Introduction to Maqam
The maqamMaqam (pl. maqamat) is the modal melodic system used in the Arab world. "A maqam" refers to one of the modes used with a particular scale and melodic vocabulary and set of expected modulations.Visit the link to learn more presets in Live 12 were designed by Sami Abu Shumays, who also provided the text and examples used in the corresponding pages on this site.
Maqam music is spread from North Africa all the way through Central Asia into Western China, with broad regional distinctions and even finer distinctions from country to country and city to city. The presets for Live 12 are based on maqamat specifically from the region of Egypt and greater Syria.
For a more comprehensive introduction to maqam and these presets, please visit A Guide to the Maqam Tuning Presets for Ableton Live 12. This guide provides:
- the basics of how to use the presets to play maqam-based music
- the limitations of the presets in enabling the full range of possibilities within the maqam system
- the rationale for the tuning choices given, and the process through which they were developed
- suggestions for how to use the different tuning options, including for the purpose of ear-training