UNITY OF FORM AND MELODY IN THE INSTRUMENTAL PARTS OF MAKOMS

Abstract

This article investigates the intrinsic unity between form and melody in the instrumental sections of Bukhara, Khorezm, and Ferghana-Tashkent maqoms. While previous scholarship has emphasised the differences among these three regional traditions, this study focuses on a fundamental structural principle that unites them. Using comparative analysis of eighteen instrumental sections (six from each tradition), supplemented by interviews with master musicians, the research identifies four key manifestations of form-melody unity: cadential formulas (qaror) that determine formal boundaries; the transition from freely rhythmic sarakhbor to metric tarona as a joint formal-melodic event; variation (tahrir) that simultaneously develops melody and adjusts phrase lengths; and the overarching melodic arch that defines large-scale formal divisions. The results show that form in maqom instrumental music is not a pre-existing container for melody but an emergent property of melodic processes. Regional differences in the width, steepness, and pacing of the melodic arch reflect divergent aesthetic preferences but do not undermine the underlying principle of unity. The article concludes that recognising this form-melody unity has significant implications for maqom theory, pedagogy, and contemporary composition.