Usul
Encyclopedia
In Ottoman classical music
, usul is an underlying rhythm
ic cycle that complements the melodic rhythm and sometimes helps shape the overall structure of a composition. An usul can be as short as two beat
s or as long as 128 beats. Usul is often translated as "meter
", but usul and meter are not exactly the same. Both are repeating rhythmic patterns with more or less complex inner structures of beats of differing duration and weight. But a student learning Turkish music in the traditional meşk system first memorizes the usul kinetically by striking the knee
s with the hand
s. The student then sings the vocal or instrumental composition while performing the underlying usul. This pedagogical system helps the student memorize the composition while internalizing the underlying rhythmic structure.
Usul patterns have standard pronounceable vocables built from combinations of the syllables düm, dü-üm, tek, tekkyaa, teke, te-ek, where düm, dü-üm indicate a strong low beat of single or double duration, and tek, tekkya, teke, te-ek indicate various combinations of light beats of half, single or double duration. Long usuls (e.g., 28/4, 32/4, 120/4) are compound metric structures that underlie longer sections of entire compositions.
In Ottoman times, the usul was realized by drummers. Drums are generally omitted in modern performances except for Mevlevi. When performing music for the Mevlevi ceremony, drummers traditionally play embellished (velveleli) versions of the usuls.
Instrumental improvisations (taksim) and vocal improvisations (gazel(Ghazal
), mersiye, etc.) are generally performed in "free" rhythm, with no usul.
The melodic counterport to usul rhythmic mode is makam
melodic mode. The parallel system to usul in Indian music
is tala
.
Ottoman classical music
Ottoman classical music developed in Istanbul and major Ottoman towns from Skopje to Cairo, from Tabriz to Morocco through the palace, mosques, and sufi lodges of the Ottoman Empire. Above all a vocal music, Ottoman music traditionally accompanies a solo singer with a small instrumental ensemble...
, usul is an underlying rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
ic cycle that complements the melodic rhythm and sometimes helps shape the overall structure of a composition. An usul can be as short as two beat
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
s or as long as 128 beats. Usul is often translated as "meter
Meter (music)
Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
", but usul and meter are not exactly the same. Both are repeating rhythmic patterns with more or less complex inner structures of beats of differing duration and weight. But a student learning Turkish music in the traditional meşk system first memorizes the usul kinetically by striking the knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
s with the hand
Hand
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered extremity located at the end of an arm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs...
s. The student then sings the vocal or instrumental composition while performing the underlying usul. This pedagogical system helps the student memorize the composition while internalizing the underlying rhythmic structure.
Usul patterns have standard pronounceable vocables built from combinations of the syllables düm, dü-üm, tek, tekkyaa, teke, te-ek, where düm, dü-üm indicate a strong low beat of single or double duration, and tek, tekkya, teke, te-ek indicate various combinations of light beats of half, single or double duration. Long usuls (e.g., 28/4, 32/4, 120/4) are compound metric structures that underlie longer sections of entire compositions.
In Ottoman times, the usul was realized by drummers. Drums are generally omitted in modern performances except for Mevlevi. When performing music for the Mevlevi ceremony, drummers traditionally play embellished (velveleli) versions of the usuls.
Instrumental improvisations (taksim) and vocal improvisations (gazel(Ghazal
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
), mersiye, etc.) are generally performed in "free" rhythm, with no usul.
The melodic counterport to usul rhythmic mode is makam
Makam
Makam In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance...
melodic mode. The parallel system to usul in Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
is tala
Tala (music)
Tāla, Taal or Tal is the term used in Indian classical music for the rhythmic pattern of any composition and for the entire subject of rhythm, roughly corresponding to metre in Western music, though closer conceptual equivalents are to be found in other Asian classical systems such as the notion...
.
Usul
- 2-) Nimsofyan
- 3-) Semai
- 4-) Sofyan
- 5-) Türkaksağı
- 6-) Yürüksemai, Senginsemai, Ağırsemai
- 7-) Devrihindi, Devrituran
- 8-) Düyek, Ağırdüyek
- 9-) Aksak
- 10-) Gülşen
- 11-) Yürüksemâî
- 12-) Semâî (WaltzWaltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
) - 13-) Senginsemaî
- 14-) Aksaksemaî
- 15-) Ağır Aksaksemaî
- 16-) Artık Aksaksemaî
- 17-) Türk Aksaksemaîsi
- 18-) Arab Aksaksemaîsi
- 19-) Zafer
- 20-) Türk Aksağı (Süreyya)
- 21-) Çiftesofyan (Raksaksağı)
- 22-) Aksak
- 23-) Ağır Aksak
- 24-) Aksak Sofyan
- 25-) Oynak
- 26-) Kadîm Evfer
- 27-) Evfer
- 28-) Ağır Evfer
- 29-) Nimevfer
- 30-) Durakevferi
- 31-) Firenkçin
- 32-) Fi rengi Fer'
- 33-) F e r '
- 34-) Katakofti (Müsemmen)
- 35-) Bulgar Darbı (Darbıbulgar)
- 36-) Türk Darbı (1. Şekil)
- 37-) Türk Darbı (2. Şekil)
- 38-) Türk Darbı (3. Şekil)
- 39-) Hünerdarb
- 40-) Tekvuruş
- 41-) Karadeniz
- 42-) Raksan
- 43-) Aksak Semaî Evferi
- 44-) Hefta
- 45-) Devrihindî
- 46-) Mandra (Devrituran)
- 47-) Nimdevir
- 48-) Mevlevi Devrirevani
- 49-) Devrirevan
- 50-) Dolap
- 51-) Devritürkî
- 52-) Darbıarabî
- 53-) Nazlı Devrihindî
- 54-) Devrikebîr
- 55-) Nimevsat
- 56-) Evsat
- 57-) Dilruba
- 58-) Fahte
- 59-) Lenkfahte (Nimfahte)
- 60-) Şirin
- 61-) Hezeç
- 62-) Harzem
- 63-) Çenber
- 64-) Ağır Çenber
- 65-) Muhammes
- 66-) Nimberefşan
- 67-) Berefşan
- 68-) Nimhafîf
- 69-) Hafîf
- 70-) Nimsakîl
- 71-) Sakîl
- 72-) Remel
- 73-) Havî
- 74-) Darbıfetih
- 75-) Zencîr
- 76-) Darbeyn
- 77-) Bektaşîraksı
- 78-) Darbıkürdî