, and evolutional approaches are not as fashionable today, comparing various genres of free rhythm seems almost inevitable, especially if trying to find a unified theory that will help with their analysis. Clayton has found at least 70 such genres around the world by surveying ethnomusicological literature 26 A panel named "Flexible Rhythm, Elastic Meter, Tempo Rubato: A Cross-Cultural Investigation” was held at the Annual Conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Phoenix, Arizona, 1988. 26 (1996: 324). Such a survey has produced various forms, functions, and contexts in which these genres play a part. 3.3 Free Rhythm Genres in Asian Art Musics – Abstract Melody Comparison becomes particularly relevant when surveying Asian free meter genres, especially art-music, or classical, genres (Frigyesi: 67–8). The taksim is often mentioned as related to other non-metric classical music genres or forms such as the Indian alap, the Persian âvâz, and forms of Chinese qin playing and Japanese shakuachi music. Comparing the taksim to the Indian alap is especially appealing, since they are both used to expose the mode of the performance before metered pieces are introduced. This kind of preludial function had its manifestation in European art music as well, and the following passage describes such forms in early European music. Taking into consideration what is known about Asian free-rhythm genres, it seems that in the past, Eurasian art musics shared a common practice of performing unmetered, improvised, preludial forms: The preludial forms for instruments were intended originally to precede the performance of a main composition, which itself could be vocal or instrumental, secular or sacred. . . . They provide a stylized representation of . . . setting the pitch and mode for the listener or for other musicians involved in the main piece, or generally attracting the attention of the audience. They needed to have musical characteristics different from the main piece in order not to compete with it. Such music was no doubt originally improvised and in many cases this practice continued well into the nineteenth century. Numerous examples from the fifteenth century on, however, were written down, and their musical style reveals the traits associated with improvisation: a relative lack of organized structure and a free sense of rhythm. (Hudson 1994: 9, my emphasis) Lewis Rowell calls this phenomena—an unmetered preludial form followed by metered forms—“the free/strict archetype”; he suggests that “such a wide historical, geographical, and stylistic distribution indicates that this archetype is a pattern of universal appeal” (1992: 237–38). This preludial function should not be taken only literally to mean a placement within a performance context. As was discussed in the 27 case of the taksim, free rhythm is sometimes perceived as the most appropriate rhythm to expose mode and melody in their most abstract form. Clayton refers to this function when talking about the Indian alap: In the case of the alap for instance, it appears that melodic processes—the presentation, expansion and permutation of material— are paramount, and the absence of metre in a music culture with a highly developed metric system suggests a deliberate decision not to obstruct the natural or innate rhythm of the melody. (1996: 330) This feature of free rhythm—its ability to enable the performer to express melody “without rhythm” and to concentrate on pitch only—can account for the reason why free-rhythm genres were chosen by some Asian musical cultures to be the main tool for exposing modes. It can also account for the important place they receive in various cultures (Nettl 2001: 2). In Persian and Azeri classical traditions for example, the unmetered presentation of the dastgah or mugam is the main form of performance; metered pieces, which are inserted into the performance, serve only a secondary role and are conceived by musicians to be relatively unimportant.27 3.4 Text, Speech, and Expression Though the analogy between music and language goes back to antiquity, and though linguistic approaches are used in musical research, there is still very little information about the connection between musical free rhythm and speech. Findings that relate free rhythm vocal performances to specific poetic meters are presented by Gen’ichi Tsuge (1970) and Mark Slobin (1971). Nevertheless, most references to the subject are based on insights and assumptions. The close connection that free rhythm has with the rhythm of speech can be perceived as a two-fold characteristic. On the one hand, rhythmic freedom frees the vocal performance of textual music from the constrictions of meter, therefore allowing the performer to pronounce the text more naturally, accurately, and intelligibly. This fact can account for the reason why unmetered rhythm is used in so many religious forms and genres; examples like Christian plainchant, Qur’anic 27 Mark Eliyahu, a kemenche player who studied for two years in Azerbaijan, has told me that in the course of this time, he studied only one metered piece—and that was only after his repeated requests to his teacher. 28 recitation, Vedic chanting, and Jewish liturgical singing are just a few (see also Clayton 1996: 324–25, 330; Frigyesi 1993: 68) The other connection with speech is the view than rhythmic flexibility allows for better expression of meanings and emotions that are inherent in the text. An example from European music is brought by Richard Hudson who sees the development of free-rhythm and rubato forms during the Baroque period, such as the cadenza and the recitative, as a means of creating a contrast “with the powerful forward drive” of the main metered corpus. In his opinion, performers were given the freedom to control tempo and accentuation so they could perform more expressively and convey emotions more affectively than in strict rhythm (Hudson 1994: 6–7; see also Frigyesi 1993: 69–70). When considering ethical approaches, a belief in the ability of music to affect emotional and physical states suggests that such meanings and emotions are inherent in the music itself and not only in contextual factors such as text or narrative. This approach is especially relevant with reference to expression in instrumental music. The connection between speech and free rhythm is not an obvious one. Though such concepts are found in some musical cultures, and are expressed by some scholars, it is not clear how exactly free rhythms are influenced by speech rhythms. There are many rhythms of speech, and many manifestations of freedom of rhythm. In instrumental free-rhythm music, this connection becomes even less distinct. Though such analogies are common, there are such varieties of style even within a certain genre, that the extent to which the rhythmic content is actually based on speech rhythms cannot be established. Perhaps a similarity between musical free rhythms and speech rhythms lies in the cognitive and perceptual processes behind their execution. The typical context of free rhythm performances is solo and improvised, and therefore is often conceived as a musical “discourse” presented by the performer; the word alap, for example, means “discourse” or “conversation” (Powers 1980: 42; Clayton 2000: 94). As will be shown in Chapter 6, such analogies are common in reference to the taksim, and should not be dismissed as mere philosophical ideas. It might well be that the structure and organization of the taksim (or other free rhythm genres) is processed in a similar way to that of a verbal performance. 29 3.5 Transcribing and Analyzing Free Rhythms One of the reasons why there exist so few studies of free rhythms is the difficulty in measuring and transcribing such rhythms. The use of European staff notation as the main form of ethnomusicological notation presents a problem that is especially relevant for the study of free rhythm. European notation is based on the equal division of time values; this equal, metric, division of rhythm, however, represents the exact opposite of the characteristic of free rhythm. Though theoretically any kind of rhythm can be transcribed using staff notation, the exact representation of free rhythm will involve clumsy and complicated techniques, such as using numerous dots, ties, or tempo indications. An example of the effort to transcribe free rhythms in staff notation can be found in Bartok’s transcriptions of those genres that he titled as parlando rubato.28 For Bartok, detailed and precise transcription presented the possibility of deciphering the rhythmical structures behind free rhythm forms. For this end, Bartok developed extremely intricate and complex transcription and notation methods. He used different kinds of note heads and fermatas, and alternated between several kinds of notations according to the type of music that was transcribed (Frigyesi 1982: 330–31; Hudson 1994: 366–69). European notation developed as a prescriptive, rather than a descriptive notation system. In terms of rhythmic values, it serves purposes of transcription so long as the performed piece stays close to this graphic representation. In other words, it represents approximate values and not definite ones. The study of free rhythms necessitates the development of an accurate way to represent time values. Some alternative and innovative rhythmic transcription methods are applied to the study of free rhythm genres by Touma (1971), Tsuge (1970), Slobin (1971), and Richard Widdess (1994). The reservations ethnomusicologists have about technology-assisted transcriptions were already noted by Nettl in the early 1980s in connection with various melographic devices (1983: 76–79). Since then the availability of computerized analysis tools such as transcription and sound editing programs has enabled accurate temporal measurements to practically anybody who was willing to spend a few hours 28 Parlando—from the Italian parlare, “to speak.” 