A STUDY ON NOTATING TAKSİMS

Abstract

Taksim, one of the most important genres of Classical Turkish music, is a melodic improvisational movement based on maqam. Taksim, which is frequently encountered at the beginning, middle of a chapter or during the transition between songs in different maqams, is based on the principle of preparing the listener's ear in advance, in accordance with the maqam of the works to be performed after it. Taksim, which is performed based on improvisation within the rules of the relevant maqam, is similar to "gazel" in Classical Turkish vocal music and “açış" which is a form of performance that is played improvisationally with any instrument before a melody with free rhythm or rhythm, but overlaps with the melodic structure of the melody to be played afterwards in Turkish folk music. As a phenomenon that we encounter in almost all musical genres, it is of great importance that improvisation can be conveyed in a systematic way not only in terms of artistic activities but also in education and training life. Taksim, a genre based on improvisation in Classical Turkish music, not only provides a free space for performers to express themselves, but also requires a great deal of musical knowledge. Performers should have both technical mastery of the instrument and theoretical knowledge of all the characteristics of the maqam to be performed. Although taksims are evaluated as meterless/rhythmless when notated, a good ear can recognize that the taksim has a rhythmic structure within itself. In this study, in order to show that the flow of the motifs used in the taksim as a rhythmic structure, the melodies are divided into individual motifs using the rhythms with a unit value of 1/8 in Classical Turkish music. In the taksim notated with this method, the rhythmic structure contained in the melodies was applied to the "usûl" with tempo changes.