Analyzing the Makam Structures of Folk Songs in Hüseyni Makam Collected from Âşık Veysel with the ‘Melodic Nucleus’ Model

Âşık Veysel Şatıroğlu is one of the essential figures in our traditional heritage. To protect and pass down his musical heritage to the next generation plays a significant role in Turkish music history. In this regard, many of his works have either been audio recording or transcribed. However, there are differences in the classification and identification of his folk songs’ makams. This situation creates a dilemma not only for educational purposes but also for cataloging purposes. Considering this dilemma, it is a key issue investigating makam structures of these folk songs. The aim of this study was to examine the different classifications by comparing makam structures of these folk songs with the identifications in the theory of the Turkish makam music. This study employs some methods such as literature review, document analysis, and musical analysis through the ‘melodic nucleus’ model. The research focuses specifically on 37 Turkish folk songs categorized in makam Hüseynî. The study takes into account some theoretical issue such as agâz, seyir, melodic nucleus, and karar while investigating makam structures. Consequently, only nine folk songs were determined as makam Hüseynî. The other identified makams are as follows: 1 makam Acem, 6 makams Nevâ, 9 makams Hüseynî, 10 makams Gülizar, 8 makams Gerdaniye, 2 makams Muhayyer and 1 makam Tâhir. It is suggested that examining other works of Â. Veysel and re-categorizing them with current makam definitions will contribute to the field.