30 studying a computer application. Nevertheless, this did not result in a flux of accurate rhythmic transcriptions and analyses. In a discussion focused on this subject, Clayton, Sager, and Will note: Attempts at analysis of rhythm in ethnomusicological research go back to the early days of comparative musicology and have been facilitated by important technological developments including Seeger’s melograph as well as modern audio editing software . . . however, desire for this type of detail in musical analysis has waned . . . Even in most of these cases, the analysis of timing data is relatively crude, and does not employ the scope offered by statistical analysis software. (2004: 25) 3.6 Conclusions Free rhythms are a yet unknown, and one might say mysterious, subject, which has not been sufficiently considered and researched. The reasons for this neglect are various, but they all relate to the vagueness and ambiguity that is inherent in the characteristics of these rhythms, portraying them as un-analyzable. Recently this attitude has changed, and there is an apparent increased interest in the subject; however, a unified theoretical basis and methodological approach to the study of free rhythms still needs to be found. Such attempts should be directed towards a multidisciplinary approach—combining music theory, ethnographic findings, accurate transcription and analysis aided by advanced technologies, as well as cognitive research. 31 4. STUDYING THE TAKSIM The scarcity of analytical research on the taksim done by Turkish scholars can be a result of the lack of interest in improvisation, compared to composed, written, music in musicological writings. When examining literature on Turkish classical music, this tendency is apparent. Within analytical literature dealing with the Turkish taksim, very little attention is given to its rhythmic material and temporal structure. This can be explained both by the difficulty of representing and examining the rhythmic structure and material of the taksim, and by the general tendency of musicologists to prefer pitch as their focus of research. Yet another aspect of the taksim that is relatively neglected by musicological research is the subject of the importance given to this genre. Though many sources point to the importance of the taksim as a tool for individual artistic expression, none really addresses the question, why this is so, and why the taksim came to perform such a role. The lack of available work on these two important aspects of taksim analysis—temporal and symbolic—is especially true for Turkish musicological literature. On the other hand, studying the taksim as it appears in the Arab world (Arabic taqsim, plural taqasim), has been a subject of much more analytical and social-psychological work (for the latter see for example Racy 2000 and 2003, Ayari and McAdams 2003, and Shannon 2003). This chapter explores some of the various ways by which the taksim is studied in ethnomusicological literature. It will not survey all available literature on the subject or all the topics covered by it. Instead, it will concentrate on some important topics, methodologies, and conclusions that are relevant to the present study and its main points of focus. 4.1 Transcribing the Taksim In Turkey, there is a long tradition of transcribing taksims, mainly for pedagogyrelated purposes. The tradition of putting a taksim on paper goes back to the time of Cantemir, who provides a verbal description of a taksim in order to demonstrate his 32 ideas about musical consonance (Feldman 1993: 290 ff.). Later edvarlar (theoretical treatises), carried on this tradition, using taksims to explain makam and seyir (Akdo u 2006a: 3). The use of staff notation for transcribing taksims probably started at the end of the nineteenth century, and since then it became the standard for taksim transcription. Taksim transcriptions became widespread when recordings of taksims became easily available. With the slow abandoning of the old me k system of learning music and the development of new pedagogical methods for Turkish music education, taksim transcriptions came to perform certain didactic functions: they were used for the study and teaching of makam, seyir, and taksim performance. Apparently, for some time, there existed a practice of composing taksims. According to Öztuna, Sâdeddin Arel and other composers composed taksims and gazels (1990a). It is not clear whether these were intended for performance or were just didactic compositions. Today almost any theory or instrument method book contains one or a few transcriptions of taksims (Yi itba 1968: 139; Torun 1996: 336–43; Yılmaz 1999: 49–62; Yavasça 2002: 107). Musicians sometimes practice taksim transcription for studying taksim performance and as an ear-training method. The long tradition of staff notation transcriptions has created various conventions regarding the depiction of rhythmic characteristics and durations. These techniques include the grouping of notes according to accentuations, using rest signs and fermatas to mark pauses, changing note values according to tempo variations, and other such manipulations. Turkish musicians are usually aware of the problem of representing taksims on staff notation. Yavasça, for example, puts a note at the end of his transcription stating that “this notation is far from specifying the exact nuances of the taksim” (2002: 107); Öztuna notes the difficulties of transcribing the taksim, and reading the notes of its transcription, because of its unmetered rhythm (1990b). Non-Turkish writers also relate to this problem, and try to find various solutions, one of which is using different types of noteheads (see for example Stubbs 1994: 137– 38). A solution to the problem is presented in a few examples of “interactive” transcriptions, designed to present taksim notation in real-time, that were sent to the Türk Mûsikîsi mailing group (www.turkmusikisi.com) by Ender Erkmen. While 33 listening to the taksim, one can follow the small indicator (seen in figure 4.1 on the D at the end of the third line) which follows the notes at the time of their playing. Figure 4.1: Real-time taksim transcription (Erkmen 2007) Long before computer-aided transcription enabled the accurate measurement of durations, Touma developed a transcription method that enables some accuracy of rhythmic depiction. On the traditional staff, he used horizontal lines instead of noteheads, while their length represented the relative duration of the notes. The resulting transcription technique seems to require an immense amount of work: For each second, the author distinguishes three relatively different tone lengths: short, medium, and long . . . To transcribe the music, one takes a tape-recorded musical example to which he superimposes the steady impulses of a metronome, usually sixty impulses per minute . . . Thus, one is able to discern how many tones appear between the impulses (or seconds). Only the transcriber can decide for himself whether a tone is short, medium or long. (1971: 47) 34 Figure 4.2: An example of a transcription by Touma (1971: 44) 4.2 Sections in the Taksim – Structural Levels Bruno Nettl and Ronald Riddle’s 1973 article, “Taqsim Nahawand: A Study of Sixteen Performances by Jihad Racy” can be considered a cornerstone in taksim analysis literature. It represents a significant effort to understand the improvisational processes that are behind taksim performance. This study was carried out as an empirical experiment: Jihad Racy recorded about 100 different taqasim in the course 35 of a year.29 Out of these, sixteen, performed on the nai and the buzuq, in maqam Nahawand were chosen, transcribed, analyzed, and compared. By limiting the study to only one performer and one maqam, Nettl and Riddle attempted to concentrate on fewer variables, and thus to indicate more clearly the similarities and differences between the various performances and to detect the cognitive processes of improvisation behind taqsim performance. Though they state that “The extent to which the material is truly ‘improvised’ is a question we do not attempt to assess” (ibid:13), Nettl and Riddle seem to concentrate on comparing elements of similarity and difference; it appears that for them “improvised material” represents material that does not repeat in each performance. In other words, the writers try to find “ways of establishing what is characteristic of the performances as a group, and how they vary from the norm” (ibid: 15). For their analysis, the taqasim were transcribed using staff notation, their lengths and the lengths of their sections were measured, and various statistical calculations and comparisons were made. The article is concerned mainly with the melodic aspects of the taqsim; the writers state at the beginning: “we have approached questions of rhythm only in a very general way.” Nevertheless, some observations and insights about the rhythmic material of the taqasim can be found in the section titled “Ornamentation, Rhythm and Tempo.” The authors note that “the absence of meter . . . is part of the definition of this type of improvisation” but that there exists “quasi-metrical organization at times” and that it is “possible to identify portions of greater and lesser ‘metricity’ within one section.” (ibid: 27). The authors also make various observations regarding changes in the degree of metricity, groupings of notes, fluctuations of tempo, and the differences in rhythmic characteristics between the nai and the buzuq performances. A main part of the analysis is concerned with aspects of temporal structure such as the length of sections and rests, and the length of the taqasim. Great importance is given to the sectioning of the taqsim. Though the article takes quite an arbitrary approach to the definition of a section, it is a very important step towards correlating a melodic analysis with a temporal one. The importance of the sectioning of the taqsim as one of its most significant characteristics allows for a kind of typology; the 29 When specific references to Arab music are made, the Arabic terms taqsim (plural taqasim) and maqam are used. When general references, or references specific to Turkish music, are made, the Turkish spellings taksim (English plural taksims) and makam are used. 36 writers define three types of taksims, according to their sectioning characteristics, by which all the studied taqasim are classified (ibid: 16). The analysis