A SUGGESTION FOR TRANSCRIBING EARLY TURKISH MUSIC NOTATIONS WRITTEN WITH SINGLE SHARP AND SINGLE FLAT TO AEU SYSTEM

Abstract

Westernization movements in the Ottoman Empire also showed their influence in the field of music. With the introduction of European music notation to record and perform Turkish music, a process of change had also begun in the tradition of me?k (transfering the music orally). The use of European music notation caused the transformation of Turkish music notes into a pitch that comes out of the perception that it consists of a narrow or wide frequency band which varies according to the makam melodies. As a result, the Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek system was built on this understanding and reached a point far from the traditional system and its music. The recordings of Turkish music were not of course only consist of European music notations. The first ever person to write Turkish music with Western notation in a genuine way was a Polish convert known as Ali Ufkî by the Ottomans and who lived in the 17th century. The genuine method he developed was not used by anyone else. Other notations can be line up as Ebced and its derivatives and Hamparsum notation which was developed by Hamparsum Limonciyan. However, none of these notations were used actively but only for recording. Performing was depending on the memory in tradition. There are many sources that contain Turkish music works, which were also used for performance, started to be written with European music notation in the 19th century. Some of those are manuscripts with Mevlevî âyîn composings. Therefore, arguably, Mustafâ Câzim el-Mevlevî?s was the first ever compilation of âyîn composings which he heared from Râif Dede and wrote with Western notation. Nevertheless, it is not possible to sing or play these composings from these notes without maqam practice. In this study, it is aimed to draw attention to some details of the pitches (here pitch bands) of a piece noted with single flat and single sharp by using European music notation in AEU system. The examined example is a striking section found in the first part of Ferahfeza Âyîn of Hammâmizâde ?smâîl Dede Efendî. The melody in this section can not be understood at first glance.