Nikriz

For the pitch class set, see Nikriz pitch class set.

Nikriz

Durak	Rast
Güçlü	Neva
Yeden	Irak
Seyir	Ascending
Lower Çeşni	Rast pentachord
Higher Çeşni	Rast tetrachord or Buselik tetrachord

Nikriz is the implementation of the Nikriz scale in Turkish makam music. It is in 53 Tone Equal Temperament.

Nikriz in 53-TET

Breakdown of the Nikriz Makam[1]

Components		Note		Western Note		Steps to following note		Cents from Durak note		Function
Nikriz pentachord		Rast		G		T (9)		0		Durak
		Dügâh		A		S (5)		203.77
		Dik Kürdî		B		A (12)		316.97
		Nim Hicaz		C♯		S (5)		588.67
		Neva		D	-	T (9)		701.89		Güçlü
Rast tetrachord	Buselik tetrachord				-
		Hüseyni/Hisar		E		K (8)	B (4)	905.66
		Eviç	Acem	F♯	F	S (5)	T (9)	1086.79	996.23
		Gerdaniye		G		-		1200.00		Tiz Durak

Comparison with Western scales

Since the makam is based on 53-TET, it is impossible to directly tie it to 12-TET Western scales. However, using the 48-TET model, while worse than many other models in approximation,[2] allows for such comparisons.[note 1]

The approximation of Nikriz within 48-TET would be:

• Ukrainian Dorian (3, ♯7 included along with 7)

Usage

Songs that use the Nikriz scale

• Tanrıya Feryat
• Sevda Çiçeği [tr]

Notes

1. This is because 48 is divisible by 12.

References

1. "Nikriz". TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2024-03-30.
2. Bozkurt, Barış; Yarman, Ozan; Karaosmanoğlu, M. Kemal; Akkoç, Can (March 2009). "Weighing Diverse Theoretical Models on Turkish Maqam Music Against Pitch Measurements: A Comparison of Peaks Automatically Derived from Frequency Histograms with Proposed Scale Tones". Journal of New Music Research. 38 (1): 45–70. doi:10.1080/09298210903147673. hdl:11147/2853. ISSN 0929-8215.