Music Theory Explorer
Scales · Chords · Voicings
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C Major
Scale tone
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③ Go Deeper
Modes of the Major Scale
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Same seven notes, seven different starting points — each with its own emotional gravity. Click any mode to hear its world.
Maqam · مقام
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Maqam isn't just a scale — it's a melodic personality. Where Western theory defines static note sets, maqam prescribes movement: how you ascend, descend, ornament, and resolve. Each maqam carries centuries of emotional meaning.
⚠ These are 12-tone approximations. True maqam uses quarter tones and microtonal inflections that live between piano keys.
| Maqam | Feeling | Tradition |
|---|---|---|
| Hijaz | Yearning, devotional | Arabic · Turkish · Flamenco |
| Rast | Stately, foundational | Arabic — "the major scale of maqam" |
| Bayati | Tender, melancholic | Arabic — most common maqam |
| Chahargah | Dramatic, fiery | Persian · Azerbaijani |
| Nikriz | Mysterious, wandering | Turkish · Ottoman classical |
| Double Harmonic | Byzantine grandeur | Greek · Armenian · Middle Eastern |
| Hungarian Minor | Dark, ornate | Eastern European · Romani |