ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN
SCIENCE
АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 6 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1226
ABOUT MAQOM SINGING
Elmurod Ahmedov
Professor of the Department of Maqom Singing at the Yunus Rajabiy Uzbek National Institute
of Music and Art.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15716692
Annotation.
This article discusses maqom singing and its theory and history of origin.
Keywords:
maqom, melodies, music, composer, culture.
“Maqoms are a musical genre that has existed in the peoples of the East since ancient
times. They were created by professional musicians and singers on the basis of the unique
musical wealth of these peoples and emerged as an independent musical genre in the process of
long cultural and historical development.”
“Maqoms have theoretical and practical foundations and are a masterly example of the
musical art of these peoples. Maqoms, in particular Shashmaqom, which is the spiritual property
of the Uzbek and Tajik peoples, are the result of creative research conducted in this area for
many centuries. The examples of maqoms that master musicians and singers have carefully
preserved and passed down to us as the apple of their eye to future generations, have now
become truly national property as the treasures of our musical art, which are of the greatest,
incomparable value in the world of sophistication.”
Maqoms form the basis of the music of the peoples of the East. Therefore, a detailed
study of maqoms is of great importance in the history of our musical culture. Maqoms are a
musical complex created in a certain order, and are a kind of polished version of the past
composer's creativity. In a broader sense, maqoms are a dictionary of folk music. Because in
them, in particular in Shashmaqom, a number of aspects based on the rules of connection
between melodies, rhythmic features, circle methods, and folk singing paths characteristic of
Uzbek folk music are expressed. In the musicology of the peoples of the Middle Ages, the
maqom mainly represents the concept of "parda" structures and melodies and songs created in
accordance with them. Maqoms developed in a scattered form in the early period, and in the 13th
century, Safiuddin al-Urmawi brought them into the form of a theoretical system consisting of
twelve main maqoms. After the 17th century, the Twelve Maqom system fell into crisis, and on
its basis new national and local forms of maqoms began to emerge among the peoples of the
East. In particular, in the middle of the 18th century, in the creative performing activities of court
musicians, singers and composers in Bukhara, one of the largest cultural centers of Central Asia,
Shashmaqom was formed indiscriminately, and was also performed under the names of Bukhara
maqoms, Bukhara Shashmaqomi. Among the types of Uzbek maqoms, Khorezm maqoms,
Fergana-Tashkent maqom paths, as well as wild (free-form) maqoms, sunray, dutar paths, etc.,
developed under the influence of Shashmaqom. Unique examples of genres such as amal, kor,
naqsh, peshrav, savt, tarona, qavl, which were widely used in the composition of the past, have
reached us as part of Shashmaqom.
Shashmaqom (Persian: olti maqom), the latest form of the maqom family that has
survived in Central Asia, is a family of maqoms that occupies a central place in the musical
heritage of the Uzbek and Tajik peoples; it is a set of about two hundred and fifty classical
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN
SCIENCE
АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 6 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1227
melodies and songs that are inextricably linked by means such as veil, melody, style, form, and
style. It was formed about two centuries ago (18th century), and emerged as a result of centuries-
old scientific and creative experience and research in the areas of musical folklore and
professional music under certain conditions. Shashmaqom is an encyclopedic product of the art
of a number of generations of composers as a result of the historically long development of
national and regional classical music traditions.4 Maqom means “place”, “place” in Arabic, and
in musical terminology, the place where sound is produced on instruments, that is, “veil”. A
maqom represents a set of tones and melodies that begin with a certain pitch and correspond to
them. These concepts have retained their content in all forms of maqoms that have existed in
different periods.
LITERATURE ANALYSIS AND METHODS In his book “Uzbek Classical Music and
Its History,” Abdurauf Fitrat, a great researcher of shashmaqom science, cites two great masters,
Ota Jalol and Ota Ghiyas, as living witnesses, as evidence of documents and information, and
shows the history of shashmaqom as a period of approximately 150 years. So, if we calculate this
period from the time the book was written, we will be aware that we are talking about the last
quarter of the 18th century. There is certainly no room for coincidence in the opinions of such a
demanding researcher as Fitrat. The last quarter of the 18th century coincides with the accession
of the Mangiti dynasty of Bukhara khans to the throne, and according to superstitious
information, by this time the Shashmaqom had acquired the form we know today. However,
documentary evidence of the term Shashmaqom first appears in a musical treatise in the form of
a bayoz, written in Bukhara in the first half of the 19th century by Musa Khoja Turkestani. This
treatise begins with the words: "This is the musical Shashmaqom inherited from the pious and
venerable masters."
