Naguib Nahhas' "Oriental piano" and Roland's Arabian tuning

In the back of a book on the Cairo Congress of 1932 (I can't remember the author or the title; I just remember it's in French), I found some photos of microtonal pianos. One of them was Alo�s Haba's 36-tone instrument which most of you are probably familiar with, but the one that caught my attention was an "Oriental piano" designed by Naguib Nahh�s and built by Rud. Ibach Sohn of Barmen, Germany in 1912.

It was the first of two keyboard layouts by Nahh�s, and a modification of Halberstadt with a third row of short black keys behind the long black keys. I should draw a GIF of this thing, but I'll describe it in brief here.

(I'm not completely sure about the actual tuning, but I can take a guess based on what I know about Arabic scales. I'm also assuming 17-out-of-24-tone equal temperament.)

The white keys are the same as on a conventional piano, with E and B tuned a quarter-tone flat, so the white keys alone play maq�m ar-r�st. The long black keys are unchanged. The short black keys are:

Between G-sharp (black) and A (white): A half-flat.
Between B-half flat and C (both white): B natural.
Between C-sharp (black) and D (white): D half-flat.
Between E-half flat and F (both white): E natural.
Between F-sharp (black) and G (white): G half-flat.

The short black keys placed to the right of long black keys rise higher than the long black keys; the short black keys placed between two white keys are flush with the long black keys. The total range of the piano was four octaves (a qan�n is about three-and-a-half), and the keyboard was slightly concave in design.

It struck me because it reminded me of a three-row layout I came up with for a 17- or 19-tone keyboard, which adds pedal-like bars in front of the white keys for quarter-tones that are intended to be played primarily with the thumb. I called them "red keys", though their color should probably match the piano itself. Yamaha has a patent for a 19-tone keyboard with a third row of keys behind the rest of the keys, seven per octave.

Nahh�s' second layout I presume to be 24-tone equal, with horizontal rows playing whole-tone scales. Dots were placed on every G or C or something. It had a range of six octaves.

Another "Oriental piano" was designed by Georges Samm�n, and had seven white keys and seven black keys for each octave.

I might be wrong about the tuning of each note; I'll double-check everything if and when I get the chance. There isn't very much about Nahh�s online, at least in English, and I'd like to know more about him.

On a related note, Roland synthesizers (regular models, not Oriental keyboards) have three built-in temperaments: equal, just and something called "Arabian", which approximates to the nearest cent the following just scale (1/1 = C):

1/1, 12/11, 9/8, 32/27, 27/22, 4/3, 16/11, 3/2, 18/11, 27/16, 16/9, 81/44

The circle of fifths from E-flat to A-natural is Pythagorean. C-sharp, F-sharp and G-sharp are raised a quarter-tone; E-natural and B-natural are lowered a quarter-tone. The scale is not 24-equal, nor is it exactly Zalzal's tuning, because the quarter-tones are all based on the primes 2, 3 and 11: 12/11 appears instead of 54/49.

I'll try to get caught up on replies now.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel A. Wier" <dawiertx@s...> wrote:

> The circle of fifths from E-flat to A-natural is Pythagorean. C-sharp,
> F-sharp and G-sharp are raised a quarter-tone; E-natural and
B-natural are
> lowered a quarter-tone. The scale is not 24-equal, nor is it exactly
> Zalzal's tuning, because the quarter-tones are all based on the
primes 2, 3
> and 11: 12/11 appears instead of 54/49.

It's very nearly the 243/242 detempered MOS with 11/9 generator we've
just now been talking of. In terms of the 243/242 temperament, it
tempers as -6,-5,-4,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,4,6; why it skips 5 and has a 6
is an interesting question.

Gene, it's most probably because the sharp tonalities are almost never employed. There is something to be said about the lack of modulation of the same maqam in diverse degrees in a piece.
----- Original Message -----
From: Gene Ward Smith
To: tuning@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 15 Mart 2005 Salı 10:21
Subject: [tuning] Re: Naguib Nahhas' "Oriental piano" and Roland's Arabian tuning

It's very nearly the 243/242 detempered MOS with 11/9 generator we've
just now been talking of. In terms of the 243/242 temperament, it
tempers as -6,-5,-4,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2,3,4,6; why it skips 5 and has a 6
is an interesting question.

Daniel, it would be splendid if you could write an article on Oriental-Microtonal Pianos that you listed here along with some pictures.

By the way, I wish to congratulate you for your knowledge of Islamic sources on music theory. Not everyone wonders about what Middle Eastern ears wish to hear.

Cordially,
Ozan
----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel A. Wier
To: tuning@yahoogroups.com
Sent: 15 Mart 2005 Salı 9:58
Subject: [tuning] Naguib Nahhas' "Oriental piano" and Roland's Arabian tuning

In the back of a book on the Cairo Congress of 1932 (I can't remember the
author or the title; I just remember it's in French), I found some photos of
microtonal pianos. One of them was Aloïs Haba's 36-tone instrument which
most of you are probably familiar with, but the one that caught my attention
was an "Oriental piano" designed by Naguib Nahhâs and built by Rud. Ibach
Sohn of Barmen, Germany in 1912.