shows that Nettl and Riddle conceive the sectioning of the taqsim as one of the main factors in the “improvisatory decision-making process” (ibid: 19): Perhaps the most significant finding is the existence of certain principles that are characteristic in the macrocosm and the microcosm of performances, and at points between these extremes. In certain parameters or elements of music, the performer carries out the same kind of musical thinking in bits of melody hardly more than a second in length, in longer segments of melody, in sections, and in entire taqasim. (ibid: 29) The sectioning of the taqsim probably enables the performer to make decisions on a more immediate level than the structure of the whole taqsim. Nettl and Riddle’s observation about principles of performance operating “at the microcosmic as well as macrocosmic levels” (ibid: 27) is a tremendously important one; as will be shown in the next chapter, sectioning by pauses (what the writers sometimes call “rests”) occurs on many levels and might be the most basic perceptual process behind the performance of the taksim.30 4.3 Melodic Material vs. Time and Rhythm Habib Touma’s comparative study of the modal systems of the “three musical spheres of the Middle East, i.e., the Arabian, Turkish and Persian” (1971: 40) is an attempt to create a unified theory for these three modal practices. In order to establish such a theory, Touma had to conciliate the various ways these three systems are conceptualized by the musical practice of these three cultures. Touma, therefore, introduces makam as a kind of “improvisatory process” (ibid: 38) of performance— much the same way the dastgah is conceptualized in Persian music. In other words, he conceives the makam and the taksim as the same thing, or the taksim as a manifestation of makam. The taqsim is an instrumental realization of the modal framework of the maqam, which is not subject to any rhythmic-temporal 30 Perhaps the etymology of the word taksim can be related to this sectioning characteristic. See above p. 5–6. 37 organization, i.e., it has neither a regularly recurring and established bars scheme nor an unchanging tactus. (ibid: 43) The conclusions Touma draws about the relation between melodic (“tonal-spatial”) material and rhythmic-temporal material in the “maqam phenomenon” are especially relevant for the ideas expressed in Chapter 2 of the present discussion: The development of a maqam is always determined by two primary factors: space (tonal) and time (temporal). The structure of a maqam depends upon the extent to which these two factors exhibit a fixed or free organization. The tonal-spatial component is organized, molded, and emphasized to such a degree that it represents the essential and decisive factor in the maqam; whereas the temporal aspect in this music is not subject to any definite form of organization. In this unique circumstance lies the most essential feature of the maqam phenomenon, i.e., a free organization of the rhythmic-temporal and an obligatory and fixed organization of the tonal-spatial factor. (ibid: 38) Though Touma talks about maqam, it is obvious that when this observation relates to the Turkish and Arab traditions, the taksim is the subject of discussion. In these traditions, the makam does not stand for an actual performance genre. It would probably be difficult for an Arab or Turkish musician to accept the way Touma “mixes” the terms makam and taksim, though the taksim is viewed as the best device to convey makam and seyir. To think of the makam as an improvisation because it is a modal framework without rhythmic organization seems to be applying too much of the concept of the Persian dastgah to Turkish and Arab music. Indeed, in the Persian and Azeri classical traditions, the unmetered presentation of the dastgah or mugam is the main form of performance, and metered pieces are viewed as secondary in importance, almost dispensable.31 Nevertheless, the essential difference in the characterization of rhythm compared to melodic material in the taksim is reflected in the above passage. 31 See also Feldman 1993: 2–3 and footnote 27 above. 38 4.4 Symbolic Meaning and Social Contexts The need for creativity, skill, inspiration, and artistic abilities in order to produce a good taksim is often mentioned by both Turkish and Arab writers. It is supposedly the taksim’s ability to present such qualities that causes it to assume such a prominent place in both Turkish and Arab musical cultures. Nevertheless, the taksim’s ability to effect emotional reactions with listeners and the full extent of its symbolic meanings are subjects that are often neglected. Though audience reactions to the taksim may be considered somewhat different in these two cultures, examining analysis of Arab social settings might contribute to our understanding of the Turkish ones.32 The work of Jihad Racy concentrates on analyzing the social-psychological context and symbolic meanings of improvisation in general, and the taqsim in particular, in the Arab world. Racy argues that “musical improvisation in the East-Mediterranean Arab world . . . enjoys a primary position because its message is symbolic as well as affective” (2000: 302). Since symbolic meanings depend to a large degree on cultural and social perspectives, tracking down the reasons why the taqsim is such an important genre, means analyzing the various functions it serves, as well as the meanings it represents, for both performers and audience. The taqsim represents various cultural, social, and artistic ideals that are sometimes contradictory. On the one hand, it represents what Racy calls “a feeling of cultural and aesthetic ‘home-base’”. The “home-base” stands for familiarity—tradition, correctness, and shared cultural ideals and symbols; the expression of these features signifies the artist’s awareness of norms and restrictions—the sense of belonging to a society and culture and being accepted by these. On the other hand, the taqsim also represents the “the soaring spirit”—ideals and symbols such as individuality, creativity, and diversity that distinguish the performer from the rest of society and create a distance between them. 32 Emotional verbal exclamations by the audience, such as shouting “Allah!” (God!), are common in Arab taqsim performances, to the point that the musician sometimes cannot be heard (see also Racy 2003: 93–95; Touma 1971: 43–47). In Turkey, nowadays, such a reaction from the audience would not be accepted favorably, especially in concert settings. In old Turkish recordings, sometimes such exclamations can be heard and it might be that such a practice was more common early in the twentieth century. Lately, perhaps influenced by Jazz performances, Turkish audience would sometimes clap their hands in the middle of a taksim. 39 Racy sees the importance of the taqsim in its ability to conciliate such contradictions—to represent opposite meanings of the same concept at the same time. In musical terms, this means conforming to musical conventions, while creating a sense of uniqueness and individuality. As an allegory to the depiction of contrasting ideas, Racy brings the example of “ambiguous figures”—pictures that can be seen in two ways, such as “Rubin’s Vase”—the picture of a wine glass which can also be seen as two people (figure 4.3). Figure 4.3: Rubin’s Vase The taqsim’s ability to accommodate opposing ideals or “to alternate between different realms of significance” (ibid: 315) can be viewed, as a whole, as representing an ideal of keeping a balance. As shown below (Chapter 6) Turkish musicians often perceive the performance of such a fine balance between contradicting (or, in a way, complementing) ideals as the secret of a good taksim performance. 40 Figure 4.4: Symbolic poles of the taqasim (Racy 2000: 316) 4.5 Conclusions Research and analysis of the taksim has been mostly concerned with its melodic content and structure. Most studies concentrate on revealing how musicians use improvisatory devices, and how they construct melodic progressions (seyir; for this type of study see especially Yahya 2002 and Stubbs 1996). As with other freerhythm genres, the neglect of the rhythmic aspects of the taksim can be attributed to the difficulties in transcribing, analyzing, and defining such a rhythm, and to the fact that Turkish and Arab musicology and music theory do not provide any clue to the question of how this rhythm is conceived and performed. Nevertheless, insights and conclusions can be deduced from previous studies that would help with the construction of a research strategy. From the studies outlined in this chapter, we learn that the taksim is constructed of sections and units, of various lengths, which perform various functions on micro- and macro-structural levels (Nettl and Riddle 1973). Touma’s study (1971) stresses the notion that the rhythm of unmetered improvisations in Middle-Eastern classical musics has a substantially looser organization compared with their pitch-related systems. Racy’s significant work on the social and artistic meanings attributed to improvisation in general and the taqsim 41 in particular in the Arab world, shows that the significance of this genre lies with its ability to represent opposing ideals and concepts. 42 5. TRANSCRIBING AND ANALYZING PAUSES IN THE TAKSIM “When the object of examination is improvisation,” says Derek Bailey, “transcription, whatever its accuracy, serves only as a misrepresentation” (1993:15). Yet, transcription is perceived as an integral, and an indispensable, part of analysis. In order to analyze the rhythm of the taksim, one must find a way to represent it in an accurate, yet easy to comprehend, way—to develop a transcription method that will enable the depiction, understanding, and evaluation of significant micro details. 