A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

This dictionary originally provided to support the book Rhythmic Structure in

Iranian Music, which now I openly make it available for scholars and students
interested in Iranian Music. To see how the terms and symbols are used in their
context, you may refer to the original book published by The University of Arts,
Tehran available from the publisher and amazon.
To cite this free dictionary you may use following citation:
Azadehfar, Mohammad Reza. 2011.Glossary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian
Music, in Rhythmic Structure in Iranian Music, Tehran: University of Arts, pp.
345-355.

Symbols
: koron; symbol for half-flat, approximately 1/4 tone. This symbol was introduced
by Ali Naqi Vaziri (1887-1979).
: sori; symbol for half-sharp, approximately 1/4 tone (introduced by Ali Naqi
Vaziri.)
: rst; playing with right hand.
: chap; playing with left hand.
: juft; right and left hands simultaneously.

: short syllable.
: long syllable.

: Alif; smallest possible time which can be considered between two naqart,
equivalent to Ta.
: Ba; two Alif, corresponding also to Tan.
: Jim; three Alif, corresponding to Tanan.
: dl; four Alif, corresponding to Tananan.
: ha; five Alif, corresponding to Tanananan.
: mm; struck beat

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

Transcription signs
Sign

or

Meaning

riz, tremolo
riz or tremolo, especially as used in tombak notation
Tie
slur or phrase mark, particularly where one syllable is
sung on more than one note
dorrb-i set-i, two grace notes played immediately before
the main note
dorrb-i panjt-i, four grace notes played immediately
before the main note
Accent

right-hand stroke
left-hand stroke
koron: symbol that lowers the pitch by approximately one
quarter tone
sori: symbol that raises the pitch by approximately one
quarter tone
the pitch values of notes are not distinguishable (this is
used in pieces transcribed by Massoudieh)

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

Transliteration of Persian letters

Vowels and Diphthongs

Persian

English

as in

a
u

hat
go

ten

arm
see
too

aw
ay

brown
(no equivalent diphthong was
found in English)

Consonants

Persian

English

as in

b
p
t
s
j
ch

kh
d
z
r
z
zh
s
sh

bad
pen
tea
sit
Jack
cheap
him
Bach (no equivalent in English)
dip
zoo
trilled r
zoo
measure
sit
she
sit
zoo
tea
zoo
a ith pressure on throat (no
equivalent consonant in English)
articulated further back than g (no
equivalent in English)

gh

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

f
q

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

k
g

free
articulated further back than q (no
equivalent in English)
cat
got

l
m
n
v
h

leg
man
no
voice
him

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

Glossary of Terms
Abjad: special way of ordering the Arabic alphabet, which differs from its typical
arrangement, such that the standard pattern (read from the right) of
is transformed into
.
Ab -at: one of the major subdivisions of dastgh Sh r; one of the five vz-ha of
Iranian classical music; its primary scale is G A

B C D E

F G.

Abyt: the plural form of beyt (see beyt).

Adwr: (pl. of dowr), cycles; system in ancient Arabic and Persian music theory for
representing both interval patterns (mode or scales) and rhythmic patterns.
Af l: trigram of F--L (
) used to represent the pattern of verbs, noun and
other components in Arabic grammar. In prosody, they are used to represent
the rhythmic structure of poems.
Afshri: one of the major subdivisions of dastgh Sh r; one of the five vz-ha of
Iranian classical music; its primary scale is F G A

B C D( ) E

F.

lp: structured improvisation on a chosen rg which is the first part of any dhrupad
(ancient vocal form in Hindustani music).
Aghni: Ketb al-aghni; comprehensive book on music and musicians by Ab alFaraj Isfahani (d. 988).
Arq: g sheh in dastgh Mh r (also be played in Bayt turk).
Arkn: (pl. of rukn) feet; fundamentals.
Ar z: collection of certain patterns for organising the number and order of short
and long syllables in each hemistich; system of metric poetry requiring the
consistency of a set pattern of long (-) and short () syllables; system by which
a poem is judged to ascertain whether its rhythm is right or not.
Asbb: (pl. of sabab), see sabab.
sh r: the tenth days of the holy month of Moharram, the first month of the
Islamic calendar, hich marks the martyrdom of Imam oseyn, the grandson
of Prophet Mohammad.
Al: main; authentic.