From: Ozan Yarman

> Daniel, it would be splendid if you could write an article on > Oriental-Microtonal Pianos that you listed here along with some pictures.

I found the book I was talking about in the library catalog:

TITLE:
Musique arabe : le congres du Caire de 1932 / (ouvrage edite pour le compte des editions de CEDEJ sous la responsabilite de Philippe Vigreux).
PUBLISHED:
Le Caire : CEDEJ, c1992.
DESCRIPTION:
440 p. : ill., music ; 22 x 23 cm.
NOTES:
Includes bibliographical references (p. 427-430) and index.
Contents: Les documents du premier Congres sur la musique arabe, Le Caire, 1932 (Qasr al-Ghoury, 25-28 mai 1989) -- Le Congres de musique arabe du Caire dans la presse egyptienne (janvier-juin 1932) / Philippe Vigreux.
SUBJECTS:
Congres de musique arabe (1932 : Cairo)
Music--Arab countries--Congresses.
OTHER AUTHORS:
Vigreux, Philippe.
OCLC NUMBER:
28805528
Call Number and Library for item location:
ML 348 M8 1992 Fine Arts Library

I'd like to photocopy the pianos and other instruments illustrated in the book, then scan them and post them in Files or something, but I'm not too familiar with copyright laws even here in the United States, and I don't really know what I can legally do.

I'm in no way a professional writer; I'm just a musician. But I'm considering writing a method book for microtonal upright and fretless electric bass, which would include a primer on maqamat and other xenharmonic scales from around the world, classical and modern.

> By the way, I wish to congratulate you for your knowledge of Islamic > sources on music theory. Not everyone wonders about what Middle Eastern > ears wish to hear.

A lot of this knowledge I've only had for a few days, honestly! I'm still learning.

I learned almost everything on the internet (that's not always a good thing; lots of disinformation out there). My own desire to incorporate quarter-tones and other microtonals into my own musical style led me to my discovery of the music of the Islamic world. I've also wanted to learn the Arabic language, because I had a great uncle who lived in Lebanon and Egypt, and he said it was the most difficult language he ever tried to learn (and he also studied Chinese and Japanese). A lot of it also had to do with my former wife of Arab, Turkish and Iranian ancestry, who I met in 1998.

I also happen to live in the same town as a Damascus-born singer, who performs concerts twice a year and recently released a CD of traditional Syrian music. She also sells CDs and videos, imports goods from Egypt, Syria and Morocco, teaches bellydance and Arabic, and DJs at a club in downtown Austin once a month.

And I wonder about what everybody's ears wants to hear. Listening only to "American music" and nothing else gets boring.

Daniel, I'm certain that you are allowed to write a short article using the
pictures and sources you mentioned as reference. It would be a great service
to us Turks here who are very much occupied with the development of a `Maqam
Piano` (for which I designed what I call the Ultratonal Piano. If you're
interested, see my website www.ozanyarman.com - projects).

I am amazed that you learned so much of Islamic sources so quickly!..
Sincere congratulations for your succinct ability to grasp. I would never
have known... given your fluency with the names... I'm sure you will soon be
reckoned as a name on the translation and explication of old maqam treatises
in Arabic.

Cordially,
Ozan

From: "Ozan Yarman":

> Daniel, I'm certain that you are allowed to write a short article using > the
> pictures and sources you mentioned as reference. It would be a great > service
> to us Turks here who are very much occupied with the development of a > `Maqam
> Piano` (for which I designed what I call the Ultratonal Piano. If you're
> interested, see my website www.ozanyarman.com - projects).

[Finally, I'm getting caught up on e-mail.]

If I'm going to write any articles, I need to make sure I got my facts straight. I'd rather just give the original sources and not my own interpretation.

I photocopied the pictures of the pianos in the book. The quality of the images isn't as good as I'd prefer, and I would've scanned the photos if I had a choice. I can send you these copies, but you probably have this book at the Conservatory in Istanbul if we have it here in Texas if you want to see for yourself. (You can BabelFish French to English for free, but the quality of the translation isn't all that great.)

I have your website in Favorites - sorry I don't know Turkish that well, but I've already looked at some of it.

> I am amazed that you learned so much of Islamic sources so quickly!..
> Sincere congratulations for your succinct ability to grasp. I would never
> have known... given your fluency with the names... I'm sure you will soon > be
> reckoned as a name on the translation and explication of old maqam > treatises
> in Arabic.

I've studied all this over the past few years, and the main intention of all this work is learning how everyday music around the world, as opposed to pure experimental, uses non-12-tone pitches. And also to understand global musical tradition, to find out how Western music got its ideas, going back further than Bach and Palestrina, and of course a lot of concepts - musical, scientific and philosophical - we got from the Muslims, who preserved ancient Greek and Persian ideas...

