Classical Turkish music

Classical Turkish music is built on makam (a scale and melodic path) and usul (a rhythmic cycle). Works are written in forms such as peşrev, saz semaisi, beste and şarkı and performed in a suite called the fasıl.

Its great composers include Buhurizade Mustafa Itri, Hammamizade İsmail Dede Efendi, Sultan Selim III and Hacı Arif Bey. In the 18th century Hamparsum Limonciyan devised a special notation, thanks to which many works have survived.

In the 20th century the şarkı song form spread widely: Münir Nurettin Selçuk, Zeki Müren and Müzeyyen Senar brought the music to a mass audience through radio and records. Today it lives on in conservatories and state choirs.