Re: [Harp-L] Arabic Song

[Buddha <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx>]

I listened to your Arabic dreaming tune.  While it's interesting,
you're not playing arabic scales at all.

One of the most basic arabic scales is the Hijaz Maqum  C - Db - E - F
- G - Ab - Bb - C   this scale is widely used and one that you can
hear Joe Satriani use to great effect.


May I suggest a look into the world of Maqams if you really want to
get into this stuff.

Arabic maqams are based on a musical scale of 7 notes that repeats at
the octave. Some maqams have 2 or more alternative scales (e.g. Rast,
Nahawand and Hijaz). Maqam scales in traditional Arabic music are
microtonal, not based on a twelve-tone equal-tempered musical tuning
system, as is the case in modern Western Music. Most maqam scales
include a perfect fifth or a perfect fourth (or both), and all octaves
are perfect. The remaining notes in a maqam scale may or may not
exactly fall on semitones.

If you're going to start working on 24 note scales then you'll need a
harp that is designed to do that....HEY I happen to be making those
these days. LOL