Maqam Saba — The Scale of Sorrow
Maqam Saba (مقام صبا) carries the weight of grief and devotion. Its signature is the diminished fourth — a tense, unstable interval that resolves with intense emotional gravity.
Scale Structure
Highlighted intervals are microtones — impossible to play on a standard 12-TET piano.
History
Saba is considered the most expressive maqam for lament, longing, and spiritual yearning. Its name means "morning breeze" — a poetic counterpoint to its melancholic sound.
Cultural Usage
Central to Sufi devotional music, Coptic liturgy, and Arabic funeral songs. The Egyptian composer Sayed Darwish used it to convey deep sorrow.
How MaqAmir Plays It
Combines a quarter-tone second (E½♭) with a diminished fourth (G♭) — the only maqam to combine these intervals. Cannot be reproduced on a standard piano.
More from Arabic Maqam
Maqam Rast — The Foundation of Arabic Music
Maqam Rast (مقام راست) is the cornerstone of Arabic classical music — a seven-note scale defined by its signature half-flat third (E½♭) and half-flat seventh (B½♭). The name "Rast" means "straight" or "direct" in Persian, reflecting its central role across the maqam system.
Maqam Bayati — The Voice of Devotion
Maqam Bayati (مقام بياتي) is one of the most widely sung Arabic maqamat, instantly recognizable by its half-flat second degree (E½♭ from D). It carries a sense of tenderness, longing, and devotion.
Maqam Hijaz — The Sound of the Sacred
Maqam Hijaz (مقام حجاز) is named after the Hijaz region of the Arabian Peninsula. Its signature is the augmented second between the second and third degrees — a dramatic, exotic interval familiar to Western ears as the "Phrygian Dominant" sound.
Maqam Nahawand — The Arabic Natural Minor
Maqam Nahawand (مقام نهاوند) is the Arabic equivalent of the Western natural minor scale. Unlike most maqamat, it uses 12-tone intervals — making it instantly familiar to Western ears.
Maqam Kurd — The Phrygian of the East
Maqam Kurd (مقام كرد) shares its interval structure with the Western Phrygian mode — a flat second creates its signature dark, mysterious character.
Maqam Sikah — The Quarter-Tone Root
Maqam Sikah (مقام سيكاه) is unique among the primary maqamat because its root note is a quarter-tone (E½♭). It has a very distinct, earthy, and unresolved feeling.
Maqam Hijaz Kar — Dramatic Double-Augmented Arabic Scale
Maqam Hijaz Kar (مقام حجاز كار) is one of the most dramatic and majestic scales in Arabic and Ottoman classical music, built by stacking two Hijaz tetrachords with two striking augmented-second intervals.
Maqam Nawa Athar — Mystical Harmonic Minor with Sharp Fourth
Maqam Nawa Athar (مقام نوى أثر) is an enchanting, dramatic scale that combines a minor third with a raised fourth (#4) and a Hijaz upper tetrachord — evoking mystery, yearning, and cinematic grandeur.
Hear Saba in your browser
Authentic tuning. No install. No signup.
Launch the Studio