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new site address - please update www.saraswati.soc.btinternet.co.uk index page new site address - please update www.saraswati.soc.btinternet.co.ukORIGINS OF THE MUSIC The origin of the Ottoman makam system is ancient and connected to Pythagoras' experiments into the value which music gives to human life.
THE VALUE OF MEVLEVI MUSIC Mevlevi music provides a link with pure human attitudes which exist naturally within the human psyche and assist realisation of the true Self. It is this which makes the music particularly special to Mevlevis. It is holy scripture in musical form, written by accomplished souls.
HOW SUFI MUSIC IS PLAYED It is not music for pleasure but for cleaning the mirror of the heart. By divine and artful weaving of normal and mystical intervals it assists the appreciation of the inner experience. Cymbals, the ney (flute) and drums are the traditional instruments. The Sema is made alive with the correct music. This music wakes the sleeping soul to God and tunes the inner being toward higher things.
DEVIATIONS FROM THE TRUE MUSIC The use of too many and inappropriate instruments, along with Westernised alterations to the musical modes (makams), make the music unrecognisable to a true Mevlevi. Thus corrupted it becomes ineffective. The use of western notation and playing Mevlevi music like a European concert also degrades it. It's appeal is not immediate but grows deeper and deeper with time.
SARASWATI SOCIETY Members are using the traditional teaching and producing correct Mevlevi music.