I can transliterate Arabic and Persian writing and pronounce some of those tough consonants; at least I can do that. Right now, I need to learn the meanings of all those pitch and maqam names - I know what Hijaz, Iraq, Rast, Kurd and the "-kah" notes are though. I also need to better understand the kind of emotions different notes, intervals and modes reflect. (This also pertains to ragas in Indian music, which I'm also studying some.)

But I do all this as a hobby. I never took any university courses on any of this; I learned everything from the 'net.

Daniel, you over-estimate the scientific role of Turkey! Half the books you
are likely to find in Texas are absent in the biggest libraries of this
country. What we have is not cherished either. The bureaucracy sucks and it
is only in this past decade that we have learned what it means to hold in
our hands a "hardcover publication". Here, we have to photocopy entire books
by truckloads because either we cannot afford to pay for them, or cannot
have access to them otherwise. As a note, my personal collection has become
a photocopier's heaven. Maybe there is something to be said for online book
services?

Sorry about the lack of English references for Ultratonal Piano, I never got
to translating it. I'll look into that later.

So, you are an autodidact. Wonderful! I also learned much about Maqam Music
just by myself.

Cordially,
Ozan

From: "Ozan Yarman":

> Daniel, you over-estimate the scientific role of Turkey! Half the books > you
> are likely to find in Texas are absent in the biggest libraries of this
> country. What we have is not cherished either. The bureaucracy sucks and > it
> is only in this past decade that we have learned what it means to hold in
> our hands a "hardcover publication". Here, we have to photocopy entire > books
> by truckloads because either we cannot afford to pay for them, or cannot
> have access to them otherwise. As a note, my personal collection has > become
> a photocopier's heaven. Maybe there is something to be said for online > book
> services?

And I underestimate the contents of UT's libraries. I forget I'm in Austin now, not the small town I grew up in. Hopefully y'all get some books soon.

I did find a place where you can buy Arabic books online... two actually. One based in Cairo and one in Beirut. They both have al-Khulai's book for pretty cheap, but both websites are exclusively in Arabic, so I'm lost. I could also Xerox the whole thing, I guess, but I think somebody checked it out recently.

I'll snail mail you the copies I made in any case. I still want to get any more information I can find on those pianos, like how they're tuned, etc., but I can probably make a rough translation of the French text. There's one piano desiggned by Wadi' Sabra with some broken-octave layout of which I can't make heads or tails.

I also came across T�rk M�sik�nin Mes'eleleri (Problems of Turkish Music) by Yal�in Tura today. He listed some tetrachords with 13-limit intervals, including Reh�v� with intervening steps 13/12, 14/13, 15/14 and 16/15, or cumulatively, 13/12 7/6 5/4 4/3. And the last minor second of Z�refkendi B�z�rg is 117/112. I forgot to write down in my notes who came up with these. I'm a lousy notetaker.

~Danny~

Dear Daniel,

My skills with the Arabic script are not sufficient to comprehend the
contents of Arabic publications. I have to make do with English or French
translations of historical and modern treatises for now.

It would be splendid if you can send me a mail. I'll provide my address in a
private message after this message.

Ah, so you have found out about our maverick Yal��n Tura. But the pitches
he gave for Rehavi makes little sense. Nasir Dede describes it as
Rast-Araq-Ashiran-Yegah then Rast-Segah-Rast. That would correspond to 1/1
15/16 27/32 3/4 1/1 5/4 1/1. There are mentions of this maqam imitating the
Frankish trumpet playing the triads of a Major scale.

There is also Rahevi, a Terkib, which is described by Nasir Dede as follows:
Rast-Dugah-Zirgule-Rast-Gevasht-Rast. That would correspond to: 1/1 9/8
15/14 1/1 21/22 1/1.

Zirefkend, Buzurg, Chargah, Janfeza, Zemzeme and the like are all variants
of the Saba maqam as we know it today.

Cordially,
Ozan

>
> I'll snail mail you the copies I made in any case. I still want to get any
> more information I can find on those pianos, like how they're tuned, etc.,
> but I can probably make a rough translation of the French text. There's
one
> piano desiggned by Wadi' Sabra with some broken-octave layout of which I
> can't make heads or tails.
>
> I also came across T�rk M�sik�nin Mes'eleleri (Problems of Turkish Music)
by
> Yal�in Tura today. He listed some tetrachords with 13-limit intervals,
> including Reh�v� with intervening steps 13/12, 14/13, 15/14 and 16/15, or
> cumulatively, 13/12 7/6 5/4 4/3. And the last minor second of Z�refkendi
> B�z�rg is 117/112. I forgot to write down in my notes who came up with
> these. I'm a lousy notetaker.
>
> ~Danny~
>