5.1 Orienting Transcription Finding the proper transcription method is often the most difficult task facing the analyst; and transcription itself is sometimes perceived as an analytical process. There is no doubt that the information we choose to concentrate on and to present in our transcriptions, affects the results of the analysis. In the early days of ethnomusicology, transcription also fulfilled the task of documenting, transmitting, and to some extent preserving, music. For this end, researchers developed complex transcription methods, intended to represent every (what they thought) important aspect of the music. Even today, when these functions of transcription are redundant, many transcriptions appear to present too much data for the reader; a profusion that sometimes obscures the essential goal of a transcription—its analysis. The importance of the decision-making process when constructing a transcription methodology was approached by Nettl quite a while ago: One of the great problems faced by the transcriber is the decision of what to include, how detailed a transcription should be made, when to consider a note or a sound important enough to be included. One wishes to preserve a sufficient degree of objectivity, but not make the transcription so complex that it makes comprehension difficult. (1958: 37) 43 As a solution, Nettl suggests not a compromise between these opposing ideals, but a process of evaluation, derived from linguistic methods. He suggests distinguishing between phonetic features (all features, without judgment of their importance) and phonemic features (features that represent variables that are significant to the analysis). By doing so, the analyst combines transcription and analysis together and thus produces results that are more comprehensible. The opportunity for a simple and comprehensible, yet insightful, analysis offered by such an approach is especially relevant when trying to examine very specific features and characteristics of a musical piece. In this case, the analyst can begin by transcribing only those certain features on which he or she wants to concentrate. Later, by using this transcription as a framework, or a skeleton, other musical features can be inserted into it, related to it, or compared with it. Instead of transcribing all musical data and then looking for significant features in them, this approach provides for a more target-oriented analysis—finding how specific aspects of a musical piece relate to each other. With this in mind, the transcription method presented in this chapter was designed to focus on a very obvious and simple rhythmic phenomenon in the taksim—its division into sections and units by the use of pauses. 5.2 Types and Species of Temporal Units When examining the overall temporal structure of the taksim, different types or species of temporal units, or sections, can be recognized.33 One way to define such units can be by the relation between their melodic features (such as tessitura, melodic material, motives, direction, and development.) and their rhythmic features (such as tempo, duration, metre, and density.). Other definitions can be added, based on features such as timbre, volume, articulation, and expression. A typology for such units can be constructed, forming a basis for analysis—as was carried out by Nettl and Riddle (1973). These units have different uses, functions, and meanings, both at the micro- and macro-structural levels ( Nettl and Riddle 1973: 29; Signell 2006). Out of these various types of temporal units, the one that is easiest to define, detect, and measure is the pause. The use of the term pause in this study should not be taken 33 See the discussion about Nettl and Riddle 1973 in section 4.2. 44 to mean a complete silence or lack of sound.34 Indeed, on plucked instruments, and particularly on the tanbur, pauses often are characterized by sustained notes. For this reason, the European musical term rest was avoided, since it denotes silence, and the term pause is used to represent an interruption in the flow of the overall or local musical activity. 5.3 A Continuum of Types of Temporal Units We can place pauses in the taksim at the far end of a continuum that represents melodic-rhythmic activity (fig. 5.1); example 1 is an example of a pause.35 Pauses are generally used to divide between structural sections and units of the taksim— again both at the micro- and macro-structural levels (Nettl and Riddle 1973: 15). At the other end of this continuum, we can find units of intense melodic and rhythmic activity, usually at the climax of the taksim; these show also a high level of metricity as we can hear in examples 2 and 3 .36 Activity Intense Activity (ex. 2 Pause (ex. 1 ) and 3 ) Figure 5.1: A continuum of types of temporal units Because the pause is such an easily observed rhythmic phenomenon, the contrast between played sections (where we have melodic and rhythmic activity) and pauses (where we have little or no activity) can be considered as the simplest level of organization of temporal structure in the taksim. Therefore, this study concentrates on this contrast as a starting point for a temporal-rhythmical analysis of the taksim. 34 As discussed below (Chapter 6) there is not a mutually agreed upon Turkish term for pause; musicians recognize that such a phenomenon exists but use various terms to identify it. 35 Necdet Ya ar 2, track 1, 00:00 – 00:10. Audio examples are marked with a symbol. A folder containing audio examples can be found on the CD-ROM. 36 Necdet Ya ar track 6, 03:32 – 03:42; Necdet Ya ar 2, track 1, 01:03 – 01:12 45 5.4 Defining a Pause For the purpose of this study, a pause is defined as a gap (that is, non-activity) between the attacks of two consecutive notes that is longer than the gaps that precede it as well as the gaps that follow it.37 Let me explain why I chose this definition. The existence of pauses of various lengths raises a problem of definition. Since any two consecutive notes have some gap of non-activity between them, when should we identify such a gap as a pause? A possible answer to this question may be subjective—a gap is a pause if it “feels” like one. Though the use of subjective analysis is required sometimes, its scientific value is questionable. Conversely, an arbitrary decision to define a pause as a gap longer than an X length of time may prove appropriate, but it might cause us to miss important insights concerning very short pauses. In the analysis presented here, for example, it is shown how both long and very short pauses perform various functions on both the micro- and macrostructural levels. A gap between two notes is called the IOI – the inter-onset interval; it is “the time interval between the onset of one event and the onset of its successor” (Drake and Parncutt 2001: i). The way we perceive IOIs is influenced mostly by their relation with other IOIs that precede and follow them—what can be called the rhythmic context.38 By examining subjectively-identified pauses, it can be confirmed that the feeling of a pause relies mainly on the rhythmic context—the rhythmic material preceding and following the pauses. In other words, the decision whether an IOI (a gap) is a pause is determined not by its length alone, but by its length in relation to the surrounding rhythm. Such a solution to the problem of defining a pause provides for an objective definition of pauses. Though such an approach might be controversial, when confronting decisions of what gaps should be identified and transcribed as pauses, this solution was found to be the most appropriate. This objective definition helped in discovering diverse uses of pauses and the various functions they perform. It also 37 In the case of the tanbur, this means a temporal unit in which no plucking with the plectrum takes place In this sense, on the tanbur, the distinction between pauses and long notes is sometimes obscured—an idiomatic feature of plucked instruments. 38 See also Margulis (2007: 485) for slightly different definition and measurement. 46 revealed that these uses and functions appear on many structural levels, and in various rhythmic, and melodic, settings and contexts. The following examples illustrate the contextual meaning of a pause. An IOI of around 450 milliseconds—though very short—will sound as a pause if it appears in a context of very rapid phrases of notes that are divided by much smaller IOIs, as in example 4 .39 It will not sound as a pause in the context of notes that are divided by similar IOIs (example 5 ).40 An IOI might at first sound as a pause, because it is longer than previous IOIs, but later lose its effect as a pause if it is followed by IOIs of similar duration that create a sense of a metered rhythm, as in example 6 .41 Figure 5.2 presents these rhythmic contexts in a simple graphic way: exclamation marks represent notes, and periods represent gaps. A gap between two notes: will sound as a pause (ex. 4 ): !!.!!.!!.!!!!!!!....!!!!!!!!! will not sound as a pause (ex. 5 ): !!....!!....!!....!!..!!.!!.!!!... will lose its effect as a pause (ex. 6 ): !!!!!!!!....!.!....!.!....!!!!!!!! Figure 5.2: Examples of rhythmic contexts 5.5 Necdet Ya ar A case study of the use of pauses in seven different taksims by one of the greatest living tanbur masters, Necdet Ya ar, should provide more insight into the use of pauses and the construction of the time structure. Necdet Ya ar is especially venerated for his knowledge of the makam system and his mastery of the taksim. As Bülent Aksöy writes: ‘Necdet Ya ar … is a leading tanbur player of Turkey and one of the best instrumentalists of Turkish music in the second half of this century. He has been the pupil of Mesud Cemil ... Undoubtedly, Ya ar is one of the great masters of the Turkish taksim. His improvisations display a marked originality and an elevated artistic taste. His musical 39 Tanburi Cemil Bey Vol. II, track 16, 01:55 – 02:01 Ibid: track 9, 00:40 – 00:45 41 Ibid: track 16, 00:12 – 00:17. 40 47 achievement in his improvisations stems from his extensive knowledge of the Turkish makams.” (Aksöy 1998: 24–5) The idea of studying the use of pauses in the taksim came to my mind while listening to Ya ar’s taksims. I have always felt that he uses pauses as part of his musical vocabulary, and that he gives importance to pauses as much as to the melodic material. The following analysis tries to examine these assumptions empirically. 