Çârgâh Makamı (a mode in Turkish Classical Music)

Is Çârgâh or Kaba Çârgâh.

It is employed with an ascending or ascending-descending melodic progression.

It is formed by adding a Çârgâh tetrachord on the fifth degree of a Çârgâh pentachord built on the pitch Çârgâh or Kaba Çârgâh. 

Is Râst or Gerdâniye.

The Çârgâh makamı scale is a natural scale. The notes are not altered by any accidentals; therefore, nothing is written in the key signature.

Kaba Çârgâh makamı consists of the following notes: Yegâh, Hüseynî Aşîrân, Acem Aşîrân, Râst, Dügâh, Bûselik, and Çârgâh. If the scale is based on the Çârgâh note, then the sequence is: Çârgâh, Nevâ, Hüseynî, Acem, Gerdâniye, Muhayyer, Tîz Bûselik, and Tîz Çârgâh.

Is Bûselik or Kaba Bûselik.

The pentachord built on the tonic pitch is transposed symmetrically onto the high tonic, or the tetrachord above the dominant is likewise transposed symmetrically below the tonic.

Note: In the Çârgâh makam, although not part of its essential structure, it has become customary to show a Hicaz tetrachord on the Çârgâh pitch as a modulation. During this modulation, the pitches of D with a bakiye flat (Hicaz) and E with a koma flat (Dik Hisar) are used.

The melody usually begins from the Çârgâh or Kaba Çârgâh note or nearby tones. After wandering through various passages, a half final cadence is made on the dominant note. Then, depending on the nature of the piece (such as a taksim or composition, and its length), the melody may explore the expanded lower (pest) or upper (tiz) registers. Finally, a full final cadence is made on the Çârgâh or Kaba Çârgâh notes with the characteristic Çârgâh flavor.

Note: Although the Çârgâh makamı with this scale and character is used in our folk music, it is rarely employed in classical music. In classical and especially religious music, the Çârgâh makamı used consists of a “Hicaz scale with a Zîrgûle on Çârgâh.”