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

Assyrian: a member of a group of Semitic-speaking peoples of the Middle East and

northern Africa; an extinct language of the Assyrians regarded as a dialect of
Akkadian.
stn Q ds: the organisation of the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, Iran.
Awt: (pl. of awt), voice; tune.
Atnn: a system for representing the rhythm by employing the nonsense syllables
ta, na (each equivalent to one time unit) and tan, nan (each equivalent to two
time units).
vz: literarily, song; subdivision of the dastgh in contemporary Iranian radif;
free-metred section of a mode.
Avesta: the holy book of the Zoroastrians.
Awtd: (pl. of vatad), see vatad.
Az if: (pl. of zehf), see ze f.
Azerbaijani: a g sheh in dastgh Mh r.
Ba r: sea; name referring to all the standard metric patterns in Persian and Arabic
poetry.
Bakhteyr: name of a region in central Iran; g sheh in dastgh omy n.
bl dasteh: upper part of the neck of the tr and setr; low tetrachord of every scale.
barbat: kind of lute.
Baste-negr: g sheh which can be played in different dastgh-ha.
Bayt sfahn: one of the major subdivisions of dastgh omyun; one of the five
vz-ha of Iranian classical music; its primary scale is C D E
C.

FG A

Bayt kurd: one of the subdivisions of dastgh Sh r.

Bayt turk: one of the major subdivisions of dastgh Sh r; one of the five vz-ha of
Iranian classical music.
Beyt: complete poetic line consisting of two equal hemistichs.
Bdd: g sheh in dastgh omyun.
Bu r: (pl. of bahr), see bahr.

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

B shehr: province in southern Iran by the Persian Gulf.

Chahr preh: g sheh in Ab -at and Mh r.
Chahr zarb: ancient rhythmic cycles consisting of twenty four naqart in the form
Tananan Tananan Tananan Tananan Tananan Tananan.
Chahrgh: one of seven dastgh-ha in contemporary Iranian music; its primary
scale is C D E F G A B C.
Chahrmezrb: four strokes; an instrumental genre of compositions with fixedmetre.
Chakm (also in form of chakmak): love-lyric or romantic story in the Sasanian
period (224-651).
Chang: harp.
Dnish Nmeh Al : book by Ibn Sn (Aicenna 974-1037) in Persian which
contains one chapter in music.
Darmad: introduction; first g sheh in every dastgh or vz.
Dastn: (pl. of dastn), see dastn.
Dasht: one of the major subdivisions of dastgh Sh r; one of the five vz-ha of
Iranian classical music; its primary scale is G A

B C D( ) E

F G.

Dast afshn: dancing; Sufi dance.

Dastn: pattern of pitches; mode; frets on a fingerboard.
Dastgh: modal system; a collection of melodic segments that share a common
basic scale ith its ariations (Miller 1999: 349).
Dawyer: (pl. of dyereh) circles.
Dyereh: circle.
Deilamn: g sheh in dasht.
Dhrupad: in Hindustani music, ancient vocal musical form in four parts preceded
by extensive introductory improvisation (lp) and expanded by rhythmic and
melodic elaborations.
Dour Ma atayn: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of two-hundred naqart reported
by Abd al-Qdir in Jme al-Aln.

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

Dour Shhi: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of thirty or thirty-four naqart in the
form Tananan Tanan Tan Tan Tanan Tananan Tananan Tan Tan Tanan
Tanan Tan.
Faili: a g sheh in Bayt t rk.
Fkht: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of four different versions: Fkht aqar,
which consists of five naqart (Tanan Tan); Fkht aqr, which is made up of
ten naqart (Tan Tananan Tananan); Fkht moz af, composed of twenty
naqart (Tananan Tan Tananan Tananan Tan Tananan); and Fkht az f built
upon forty naqart (by the double performance of the pattern of Fkht
moz af).
Far : trivial.
Farsakh: 120 miles.
Farsi: Persian; the official language of Iran.
Fseleh: duration in poetic metre equivalent of three voweled consonants and a
consonant, as in be+ra+va+m.
Favsel: (pl. of fseleh) see Fseleh.
For d: descent; conclusion; return to the first modal degree.
Ghadm: old; ancient.
Ghameh-zan: a g sheh in dasht.
Ghina : music in general (Arabic).
G sheh: a traditional repertory of melodies, melodic formula, tonal progressions,
ornamentations and rhythmic patterns that serve as a model for improvisation;
units which comprise each dastgh or vz.
Haft: seven.
Hazaj: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of two different versions: Hazaj awwal,
which consists of ten naqart (Tanan Tan Tanan Tan), and Hazaj thn, which
consists of six naqart (Tananan Tan).
arakat: movement, vowel point.
ijz: g sheh in Ab -at.