5.6 Transcription of Pauses Figures 5.3 To 5.10 are the transcriptions of pauses in seven of Ya ar's taksims. These taksims represent a variety of makams, lengths, styles, and periods in the artist’s life.42 The horizontal line represents time in seconds. The white parts are played sections, while the black parts represent pauses. The numbers written above the pauses are their durations in seconds. IOIs affect our perception and organization of rhythm more than the actual, physical, duration of the note (Drake and Parncutt 2001: i); therefore, pauses were measured as the interval between the attack of one note (not the time of its decay) and the attack of the next one.43 These simple and accurate graphs show the temporal construction of the entire taksim in terms of its pauses and played sections. Even though they do not represent any tonal-melodic features, following them while listening to the taksim is easy; we can still relate them to general melodic features that are easy to detect, such as sequences, repetitions, and cadences, and thus reveal the way pauses are used. These transcriptions can provide a glimpse into the artist’s use and conception of the temporal structure and rhythm as it relates to the melodic material of the taksim. We can use these for analysis and extraction of statistical data (table 1), and comparison between several taksims. Example 7 is a short sample from the Hüseyni taksim.44 42 Many available taksim recordings of Turkish masters are of pour quality. The taksims analyzed here, however, are available on commercial CDs and their recording quality is relatively good. They were chosen for these CDs with the artist’s cooperation, and therefore, they can be taken to represent the artist’s better performances of this genre. 43 Measurements were done on a PC using the application Transcribe! by Seventh String Software. 44 Necdet Ya ar, track 12, 0:00 – 0:30. 48 Hicazkar Taksim (1973) 49 Figure 5.3: Transcription of pauses in Hicazkar Taksim (Necdet Ya ar 2, Track 13) 49 Irak Taksim (1976) 50 Figure 5.4: Transcription of pauses in Irak Taksim (Necdet Ya ar 2, Track 11) 50 Hüseyni Taksim (1982) 51 Figure 5.5: Transcription of pauses in Hüseyni Taksim (Necdet Ya ar , Track 12) 51 Mahur Taksim (?) 52 Figure 5.6: Transcription of pauses in Mahur Taksim (Necdet Ya ar 2, Track 1) 52 Nihavend I Taksim (1964) 53 Figure 5.7: Transcription of pauses in Nihavend I Taksim (Necdet Ya ar, Track 6) 53 Nihavend II Taksim (1982) 54 Figure 5.8: Transcription of pauses in Nihavend II Taksim (Necdet Ya ar 2, Track 12) 54 U ak Taksim (1979) 55 Figure 5.9: Transcription of pauses in U ak Taksim (Necdet Ya ar, Track 1) 55 56 Figure 5.10: Comparing transcription of pauses in seven taksims by Necdet Ya ar. 56 A Duration Taksim Name Hicazkar 69.7 B Total length of pauses and % of A 21.05 C No. of pauses F Average pause length G Longest pause H Longest played section 19 1.1 1.69 19.92 17 1.43 3.47 18.81 22 1.59 4.55 19.80 32 1.61 4.97 26.88 35 1.54 4.33 27.42 62 1.70 4.71 24.49 47 1.60 4.26 21.85 30.2% Irak 97.06 24.36 25.09% Hüseyni 169.16 34.92 20.64% Mahur 221.46 51.59 23.29% Nihavend 244.05 I Nihavend 22.15% 253.78 II U ak 54.06 105.41 41.54% 310.66 75.46 24.29% Table 5.1: Statistics of seven taksims by Necdet Ya ar 5.7 Usage of Pauses in the Taksim When examining the transcriptions in figures 5.3 to 5.10 and the statistics in table 5.1, we can find certain common characteristics in the use of pauses and in the construction of the temporal structure. Several recurring features of pauses, played sections, their organization, and their relation to the melodic material suggest some kind of order: 5.7.1 Starting with Longer Pauses Most of the taksims start with relatively longer pauses (as in the Irak, Hüseyni, Mahur, Nihavend II, and U ak taksims). Generally, longer pauses are used sparingly, and they appear mostly in the beginning and middle of the taksim. Towards the end of the taksim, long pauses are rare. 57 5.7.2 Pause Lengths As illustrated in table 5.1, the longest pause length, average pause length, and the percentage of the total length of pauses out of the overall length of the taksim are similar in the majority of taksims. 5.7.3 Long Played Sections There are usually few (up to three) long played sections. The length of the longest sections is similar in these taksims. 5.7.4 Clusters of Short Pauses In many places, we can see clusters of short pauses. These usually appear within the context of melodic sequences. In many of these cases, the played sections are shorter than the pauses. In these situations, major significance is given to the pauses, thus creating a “sequence of pauses,” as can be seen in figures 5.11 and 5.12 (ex. 8 and 9 ). Figure 5.11: Sequence of pauses (Ya ar, Hüseyni, 01:39 – 01:50; ex. 8 ) Figure 5.12: Sequence of pauses (Ya ar 2, Hicazkar, 00:26 – 00:37; ex. 9 ) 5.7.5 Pauses of the Same Length Many times, Ya ar uses a repetition of pauses of the same (or very similar) length; such as in the beginning of the Nihavend II Taksim (fig. 5.13; ex. 10 ). 58 Figure 5.13: Pauses of the same length (Ya ar 2, Nihavend II, 00:00 – 00:11; ex. 10 ) Usage of pauses of the same length can be found in various melodic contexts: The following example demonstrates this usage in the context of melodic repetition (fig. 5.14; ex. 11 ). Figure 5.14: Same length in a melodic repetition (Ya ar, Nihavend I, 00:00 – 00:14; ex. 11 ) This usage can also be found in a period-like context (fig. 5.15; ex. 12 ); Figure 5.15: Same length in a period-like context (Ya ar, U ak, 00:49 – 01:09; ex. 12 ) or in the context of a melodic sequence, such as in the following example (fig. 5.16; ex. 13 ). Figure 5.16: Same length in a melodic sequence. (Ya ar 2, Irak, 00:48 – 01:01; ex. 13 ) 59 Sometimes, Ya ar uses a mixture of pauses of similar, almost identical, lengths. Figure 5.17 (ex. 14 ) demonstrates a mixture of two lengths; one is approximately 2 seconds long, the other approximately 2.7 seconds. Figure 5.17: A mixture of pauses of similar lengths (Ya ar 2, Nihavend II, 00:24 – 00:50; ex. 14 ) In the following example (fig.5.18; ex. 15 ), this usage can be heard in the context of melodic repetition. Interestingly, the smaller pause has a relation of approximately 1:2 with the longer ones that surround it. Figure 5.18: A mixture of pauses of similar lengths in melodic repetition (Ya ar, U ak, 03:30 – 03:50; ex. 15 ) The next example (fig. 5.19; ex. 16 ) shows a mixture of two lengths in the context of a melodic sequence. One of the lengths is approximately 0.8 seconds long while the other one is approximately 1.1 seconds long. Figure 5.19: A mixture of two lengths in a melodic sequence (Ya ar 2, Mahur, 02:17 – 02:31; ex. 16 ) A repetition of the same length of pause may also serve to repeat a certain cadence, as in the following striking examples where Ya ar repeats almost the exact length of 60 a pause, after one minute, in the context of repeating a cadence (fig. 5.20; ex. 17 and 18 ). Figure 5.20: A repetition of same length of pause when repeating a cadence (Ya ar 2, Mahur, 00:02 – 00:11 and 01:13 – 01:22; ex. 17 and 18 ) 5.8 The Use of Pauses on Various Structural Levels The melodic contexts of the above examples strengthen the notion that these usages of pauses are not random or arbitrary. These repeating patterns of usage indicate that Necdet Ya ar uses pauses in an intuitive, yet structured and artful way. They suggest that Ya ar uses an accuracy of duration and timing to control the lengths of pauses and to organize them with relation to the melodic material. Furthermore, from this analysis we can discern a pattern of usage according to different structural levels. We can see that various lengths of pauses are used for dividing units of various lengths that have a specific melodic connection with each other. Figures 5.14, 5.15, and 5.16 show how short to medium pauses are used in the context of tiny, medium, and short melodic units, with various melodic relations such as repetition, period, and sequence (respectively). The last example (figure 5.20) shows how longer pauses are used to divide longer structural sections; these sections are themselves divided into smaller ones. Listening to the Mahur taksim it can be heard that the long pauses starting at 00:05, 00:22.2, and 01:16.3, function as cadential pauses for sections with ascending lengths that feature gradual elaboration; this is illustrated in figure 5.21 (ex. 19 ). 61 Statement Cadential Pause Expansion Cadential Pause Elaboration Cadential Pause Elaboration (continued) Figure 5.21: Use of longer pauses to divide sections of gradual elaboration (Ya ar 2, Mahur, 00:00 – 01:40; ex. 19 ) Figure 5.22 (ex. 20 ) illustrates the multi-level structure of the U ak taksim and the way pauses are used for dividing such structures. The main structure of the taksim is divided into three sections: melodic introduction, development, and conclusion. The introduction, ending at 02:37.5 is subdivided into three sections representing a gradual expansion and elaboration of the basic statement which starts at the beginning of the taksim and ends at 00:12.7. The most elaborated section of this substructure, which starts at 00:50.3 and ends at 02:37.3, is further subdivided into three sections that form an introduction, a development, and a conclusion. As can be seen in this figure, the introduction section of this sub-structure is further sectioned by relatively smaller pauses into segments that display melodic relations such as a period-like configuration. The two segments of this period-like sub-structure are divided by pauses of almost identical lengths, and their conclusion is repeated just before the pause that starts at 01:17.8. It can also be seen how the same pause is used to divide various sections on various structural levels. The pause ending at 02:37.5 for example, divides (at least) three structures and therefore functions on three structural levels. 