Introduction
 

Music is an art, not a science. It seems fitting that the most appropriate theories about music should come from experienced, thoughtful, and articulate performers.

Münir Beken, a master ud performer and trained ethnomusicologist, conceived a solution to one of the most important questions about Turkish makam: How does a performer create a taksim which is different from all other taksim-s but is recognized as the intended makam and no other? Beken's analysis and conclusions also call into question the traditional view of "scale," "dominant," and other prominent features of generally accepted Turkish theory. Readers who are not professional musicians, please read the article carefully, perhaps two or three times to grasp the principles. Readers need not understand all the details but thoughtful attention will be rewarded. Although my name appears as co-author, the original concept, analyses, and conclusions are Prof. Beken's. I only edited the manuscript.

After briefly summarizing Beken’s data, method, and conclusions, I offer my recommendations for revitalizing Turkish music theory at İTÜ TMDK at the introductory level, advanced level, and beyond.

As theorists, we sometimes lose sight of the music as we stray off into seemingly "scientific" analyses of music. The farther we stray, the less value our results hold for students, musicians, and music-lovers.

I welcome all questions about, critiques of, and additions to the article or my recommendations: signell (at-sign) umbc.edu.

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