8.3 Intervals in Maqām bayātī

Example 10 is shown again here, presenting the notes used in the opening of this performance of Samai Bayati. Some of the notes are a step (200 cents) apart, for example the third and fourth notes, F and G. Another pair of notes is a half step apart, namely the fifth and sixth notes, A and B flat. However, the use of a half flat creates other intervals. E half flat is 50 cents below E, which stands 200 cents above D and 100 cents below F. E half flat is therefore midway between D and F; it is 150 cents above D and 150 cents below F.

Table 5 summarises the intervals between the first four notes of Set 1 and Set 2. The lowest note is at the bottom of the table and the highest is at the top.

Keep in mind that the measurements provided so far – 100 cents for semitones, 150 cents for three-quarter tones, and 200 cents for tones – are approximations only. Arab musicians often deliberately play pitches a little sharper or flatter than the numbers given here.

In fact, there exists a rich set of discourses about whether, when and to what degree certain notes should be performed higher or lower than in the theoretical model presented here (see Marcus, 1993). To give one example, some musicians argue that the E half flat used in Samai Bayātī and other music like it should be played slightly lower than the E half flat used in other pitch collections (Marcus, 1993, p. 45).