62 Main Structure: introduction, development, conclusion 00:00 – 02:37.5 – 04:12.3 – end Sub- structure: statement, expansion, elaboration 00:00 – 00:12.7 – 00:50.3 – 02:37.3 Sub-structure: introduction, development, conclusion 00:50.3 – 01:32.6 – 01:54.9 – 02:37.3 Sub-structure: period-like 00:50.3 – 01:59.7 – 01:07.6 [ – 01:20.3] A separate section with some repetition 01:20.3 – 01:32.6 Figure 5.22: Use of pauses to divide multi-level structures (Ya ar, U ak, 00:00 – 03:20; ex. 20 ) The micro- and macro- levels of the structure of the taksim were already discussed above in section 4.2 in relation to the findings of Nettl and Riddle. This multi-level structure has also been examined by other researchers. Karl Signell (2006) suggests that the levels of various musical and extra-musical events in the Mevlevî ayîn can help formulate a theoretical basis and a terminology for the study of the taksim. Clayton’s analysis of a Hindustani l p suggests a surprising similarity between its structure and the taksim’s: l p seems to be organized on a number of temporal levels, from the division of the entire l p into three major phases down to the sort of phrases investigated here (10–30 secs.), made up of individual notes, gestures, or events (1–5 secs.) each of which may comprise distinct phases and exhibit rhythmic oscillation at the micro-level. (2000: 103). 63 The perceptual and cognitive processes that are used for such control and organization are yet to be discovered. Nevertheless, a hint for where similar processes take place can be found in the metaphor of speech and oration that Turkish musicians use when discussing the taksim. As will be shown in the next chapter, Turkish musicians make an analogy between mastering the performance of the taksim and developing a proficiency in the verbalization of one’s inner artistic world. 64 6. THE RHETORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RHYTHM OF THE TAKSIM Improvisation is simply the ease with which the development of an idea is expressed. This is only possible insofar as music is a language conveying thoughts and feelings and does so with the formulas of a definite language with precise rules of grammar. (Daniélou 2003: 136) This chapter uses interviews with Turkish musicians as a basis for the understanding of the conception of the rhythm of the taksim and the function of pauses. At the course of these interviews, trying to find concrete rhythmic models that guide the performance of a taksim proved to be a difficult task. Instead, musicians expressed various philosophical and metaphorical concepts—confirming the notion about the abstract characteristics of this rhythmic phenomenon. 6.1 The Discourse on the Rhythm of the Taksim The abstract nature of the rhythm of the taksim is apparent in discourse among Turkish musicians. As was already pointed out, the tonal-melodic and formal characteristics of the taksim are grounded in both oral tradition and theoretical treatises; they are common knowledge, as well as the basis for any discourse on Turkish classical music. Unlike the discussion of the tonal-melodic characteristics of the taksim, discussion of the actual technical and theoretical aspects of the rhythm of the taksim tends to be elusive. When asked for details about the rhythm of the taksim, musicians seemed confounded, and a raised eyebrow was not an uncommon response. People seemed to wonder about my choice of subject—especially when I showed specific interest in pauses. These responses reveal the fact that usually musicians do not think about the rhythm of the taksim consciously. If a discussion about this subject is triggered, then it quickly turns into a philosophical discussion—one that is based on metaphors and analogies. 65 Even the terminology for pauses has not been agreed upon, and those interviewed provided a multitude of terms that could be used for them. Among them were: space (bo luk), break (ara), rest (es), station (durak), peace (sükun), silence (sessizlik), repose (istirahat), breath (soluk, nefes), suspension (asma kalı ), and poise (duru ). 6.2 The Taksim as Verbalization All the musicians interviewed made analogies between the taksim and various forms of verbalization and oration. Among these analogies were speech (konu ma), poetry ( iir), narration (anlatma), declaration (ifade), argumentation (muhakeme), oratory (hitabet), philosophy (felsefe), language (lisan), and story (hikaye). In the context of these analogies, the taksim is perceived as a powerful tool for individual expression; yet it is not spontaneous, simple, everyday speech. It is a form of oratory, it is artistic and carefully performed, and it has to adhere to certain rules, comparable to the rules of grammar in speech. Following are a few quotations from interviews with musicians and from literature illustrating this conception: What is taksim? It is a musical speech, a recitation of a poem, an expression . . . it expresses emotions, it expresses thoughts. Taksim ne dır? Müzikal olarak bir konu ma, bir iir söyleme, bir anlatım . . . duygular anlatıyor dü ünceler anlatıyor. (Necdet Ya ar) Taksim is like a person’s oratory, like his speech. I explain something to you. Sometimes I speak heavily, sometimes I explain something softly, I make a nuance, when I am speaking. While I am doing all these, I pay attention to the rules of grammar. Taksim aynen bir insanin hitabeti gibi, konu ması gibi. Bir ey anlatıyorum ben sana. Bu arada kuvvetli söylüyorum, bazen yumu ak bir ey anlatıyorum, nüans yapıyorum, konu urken. Bunlar yaparken imla gramer kurallarına dikkat ediyorum. (Reha Sa ba ) Some examples for this analogy can be found also in literature, though usually not in the context of a scholarly definition of the taksim or a discussion about it. The following excerpt is taken from a discussion about the taksims of the tanbur master Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey: 66 The main characteristics of Cemil’s performance: A. In terms of instrumental technique: ... 3. According to what he wants to explain [he uses] a special tuning, intonation system and rhythmic balance; . . . 6. In his taksims [he uses] some kind of antiphonary and responsorial motives of question-answer . . . B. In terms of meaning: 1. In his taksims he talks, he makes conversation, he draws paintings, he gives lessons, he rebels or jokes with a kind of eloquence; with a dark melancholy or with a lively lyricism he almost takes people to other times and places in a flow of excitement; (Tanrıkorur 2004: 237–38) These examples show how the discussion about the taksim tends to use analogies, allegories, and metaphors. The taksim is viewed as a tool for expressing the musician’s own philosophy and worldview; it is a powerful expressive tool, with which the artist can depict pictures, convey emotions and meanings, and communicate with his audience. 6.3 The Rhythm of the Taksim as the Rhythm of Speech In the context of the analogy with speech, the rhythm of the taksim is analogous with the rhythm of speech, in which importance is given to accentuation, intonation and pausing: When a person wants to explain [express] something, he stresses some words, sometimes he raises the tone of his voice . . . sometimes he pauses, sometimes he puts them [words] one after another . . . like when we speak we apply various pauses, various accentuations. Since this [the taksim] is a musical speech, an expression, I think it is natural that in it we should apply these too, musically. nsan bir ey anlatmak isterken bazı kelimeler vurgular bazen sesinin tonu...yükseltir . . . bazen bir an durur, bazen arka arkaya sıralar . . . nasıl konu urken bir takım araları, bir takım vurguları uyguluyor isek, madem ki bu da müzikal bir konu ma, bir anlatım, onda da bir takım 67 böyle müzikal olarak uygulanması, normal diye dü ünüyorum. (Necdet Ya ar) Pauses in the taksim, as in speech, are made analogous with punctuation marks, such as commas, periods, semicolons, and question marks: That is, these pauses are like commas in speech, and like periods…these pauses have the quality of a comma, a period, a semicolon, and many times a question mark—question and answer. Yani bu aralar, konu madaki virgüller gibi, ve nokta gibi…bu aralar, virgül, nokta, noktalı virgül, ço u zaman soru i areti—soru ve cevap niteli inde. (Reha Sa ba ) In the taksim form, we also use the characteristics of question and answer. Therefore, if you play a melody . . . it must certainly have an answer, and between these answers, there must be pauses so the message you want to give will reach [the audience] in front of you. Because you are speaking with [using] your instrument . . . but of course, this speech has its rules… Soru ve cevap özeli i biz aynen taksim formunda da kullanıyoruz. Yani bir melodi yaptın . . . onu mutlaka bir cevabi olması lazım, ve o cevaplar arasında da, bo lukları olması lazım ki, söylemek istedi in mesaj, karsıya ula sın. Konu uyorsun çünkü sazınla . . . Ama kuralları var tabii, konu manın… (Yurdal Tokcan) In the context of the analogy between the taksim and verbalization, it is easy to see why mastering the use of pauses is so important for the performance of a good taksim. 45 Pauses in the taksim, like punctuation marks in text, make it intelligible. They serve to connect and distinguish, on various structural levels, between its “paragraphs,” “sentences,” and “words”—the temporal units or sections of the taksim. Without these punctuation marks, the taksim would carry no meaning (mana), and there could be no development in the “argumentation.” Pauses in the taksim, therefore, help to convey rhetorical meanings. 45 It should be noted that unlike in Arab music, pauses in Turkish taksim performances are seldom used by the audience for exclamations of appreciation of the performance. 68 As one of the musicians interviewed put it: “To pause is like looking in the listener’s eyes, and asking: ‘Do you understand me?’” (Reha Sa ba ).46 6.4 The Importance of Performance Context and Settings During interviews, musicians made more concretely formed references to decisions concerning rhythm in the taksim when talking about the context and settings of performances. The context and settings are determined by the type of music being played, the place, the time, and the kind of audience attending. A performer would make various decisions concerning the style of performance according to these factors. He or she would use one style, for example, if the audience were a small, musically-informed audience in informal settings. In the context of a formal performance, with a large audience that has various tastes, the musician would adjust his style accordingly. The characteristics of the taksim—both its melodic and rhythmic ones—rely heavily on the pieces that precede and follow it. In the context of a very classical performance, when the piece that follows the taksim is a slow-rhythm, heavy-tempo (a ır), vocal piece, the taksim should exhibit more classical, traditional characteristics—it should be slow, with long pauses and should not include very rapid and virtuosic metered passages. In the context of a performance composed of lighter genres, such as a semi-classical performance or before a fast instrumental piece, the taksim might show more “free” characteristics—it can use original rhythmic formulas, it can be faster, and it can include fast, metered, virtuosic passages. 