MAQAM MUSIC THERAPY

Music was held in high esteem of curing ill people from the ancient times beginning from old shaman use to pharaonic, greek and jewish epochs, ‘till it found its expression in the distinction of the maqam music. Al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, ar-Razi and many more discribed the adminstration of special maqam tonalities for special diseases. This music had been established in the hospitals all over the islamic world ‘till the 18.century to break the harshness of illness and to strenght the soul. Its relaxing effects in the rehabilitation of heavy diseases are of great therapeutical value. Dr. Güvenç from Istanbul, recovered this tradition in the middle of the 1970s, and the maqam musictherapy is used today also in Europe and Turkey in hospitals. The Author of this writing has been trained over 20 years in this tradition and works also as orientalist in the scientific research too.

In the old musictheoretical works of the kitab-i edvar genre we find as a example following instruction of use for special maqams like Hicaz maqam: hot of its nature, beneficial for dry-cold related disorders, positive effect on bones, uro-genital system and the kidney, increases low pulse rate, good use in the late evening an night times, connection to the zodiac sign sagitarius, used in dervish circles 'cause of its inducing humbleness emotional effect.

below: the mamluk hospital bimâristân al-mansûri qalâ'un in cairo (built in the year 1204), where maqam musictherapy where used for brain ill people over three hundret years.

The use of Maqam-Music in the field of modern musictherapy is an added element of working within the social interrelations of an trained therapeut and his client. Also the historical basic and analytic aspect of integrating elements of inner perception through the relaxing form of Maqam-Music is fitting in many areas of medical interventions like in depression and burnout curing rehabiltation hospitals.