The maqamat are the melodic modes at the heart of Arabic music. Each one is more than a scale: it has a characteristic set of ajnas (tetrachords), typical melodic paths, and an emotional colour of its own. This guide walks through the maqamat every oud player should know, how they are built, and how to start hearing them.
A maqam is assembled from smaller building blocks called ajnas (singular jins) — usually three-, four-, or five-note cells. A lower jins on the tonic sets the identity of the maqam, and an upper jins determines where the melody travels as it rises. Modulation in Arabic music happens by swapping one jins for another, which is why learning ajnas matters more than memorising full scales.
Many maqamat use quarter tones — pitches that sit between the notes of a piano. The oud's fretless neck is built for exactly this, and training your ear to those microtonal intervals is one of the main goals of early study.
Note names below follow the common Arabic convention where the oud's low tonic rast is written as C and dukah as D. Each entry links to listening examples so you can hear the mode before you play it.
Often called the mother of the maqamat. Rast uses a half-flat third (E half-flat), which gives it its characteristic warmth. It is usually the first quarter-tone maqam an oud student learns because so much of the repertoire — muwashshahat, samai, and countless songs — sits inside it.
The most common maqam in Arabic folk and popular music. Its half-flat second (E half-flat) gives it a vocal, speech-like quality. Bayati is a natural home for early taqsim practice on the oud because the tonic sits comfortably on the open D string.
Defined by the augmented second between the flat second and the natural third. Hijaz is instantly recognisable to Western ears and is used across Arabic, Turkish, and Balkan music. Great for practising expressive slides and ornaments on the fretless neck.
Closely equivalent to the Western natural minor scale, which makes it an easy entry point for players coming from guitar or piano. Nahawand carries much of the 20th-century Egyptian song repertoire.
Kurd is the Phrygian-flavoured maqam, built on a flat second. It has become a favourite of contemporary oud composers for its spacious, modal sound and its easy fit with ensemble playing.
Saba is the maqam of lament. Its diminished fourth above the tonic makes it unlike anything in Western tonality, and it demands precise intonation — which is exactly why it is such a valuable study piece for intermediate oud players.
Sikah rests on a quarter-tone tonic, which changes how the whole instrument feels under the hand. Huzam is its most-played branch and appears constantly in muwashshahat and Quranic recitation styles.
Equivalent to the Western major scale. Ajam is used for joyful and festive material, and it is a useful reference point when explaining the maqam system to students trained in Western theory.
Reading about a maqam only takes you so far — the ear and the hand have to learn it together. These courses take you through the maqamat step by step.
Tuning, posture, the fingerboard, and your first steps into Rast and Bayati.
View course →Ornamentation, deeper maqam knowledge, modulation, and building a full taqsim.
View course →One-to-one study of the maqamat at your own pace, shaped around your goals.
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