6.5 Richness of Influence and Individual Expression A recurring theme in the discourse about the taksim is the importance of individuality and originality. The formation of individuality is often connected with richness of influence and the decision of who and what to be influenced by. Musicians stress the need to listen to many performers and many kinds of music, to be exposed to other arts—to enrich their musical language and vocabulary. The more “musical words” 46 Durup gözlerine bakıyorum—“beni anlıyor musun?” 69 the musician knows, the better he can express himself and show the richness of his inner world: [In the taksim] there are emotions, there are thoughts, there are feelings, there are joys, there are worries, there are hopes, there is grief, there is sorrow, there is excitement, there are expectancies, there are, there are, there are. If you know many words, musically, if you use melodic words in this way, it will . . . be enriched. [Taksimde] duygular, dü ünce var, hisler var, sevinçler var, üzüntüler var, ümitler var, hüzünler var, kederler var, heyecanlar var, bekleyi ler var, var, var, var. E er çok kelime biliyorsanız, müzikal olarak, melodik kelimeleri bu ekilde kullanıyorsanız, çok böyle . . . zenginle ir. (Necdet Ya ar) It is the combination of influences, together with the artist’s knowledge, talent, personality, skill, and inspiration that allows for the special creativity required for a taksim performance. The final product, the taksim, must bear the artist’s signature, it must “belong to him,” since it is his “composition”: In the taksim form, everything you produce belongs to you, it is your composition—a composition that comes out of you in that moment; it is a composition that cannot be repeated. Tamamen taksim formda üretece in her ey sana ayıt, senin besten—o an, içten gelen bir beste, tekrarı mümkün olmayan bir beste. (Yurdal Tokcan) Therefore, the taksim is considered as the best form of expression for the instrumentalist.47 In this context of individual expression, again musicians use the metaphor of language: the musician is the speaker, narrator, or poet, addressing his audience in a “musical verbalization.” On the one hand, the musician has to show originality and creativity by exhibiting a unique style and by avoiding repetitions and imitations. On the other hand, the musician also has to demonstrate skill, knowledge, and awareness of tradition; he must demonstrate knowledge of makam and theory (nazari) and show awareness to the context and settings of his performance and the nature of his audience. 47 See also Racy 2000: 313–14. 70 The taksim shows how good the musician is, that is, how well he knows makam . . . how well he knows theory . . . how well his performance is adapted to the performed fasıl, how he “explains” the makam . . . together with his feelings he shows his capability for creativity, that is, his composition-ship . . . how he ornaments the taksim and how he enriches it, with melodies that do not repeat . . . there is a need for an ability to compose . . . he needs to be a composer, because the taksim is a composition made at the moment. Taksim müzisyenin . . . ne kadar iyi müzisyen oldu unu, yani, ne kadar makam bildi i . . . ne kadar iyi nazari . . . icra edilen fasıla ne kadar uygun bir icra yapabildi i, o makam üstüne nasıl tarif etti . . . kendi duyguları, yine beraber, yaratıcılık kabiliyeti gösterir, bestecilik yani . . . tekrar etmeyen na melerle nasıl taksimi süsledi i zenginle tirdi i dü ünebilir . . . bestecilik kabiliyeti gerektedir . . . bestekar olması gerekir, çünkü taksim o anda yapılan bir bestedir. (Reha Sa ba ) Good taksim making, therefore, must balance between originality and adherence to a tradition of aesthetic rules, which are not always defined. Mastering the taksim means combining the knowledge one has received with one’s own personal expression and creativity. By doing that, the musician creates his own unique musical “language” or “idiolect”—his musical style. A musician who repeats himself too much, copies others, has a monotonous rhythmic material and tempo, or does not use pauses to make himself intelligible is considered a “babbler” (geveze). 6.6 The Syntactical Structure of the Taksim Analogies between music and language or speech are probably as old as music and language themselves. Harold Powers (1980) distinguishes between three main aspects of “the music-as-language metaphor”: semantic, phonological, and syntactical-grammatical. In the case of the use of this metaphor in connection to the taksim, it is obviously the third aspect that plays the most concrete role in forming its rhythmic and temporal structure, especially in relation to the use of pauses and the division into sections and units. In this respect, the structure of the taksim bears a striking resemblance to the structure of written language, as is illustrated by 71 comparing the following two passages. The first one is taken from Nettl and Riddle’s conclusions (discussed in section 4.2); the second is from a stylebook that any student, writing his thesis, might consult from time to time: In certain parameters or elements of music, the performer carries out the same kind of musical thinking in bits of melody hardly more than a second in length, in longer segments of melody, in sections, and in entire taqasim. (Nettl and Riddle 1973: 29) The principle that the proper place for what is to be made most prominent is the end applies equally to the words of a sentence, to the sentences of a paragraph, and to the paragraphs of a composition. (Strunk and White 2000 [1935]: 33) The resemblance of the structure of the taksim to written language, with its multilevel hierarchical structure, and with pauses functioning as punctuation marks, suggests that this kind of musical improvisation should not be compared to simple speech. There is more to a taksim than putting sounds together in order to convey a simple message, as we do with words in a spontaneous speech. Though the ease and simplicity with which such an improvisation is performed suggest the resemblance between these processes, a taksim is a work of art and as such, it displays careful structuring and conveys an aesthetic meaning. As Powers notes: There is a freedom-to-fixity parameter in language use that extends from conversation through such stages as story-telling, formal oratory, and formulaic poetic recitation on to literary composition (oral as well as written down) . . . Bringing this into the sphere of the linguistic analogy, we might say that a musical improvisation in this sense is an extempore oratorical discourse, on a traditional theme, which is elaborated and ordered using traditional rhetorical forms and techniques. (1980: 42) In a discussion about the relation between improvisation and spontaneous speech, Jeff Pressing suggests that pauses in spontaneous speech are “indicative of real-time cognitive processing limitations” and “presumably have this function (among others) in musical improvisation” (2000 [1987]).48 The transcription and analysis of Ya ar’s 48 This paragraph can be found only in the Internet source: p. 20. 72 taksims, however, suggest that he does not use pauses as musical interjections or “fillers” where he is uncertain or needs to rest or gather his thoughts. Pauses might be used for such ends by a beginner or an amateur; however, a master of the Turkish taksim, as we learned from the interviews outlined above, is a master of musical verbalization. He uses pauses intentionally, as part of his musical vocabulary, to convey rhetorical meanings. A master’s improvisations are more like sermons, orations, or poetry than just spontaneous speech. In Ya ar’s biography, Bulent Aksöy makes a similar allusion: “Truly, Necdet Ya ar is a ‘composer of improvisations,’ a poet of the tanbur, who recites makamic verses” (1998:25). 73 7. CONCLUSIONS Since this study is in the beginning stages, there are not yet definite conclusions to offer. Nevertheless, some assumptions and suggestions can be made. We know that the taksim’s rhythmic characteristics are abstractly described, as compared to both the complex melodic system of makam as it is manifested in the taksim, as well as the system of usûl, which is applied to almost all other genres in Turkish classical music. This distinction of the rhythm of the taksim suggests an intentional obscurity designed to fulfill a specific function. Since the rhythmic content and structure of the taksim are not as rigidly defined by theory and tradition as its melodic content and formal structure, we can assume that a great deal of the artist’s individual expressiveness and freedom lies in rhythm. In the area of rhythm, the artist has more freedom from adherence to set models (also called “points of departure,” “referents”; see Nettl 1998: 13–4; 2001: 3; Pressing 1998: 5), since these are less well formulated. Indeed, even different taksims played by the same musician in various contexts, settings, and times, have different rhythmic and temporal characteristics.49 Furthermore, the musician must show that he is aware of aesthetical conventions that are established by musical tradition— intangible conventions that can only be realized by long experience and deep acquaintance with the music. He must also adapt his performance to the current context and settings—the time, the place, and the audience. This is done by adjusting tempo, pause lengths, and the usage of rhythmic