Shashmaqom consists of a collection of melodies and songs adapted to and based on six
different modes. Although the basis of Shashmaqom is six different modes, melodies suitable for
other modes that are close to it have also been included. This is especially evident in the songs of
the maqom branches. In them, not only the tonality, but also the structure of the modes change in
relation to the main maqom path to which they belong. Shashmaqom includes the following
maqoms: Buzruk - (major, great), Rost - (correct, truthful), Nav - (melody, melody), Dugoh -
(two-part or second part), Segoh - (three-part or third part), and Iraq - (the name of one of the
Arab countries). Each of the six maqoms contains approximately 20 to 44 major and minor
maqom paths.
Each of the six Bukhara maqoms consists of two large sections with a complex internal
structure. The first of these is a purely instrumental section called Mushkilot - (literally meaning
difficulty, hardship), and the second is a song section called Nasr - (literally meaning help, help,
victory, triumph, a work of art). Each of the melodic lines in the instrumental sections is an
independent instrumental part. They are called: Tasnif, Tarji, Gardun, Mukhammas, and Saqil.
These melodies are sung together with the names of the maqoms to which they belong. For
example, Tasnif Buzruk, Tarjei Buzruk, Saqili Nav, Samoyi Dugoh, Muhammasi Iroq, Garduni
Segoh, etc. These instrumental lines of Shashmaqom are distinguished by their very complex and
meticulous melodic structure. There are a total of 46 examples of complete melodies in the
Shashmaqom series.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN
SCIENCE
АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 6 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1228
In particular, Buzruk and Rost have 7, Nav and Segoh have 8, and Dugoh have 10.
Another characteristic of all Shashmaqom instrumental paths is that their internal form is
mainly built as a result of the orderly alternation of melodic structures called “xona” and
“bozgoy”. They can consist of one or more melodic phrases. Xona means a house, a room, that
is, “a room where the sounds that make up the melody and its other elements are placed”. In
order to constantly renew, the developing rooms rise to the third, fourth, fifth, octave and even
higher pitches by jumping. Then, using the peshrav device, they smoothly return to the main
pitch of the work. As a logical result of this, the melodic theme of the repeated bozgoy is
prepared.
Shashmaqom consists of a collection of melodies and songs adapted to and based on six
different modes. Although the basis of Shashmaqom is six different modes, melodies suitable for
other modes that are close to it have also been included. This is especially evident in the songs of
the status branches. In them, not only the tonality, but also the structure of the modes change in
relation to the main status path to which they belong. Shashmaqom includes the following
maqoms: Buzruk - (major, great), Rost - (correct, truthful), Nav - (melody, melody), Dugoh -
(two-part or second part), Segoh - (three-part or third part), and Iraq - (the name of one of the
Arab countries). Each of the six statuses contains approximately 20 to 44 major and minor status
paths.
Each of the six Bukhara maqoms consists of two large sections with a complex internal
structure. The first of these is a purely instrumental section called Mushkilot - (literally meaning
difficulty, hardship), and the second is a song section called Nasr - (literally meaning help, help,
victory, triumph, a work of art). Each of the melodic lines in the instrumental sections is an
independent instrumental part. They are called: Tasnif, Tarji, Gardun, Mukhammas, and Saqil.
These melodies are sung together with the names of the maqoms to which they belong.
For example, Tasnif Buzruk, Tarjei Buzruk, Saqili Nav, Samoyi Dugoh, Muhammasi
Iraq, Garduni Segoh, etc. These instrumental lines of Shashmaqom are distinguished by their
very complex and meticulous melodic structure. There are a total of 46 examples of complete
melodies in the Shashmaqom series. In particular, Buzruk and Rost have 7, Nav and Segoh have
8, and Dugoh have 10. Another characteristic of all Shashmaqom instrumental paths is that their
internal form is mainly built as a result of the orderly alternation of melodic structures called
"khona" and "bozgoy". They can consist of one or more melodic phrases. Khona means a house,
a room, that is, "a room where the sounds that make up the melody and its other elements are
placed". In order to constantly renew, the developing rooms rise to the third, fourth, fifth, octave
and even higher pitches by jumping. Then, using the peshrav device, they smoothly return to the
main pitch of the work. As a logical result of this, the melodic theme of the repeated bozgoy is
prepared.
CONCLUSION In order for the melodies in the Shashmaqom instrument section to reach
the listeners properly and give them pleasure and enjoyment, the musician must have high
qualifications. If the maqom melodies are not performed at a high artistic level in all respects,
they may not reach the listeners. These Shashmaqom instrumental melodies have also been
passed down from generation to generation, from teacher to student, and finally to us in their
entirety for centuries.
ISSN:
2181-3906
2025
International scientific journal
«MODERN
SCIENCE
АND RESEARCH»
VOLUME 4 / ISSUE 6 / UIF:8.2 / MODERNSCIENCE.UZ
1229
We must protect and cherish them like the apple of our eye. Because forgetting our
national classical music heritage is tantamount to forgetting this identity. We think that young
classical music lovers like us will thoroughly study this art of maqom and fully pass it on to
future generations.
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