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar

omyun: one of the seven dastgh-ha in contemporary Iranian music; its primary
scale is G A

B C D E

F G.

q : rhythm.
sfahn: large city in central Iran; one of the major subdivisions of dastgh umy n;
one of the five vz-ha of Iranian classical music; its primary scale is C D E(
)F G A

B C.

sm liyeh: branch of Sufism.

Jadd: new.
Jhiliyah: pre-Islamic period in

ijz (currently Saudi Arabia).

Kamncheh: unfretted spike fiddle (bowed) with four strings which is about the size
of a iola. It is played resting upright on player s lap.
Kanz al-Tu af: book on music theory and musical instruments in Persian written
between 1341 and 1364, author unknown.
Karbal: city in Iraq here the holy shrine of Imam oseyn is located.
Karbzan: stone beating; ceremony of mourning.
Ketbkhneh: library.
khaff ramal: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of ten naqart in the form Tan
Tanan Tan Tanan.
Khorsn: large province in north-east Iran.
Khosro and Shirin: a g sheh in Ab -at.
Kitb al-adwr: book of cycles; substantial book on Arabo-Persian music by af alDn Abd al-Mu min Urma (1216-94).
Koron:

; flattened by a quarter tone.

Mh r: one of the seven dastgh-ha in contemporary Iranian music; its primary

scale is similar to the major scale in Western music.
Majlis: gathering.
Maqsid al-Alhn: old music theory in Persian language by Abd al-Qdir Marqi
(ca. 1367-1435).
Marwis: (pl. of Murwas), see Murwas.

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar 10

Masnav: poetic form; g sheh in the poetic metre of Masnav played in different
dastgh-ha and vz-ha, particularly Afshr.
Mezrb: plectrum on long-necked stringed instruments such as tr and setr;
hammers on the hammered dulcimer (sant r).
Misra : hemistich.
Mokhammas: poetic form; ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of three different
versions: Mokhammas kabr (the grand), Mokhammas owsat (the medium) and
Mokhammas aqr (the small).
Motoghayyer: changeable.
Munfarid: simple.
Murakkab: compound.
Murwas: small double-headed cylinder drums.
M siq: music.
M siq-i al: indigenous or noble music.
M siq-i dastghi: dastghi music.
M siq-i radfi: radfi music.
M siq-i sonnat: traditional music.
Nagham: pitch; melody.
Naghmeh-i avval: g sheh in dastgh Sh r.
Naqart: (pl. of naqareh), see naqareh.
Naqareh: measurement of note values; smallest unit in a rhythmic cycle.
Nairkhn: g sheh in Mh r.
Nav: one of the seven dastgh-ha in contemporary Iranian music; its primary scale
is C D

F G A

B C.

Ney: kind of vertical flute.

Nim : new style of Persian poetry.
Nor z: Iranian New Year; series of three g sheh-ha in Rstpanjgh and umy n.
Oj: ascendance; the climax of a dastgh or vz.

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar 11

P n dasteh: high pitches.

