Sabah
Sabah Saba
Classic mournful oriental maqam. Literally in Arabic, sadness and utopia,
Of all the maqam groups, the maqam Sabah is strongly characterised by microtones. Emotion is evoked in part through change in the size of an interval during a maqam presentation. The effect of this mode is a very sad mood.
This maqam does not resolve to the octave D natural when going up, but instead plays D flat which gives a mystical endless feel. The octave D is played natural when descending. The high E is usually played natural – although the quarter tone 
is good as well.
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