Appropriating “Usûl” in the Tradition of Turkish Folk Music

Abstract

Melody and rhythm correspond to makam and usûl, respectively, in Turkish music. Edvars, which are important for historical understanding and the transference of Turkish music, are also crucial for understanding makam and usûl. Furthermore,usûl transferred in written through edvars were transferred through the meşk, which can be evaluated within oral tradition and perform multiple functions. Pedagogical, determining the formal structure and rhythmic structure to be performed in composition process. With the emergence of the Turkish classical/folk music distinction under the influence of the Musical Revolution, the current usûl understanding occurred in Turkish classical music. Following studies conducted within this period, the formulation of a Turkish folk music theory began, and such studies used the concept of usûl. usûl understanding, which was put forward by Muzaffer Sarısözen through the determination of measures, consists of an interpretation that explains the double and triple beats that comprise the measures instead of stereotyped measures with special names and beats similar to the existing usûls. In this sense, the current study infers that Turkish folk music usûl was appropriated from Turkish classical music. It was intended to create the impression that Turkish folk music theory, whose creation was initiated during the Republic period (1920s – 1930s), was a tradition with an ancient past. In this manner, in the context of the ideology of the period, the musical tradition was legitimized more quickly and spread to society. The current study elucidates the use of usûl in Turkish folk music and associates it with the concept of appropriation.

Keywords

• usûl
• turkish folk music
• appropriation