Pardeh: fret; mode.
Pyeh: fundamental; tonic; referring motif in chahrmezrb.
Pshdarmad: instrumental genre; rather long prelude in slow tempo played by
Iranian orchestra as the opening piece; apparently first introduced by Gholm
Hoseyn Darish, knon as Darishkhn (1872-1926).
Radf: entire collection of g sheh-ha in all the 12 modes (seven dastgh-ha and five
vz-ha) as transmitted by an authorised master.
Rh-i Sam : tune of Sam (derishes dancing); old rhythmic cycle from Khorsn
Rajaz: poetic metrical pattern; ancient rhythmic cycle (see table of Ar z in chapter
one).
Rk: g sheh in Mh r and Rstpanjgh
Ramal: poetic metrical pattern (see table of Ar z in chapter one); ancient rhythmic
cycle consisting of twelve naqart in two different versions. The first version
equals Tan Tan Tan Tan Tananan and the second version equals Tan Tan
Tananan Tananan.
Ramal thaql: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of twenty-four naqart in the form
Tananan Tananan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tan Tananan.
Rst-panjgh: one of the seven dastgh-ha in contemporary Iranian music; its
primary scale is similar to the major scale in Western music.
Reng: instrumental genre in fixed-metre originally played to accompany dances.
Risleh M sq: music treatise in Persian ritten by Abd al Ramn Jm in 1489.
Sabab: duration in poetic metre equivalent of one voweled consonant and one
additional consonant, as in de+l.
Sang-zan: stone beating; ceremony of mourning.
Sasanian: ancient Iranian dynasty between 224 651 evolved by Ardashir I in years
of conquest, AD 208-224, and destroyed by the Arabs during the years 63751.
awt: sound; tune.
Sayakh: g sheh in Ab-at

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar 12

Segh: one of the seven dastgh-ha in contemporary Iranian music; its primary scale
is A

B C D

F GA .

Sepd: new style of Persian poetry.

Setr: long-necked, four-stringed lute with pear-shaped wooden body; fretted like
the tr but played with the nail of the index finger.
Shahbi: a g sheh in Bayt t rk.
Shhid: witness; sweetheart; note which is the centre of attention in melodic
phrases. It is comparable to the dominant in Western art music, but is not
necessarily the fifth.
Shahnz: a g sheh in Sh r.
Shar -i Adwr: clarifications of the cycles; old music treatise on cycles of modes
and rhythm in Persian by Abd al-Qdir Marqi (ca. 1367-1435) based on af
al-Dn s Kitb al-Adwr.
Sharveh: vocal form song in different regions of Iran, particularly the south.
Shi r: poem.
Shekasteh: a g sheh in Mh r and Bayt t rk.
Shi it: the second largest branch of Islam.
Sh r: largest dastgh in the set of the seven dastgh-ha in contemporary Iranian
music; its primary scale is G A

B C D E

F G

sneh-zan: breast beating; ceremony of mourning.

S z-o-godz: a g sheh in dasht.
Tabriz: large city in north-west Iran.
Ta rr: falsetto break; cracking of the voice. In vocal music ta rr takes the form of
melisma and is characteristic of musical performance from Tibet to West Asia.
Taqsm: free-form melodic improvisation in Islamic music, performed by solo voice
or instrument, often a lute, or by the principal instruments of an orchestra
playing in succession. The taqsm often forms the first movement of a suite
(nawbah), a popular form in Arabic music.
Tr: long-necked lute with double belly, covered with sheepskin membrane. It has
six strings, tuned in pairs, and twenty-six movable gut frets.

A very Short Dictionary of Symbols and Terms in Iranian Music

Mohammad R. Azadehfar 13

arab-angz: a g sheh in dastgh Mh r.

Tanf: most popular vocal form in Iranian classical music with a fixed-metre
rhythm.
Ts : ninth day of Moharram, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar.
Tekiyeh: a grace note which is normally one step higher than the main note
sometimes more than one step higher, as governed by special rules of
interpretation.
Thaql awwal: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of sixteen naqart in the form
Tanan Tanan Tananan Tan Tananan.
Thaql thn: ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of sixteen naqart in the form Tanan
Tanan Tan Tanan Tanan Tan.
T s: g sheh in Mh r.
d: lute.
Umayyad: Arab dynasty which ruled the Empire of the Caliphate (661-750).
Vatad: duration in poetic metre equivalent of a pair of two voweled consonants
and a one consonant, as in de+la+m.
Wazn: weight; rhythm.
Zbol: gsheh in Segh and Chahrgh.
Zang-i Shotor: gsheh in Segh and Homyun.
Zanjr-zan: chain beating; ceremony of mourning.
Zarb fat : ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of fifty naqart in the form Tanan
Tanan Tananan Tananan Tanan Tanan Tananan Tanan Tanan Tananan
Tananan Tananan Tananan Tananan.
Zarb Jadd: an ancient rhythmic cycle consisting of fourteen naqart in the form
Tananan Tananan Tanan Tanan.
Ze f: name referring to each of the varied forms of boh r in Persian and Arabic
poetry.