formulas. On the other hand, the musician must stay loyal to his individuality. He should not imitate other performers, he should exhibit originality, and he should deviate from conventions in a way that shows his awareness of them. In this context, repeated patterns of usage of rhythm formulate part of the artist’s uniqueness, or style—his “musical idiolect.” The dual function of rhythm in the taksim, its ability to represent the contrasting concepts of individuality and adherence to aesthetical rules, can be added to the list of symbolical meanings attributed to the taksim. Nevertheless, the rhythm of the 49 See for example the differences between the two Nihavend taksims by Necdet Ya ar that are studied here. 74 taksim does it in a more abstract way then its other musical aspects, such as its melodic material and formal structure. Since time and rhythm in the taksim are not concretely characterized, it is up to the performer to make his own decisions. The performer does not receive a set of concrete instructions, either theoretical or practical, concerning rhythm; he must struggle alone to prove that he is capable of forming the right temporal structures—structures that represent these contrasting concepts. The findings of this study indicate that there is a strong probability that for forming such structures the performer uses perceptual and cognitive processes that resemble those used for speech and oration—borrowing on syntactical-grammatical structures and rhetorical devices. This assumption is supported by the analysis presented here, by other studies of the taksim and other genres that resemble it, and by the analogy, common amongst Turkish musicians, between the taksim and oration. The similarity between these structures and devices and the structure and content of time and rhythm in the taksim, suggests that this is not a mere philosophical idea. This analogy, between rhythm and language structures, with the rhetorical significance attributed to it, might embody the means for discovering the secret of the rhythm of the taksim. 75 APPENDIX: MUSICIANS’ BIOGRAPHIES Following are short (slightly abridged) biographies of the musicians I interviewed for this research. The sources for these biographies appear in footnotes. Murat Aydemir Murat Aydemir was born on October 23, 1971 in Hanover, Germany. In 1982, he started his studies at Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music Government Conservatory. During his studies at the Conservatory, which lasted for ten years, he studied tanbur with Necip Gülses and in 1992 he graduated from Instrument Education department. During 1989, he was a member of Cultural Ministry’s Istanbul Government Classical Turkish Music Ensemble as a guest musician, whose general artistic director was Dr. Necdet Ya ar. He had opportunities to perform in concerts with masters of Turkish music such as Bekir Sidki Sezgin, Alaeddin Yava ça, nci Çayırlı, Erol Deran, hsan Özgen, Cinuçen Tanrıkorur, and Necdet Ya ar. Aydemir recorded Ahenk – Volume 1 (1977) and Ahenk – Volume 2 (2007), collection of instrumental compositions and improvisations with Derya Türkan (kemençe) for Golden Horn Records in the United States. . . . Aydemir performed in concerts, seminars, and symposiums with the Cantemir Ensemble. . . . Since 1997, he has been working with ncesaz, a group that was founded by Cengiz Onural, Derya Türkan and Murat Aydemir. . . . Since 1990, Aydemir has been a member of Cultural Ministry’s Istanbul Government Classical Turkish Music Chorus as a tanbur player. He has performed in many concerts in Turkey and abroad with this group. Murat Aydemir's goals are to maintain the traditional way of performing, yet to expand and introduce new ideas. He is dedicated to preserving the performance 76 practice of the tanbur, traditionally a unique Turkish instrument, for new generations.50 Reha Sa ba Reha Sa ba was born in Ankara in 1954. He began playing mandolin and accordion by the age of 12, and took up the kanun at 16. He was encouraged by masters such as Baha Ismail Surelsan, Erol Deran and Hayri Yenigun. He began to perform on Ankara Radio in 1974, and became a full member of Turkish Radio and Television in 1980, writing notation, playing the kanun and arranging programs. In 1991, he transferred to the ministry of culture, joining Istanbul’s Radio Orchestra. He has since been invited to give concerts in Istanbul with Necdet Ya ar, Alaeddin Yava ça, Bekir Sidki Sezgin and Cinuçen Tanrikorur. In 1997 he established the Lalezar Ensemble, which he directs. He also performs with the Bosphorus Ensemble and can be heard on many recordings. He has taught at Ankara University and Haceteppe University, and in 1998, along with his wife Selma Sa ba he taught and performed at Harvard University. He is the Turkish representative of the Maryland-based Sema Vafki Turkish Music Foundation.51 Yurdal Tokcan Yurdal Tokcan is considered one of the finest oud players in the world today by many music authorities. His style combines older traditions with many new stylistic innovations, which are also present in his playing of the fretless guitar. . . . Tokcan was born in Ordu on the Black Sea cost of Turkey in 1966. He is a 1998 graduate of Istanbul Technical University’s Turkish Music Government Conservatory. While completing his masters program there, he joined the faculty as an oud instructor. . . . In 1990, he joined the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Istanbul Government Music Ensemble under the artistic direction of Tanburi Necdet Ya ar. . . . He is a member of the Istanbul Fasıl Ensemble and the Istanbul Tasavvuf Music Ensemble, and a 50 Quoted from the Golden Horn Productions website: http://www.goldenhorn.com/display.php4?content=artists&page=murat_aydemir.html. 51 Quoted from liner notes to the CD: Lalezar – Music of the Sultans, Sufis & Seraglio, Volume II: Music of the Dancing Boys. 2000. New York: Traditional Crossroads 77 founding member of the Istanbul Sazendeleri (Musicians of Istanbul), a group dedicated to presenting Turkish instrumental works. Tokcan has participated in many recording sessions and has performed internationally, in Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Greece, Japan, Turkmenistan, Israel, Tunisia, Lebanon, Bosnia, and Northern Cyprus. . . . Tokcan represented Turkey in several international festivals and celebrations, including the 3rd International Oud and Lavta Festival in Dresden, Germany and the 2002 International Oud Meeting in Thessaloniki, Greece (along with oud players Ara Dinkjian, Simon Shaheen, Haig Yazdjian, and Omar Bashir). . . . Yurdal Tokcan’s solo improvisational album Passion is released by Golden Horn Records.52 Necdet Ya ar Necdet Ya ar was born in 1930, in Nizip, a small town near Gaziantep. He graduated from the School of Economics, Istanbul University. Ya ar started to learn music first on the ba lama, a rural folk musical instrument, but having heard Mesut Cemil’s performance on the tanbur, he gave up the ba lama, in favour of the classical tanbur. He joined the Istanbul Radio as early as 1953 when he was a university student. He performed music for the radio programmes for thirty years, from 1953 to 1983. Apart from the Classical Turkish Music Chorus of the Istanbul Radio conducted by Mesut Cemil, he has also been a member of Turkish Musical Ensemble of Istanbul Conservatory, and the State Chorus of the Ministry of Culture, conducted by Münir Nurettin Selçuk and Nevzat Atlı respectively. Ya ar founded the Istanbul State Turkish Music Ensemble in 1988 and directed it until 1995, the year he retired. He has performed music with almost all of the prominent musicians of Turkey, such as Mesut Cemil, Münir Nurettin Selçuk, Cevdet Ça la, Sadi I ılay, Yorgo Bacanos, Haluk Recai, Niyazi Sayın, Alâeddin Yava ça, and Bekir Sıdkı Sezgin. He toured the world as a concert performer and gave numerous recitals in USA, Canada, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Israel, and South Korea. Ya ar was twice (1972–1973 and 1980–1981) a visiting musician in the Programme of Ethnomusicology at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he gave lectures on the makam system of Ottoman classical music. 52 Quoted from the Golden Horn Productions website: http://www.goldenhorn.com/display.php4?content=artists&page=yurdal_tokcan.html 78 Necdet Ya ar is a leading tanbur player of Turkey and one of the best instrumentalists of Turkish music in the second half of this century. He has been the pupil of Mesut Cemil, the great musician of his time and also the son of the legendary Tanburî Cemil Bey. Ya ar is regarded as a preeminent representative of the new tanbur tradition set up by Tanburî Cemil Bey. As a tanbur player his foremost concern was to be able to produce a louder sound on the tanbur, which is actually a low-sounding musical instrument. To achieve this purpose Ya ar strived hard and developed an advanced right and left hand technique. Being a long-necked musical instrument, the tanbur is rather difficult to play in a quick manner. Ya ar tried hard also to introduce agility into the performance of his instrument without losing its impressive sound, its peculiar sonority. Undoubtedly, Ya ar is one of the grand masters of the Turkish taksim, instrumental improvisation. His improvisations display a marked originality and an elevated artistic taste. His musical achievement in his improvisations stems from his extensive knowledge of the Turkish makams, rich and amazing modulations, masterly employed transpositions, an advanced technique and, of course, from his talent in creating impressive melodies. Avoiding stereotyped musical phrases, he has always been able to produce original improvisations. 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CD with notes (32 pages) Tanburi Cemil Bey Vol. II & III. 1995. New York: Traditional Crossroads. CD 4274. Two CDs with notes (13 pages) Tokcan, Yurdal. 2004 [?]. Hisleni (Deep Emotion): Taksimler – Do açlamalar (Improvisations). stanbul: Beyza Müzik Yapım. 85

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Rhythm, Syntax, and Rhetorical Pauses in the Turkish Taksim

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