MUSIC TOOL · NEVÂ MAKAM

Nevâ makam

Uşşak below, Rast colour above — balanced, broad-breathed. Same notes as Hüseyni, a different path through them.

FINALDügâh
DOMINANTNevâ
SEYIRascending-descending
KOMA8-5-9-9-8-5-9
What Nevâ makam is

What is Nevâ makam?

Nevâ makam puts Uşşâk below and a Rast colour above: an Uşşak tetrachord on the karar plus a Rast pentachord on Neva, resolving on perde Dügâh (A). It uses the same notes as makam Hüseynî but travels through them differently.

Karar (final)
Dügâh
Güçlü (dominant)
Nevâ
Seyir (melodic path)
ascending-descending
Scale (koma)
8 · 5 · 9 · 9 · 8 · 5 · 9 = 53
Çeşni
Uşşak tetrachord + Rast pentachord on Neva
Family
Resolving on Dügâh
The scale

Perde by perde

From perde Dügâh, the Nevâ dizi runs through these degrees across one octave. A degree is labelled with a core perde name where it lands exactly on one, and with its degree number otherwise. The letters are the koma value of each interval: T = tanini (9), K = büyük mücennep (8), S = küçük mücennep (5), B = bakiye (4), A = artık ikili (12). Press play the scale — every perde sounds at its true position in the 53-koma octave, microtonally, not rounded to a piano key.

DügâhA0k
K
SegâhB-18k
S
ÇârgâhC13k
T
NevâD22k
T
HüseynîE31k
K
EvcF#-139k
S
GerdâniyeG44k
T
DügâhA53k

The dizi lands on these named core perdes: Dügâh, Segâh, Çârgâh, Nevâ, Hüseynî, Evc, Gerdâniye. The degrees in between carry no core perde name and are shown by number.

Turkish music is written for one reference tuning (Bolâhenk); differently sized instruments transpose it down — Süpürde by a whole tone, Kız by ≈ a fourth, Mansur by ≈ a fifth. The written perdes don't change, only the sounding pitch.

On the staff

The dizi as pitch height

The same seven steps drawn against the core perde lines, so you can see the melodic shape and exactly which degrees sit between the piano keys.

DügâhSegâhÇârgâhNevaHüseyniEvcGerdaniye0k8k13k22k31k39k44k53k

Each dot is a degree's true koma height above the karar. Reddish dots don't sit on a core perde — they fall 'between the keys'. Turkish scores write these with the koma / mücennep accidentals.

How it is built

Two çeşni, joined

Nevâ makam is assembled from the Uşşak tetrachord below and the Rast pentachord on Neva above, meeting on one shared perde. What defines the makam is not only the scale but its karar (Dügâh), its güçlü (Nevâ), and its seyir (ascending-descending).

Uşşak tetrachord

lower · from the karar
büyük mücennep (8) · küçük mücennep (5) · tanini (whole tone) (9)

Rast pentachord on Neva

upper · from the join note
tanini (whole tone) (9) · büyük mücennep (8) · küçük mücennep (5) · tanini (whole tone) (9)
Seyir

How the melody moves

Nevâ has a mixed seyir that moves up and down around the middle of the scale, resting often on the güçlü Neva. The shift from the plaintive Uşşâk tetrachord below to the brighter Rast pentachord above gives the makam its open, settled feel.

How to recognise it

The tell

Hüseynî's scale, but travelled through the middle rather than top-down, with the brighter Rast half emphasised.

Character & repertoire

How it sounds

Uşşak below, Rast colour above — balanced, broad-breathed. Same notes as Hüseyni, a different path through them.

Heard in: the Neva pieces of the classical fasıl.

Related makams

Resolving on Dügâh

Makams from the same family — they share material and are told apart by seyir and güçlü:

Questions

Nevâ makam — frequently asked

What is Nevâ makam?

Nevâ makam puts Uşşâk below and a Rast colour above: an Uşşak tetrachord on the karar plus a Rast pentachord on Neva, resolving on perde Dügâh (A). It uses the same notes as makam Hüseynî but travels through them differently.

What are the intervals of the Nevâ scale?

In the Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek system the koma steps are 8 + 5 + 9 + 9 + 8 + 5 + 9 — 53 koma in all, one full octave. Named: K – S – T – T – K – S – T.

What note does Nevâ makam resolve on?

Nevâ makam resolves on perde Dügâh; its secondary centre of gravity (güçlü) is perde Nevâ. Its seyir (melodic path) is ascending-descending.

How do you recognise Nevâ makam?

Hüseynî's scale, but travelled through the middle rather than top-down, with the brighter Rast half emphasised.

Which makams are similar to Nevâ?

Nevâ is grouped here under "Resolving on Dügâh", and shares material with Bûselik, Kürdî, Uşşâk, Hüseynî, Karcığar, Bayati. These are told apart not by their scale but by their seyir and güçlü.

Scope & honesty

This scale is given in its standard Arel-Ezgi-Uzdilek / conservatory form and is checked to close the octave at 53 commas. There is always a small gap between what the theory writes and what a performer plays.

How we verify what is on this site →

Keep exploring

Back to the Turkish Makam tool for all seven çeşni, the perde ruler and the 20 makams; for the history of makam and maqam see the Middle Eastern Music lesson; for Western scales, the Scale Library.