Week 8 - Persian Music

 In todays class we were lucky enough to had a Persian music specialist come in and teach us about the the cultures fascinating musical harmony and then get us to perform some the of repertoire that displays this unique harmony. This was very enlightening and opened my eyes up to a bigger picture of what music is and can be. In western music we are very use to and very comfortable with our scalar system and what harmony should sound like. Persian music encompasses quarter tones in their scale and their scales.

We learned that the scalar/modal system used in Persian classical music is called 'Dastgah'. Full understanding of Dastgah is extremely important as it the key to composing and improvising in a traditionally and stylistic correct manor.

"Dastgah in traditional Persian music is a complex of musical pieces called Goosheh (Naqmeh). Goosheh is formed in different Maqams (positions) and is interconnected according to a particular order (they are harmonic in scales, tunes, and intervals of notes). Goosheh, similar to Maqam in Arabic and Turkish music, is one of the most basic elements of Persian music identity." (Mehraby, 2019)

For me what most mind blowing thing about these scales were that the order of notes changes don's repeat through the octaves like a tradition 'western scale' (major/minor scale). It's mind blowing to think that musicians can free improvise with these scales that have a never ending feeling of home resolution. In the video below you will see an example of a Persian musician improvising within in the Dastgah system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jB5OIWygYA


Mehraby, R., 2019. Dastgah and Avaz in Traditional Persian Music | Destination Iran Tours. [online] Destination Iran Tours. Available at: <https://www.destinationiran.com/dastgah-avaz-traditional-persian-music.htm> [Accessed 11 May 2021].

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