Appropriating “Usûl” in the Tradition of Turkish Folk Music
Onurcan KayaMelody and rhythm correspond to makam and usûl, respectively, in Turkish music. Edvars, which are important for historical understanding and the transference of Turkish music, are also crucial for understanding makam and usûl. Furthermore,usûl transferred in written through edvars were transferred through the meşk, which can be evaluated within oral tradition and perform multiple functions. Pedagogical, determining the formal structure and rhythmic structure to be performed in composition process. With the emergence of the Turkish classical/folk music distinction under the influence of the Musical Revolution, the current usûl understanding occurred in Turkish classical music. Following studies conducted within this period, the formulation of a Turkish folk music theory began, and such studies used the concept of usûl. usûl understanding, which was put forward by Muzaffer Sarısözen through the determination of measures, consists of an interpretation that explains the double and triple beats that comprise the measures instead of stereotyped measures with special names and beats similar to the existing usûls. In this sense, the current study infers that Turkish folk music usûl was appropriated from Turkish classical music. It was intended to create the impression that Turkish folk music theory, whose creation was initiated during the Republic period (1920s – 1930s), was a tradition with an ancient past. In this manner, in the context of the ideology of the period, the musical tradition was legitimized more quickly and spread to society. The current study elucidates the use of usûl in Turkish folk music and associates it with the concept of appropriation.
Türk Halk Müziği Geleneğinde “Usûl”ün Temellükü
Onurcan KayaMüziğin iki ana unsuru olan ezgi ve ritim, Türk müziğinde makam ve usûl kavramlarıyla karşılanır. Türk müziğinin tarihsel yönden anlaşılması ve aktarılmasında önemli yeri olan edvarlar, makam ve usûl kavramlarının anlaşılması bakımından da önemlidir. Edvarlar aracılığıyla yazılı olarak aktarılan usûller, sözlü gelenek çerçevesinde değerlendirilebilecek olan meşk sistemiyle de aktarılmıştır ve meşk sisteminde pedagojik, besteleme sürecinde ise formel yapının belirlenmesi, icra edilecek ritmik yapıyı oluşturması gibi çoklu işleve sahiptir. “Musiki inkılabı”nın etkisiyle Türk sanat müziği/Türk halk müziği ayrımının ortaya çıkmasıyla mevcut usûl anlayışı Türk sanat müziği geleneğinde karşılık bulmuştur. Bu dönemde yapılan Türk halk müziği araştırmalarını takiben bir Türk halk müziği nazariyatı oluşturma çalışmaları başlamış ve usûl kavramı da bu çalışmalar içerisinde kullanılmıştır. Derlenen eserlerin ölçülerinin saptanması üzerinden Muzaffer Sarısözen tarafından ortaya konan bu usûl anlayışı, mevcut Türk sanat müziği usûlleri gibi özel adlara ve darplara sahip kalıplaşmış ölçüler değil, ölçüleri meydana getiren ikili ve üçlü vuruşları açıklayan bir anlayıştan ibarettir. Bu anlamda Türk halk müziği geleneğinde usûl kavramının Türk sanat müziğinden temellük edildiği söylenebilir. Cumhuriyet döneminde oluşturulmaya çalışılan Türk halk müziği nazariyatının kadim bir geçmişe sahip bir gelenek olma izlenimi yaratılması amaçlanmıştır. Böylelikle dönemin ideolojisi bağlamında müzik geleneği daha hızlı bir şekilde meşrulaşacak ve toplumsal zemine yayılacaktır. Bu çalışmada Türk halk müziği geleneğinde usûl kavramının kullanımı “Kendine mal etme”, “kendine mülk etme” gibi anlamlara sahip olan ve çeşitli alanlarda kullanılan “temellük” kavramıyla ilişkilendirilerek açıklanmaya çalışılacaktır.
Melody and rhythm are the two major elements of music and correspond to the concepts of makam and usûl, respectively, in Turkish music theory. One may say that Turkish music is transferred through both oral and written traditions, which is similar to many musical cultures. Edvars, which play an important role in the elucidation of Turkish music from the historical perspective and the transference of Turkish music theory from past to present, are also crucial in terms of understanding the concepts of makam and usûl. Specifically, usûl, which was transferred in written form through the edvars, were also transferred through the meşk system, which can be evaluated within the framework of oral tradition. Usûl, which serves a pedagogical function in the meşk system, also perform multiple functions such as determining the formal structure of the composition process and forming the rhythmic structure to be performed. The concept of usûl has changed throughout the history of Turkish music, it has been forgotten and replaced by newly created usûl over time. Usûl refer to pattern measures that consist of certain beats and bear special names. With the emergence of the distinction between Turkish classical and folk music, especially with the effect of the musical revolution that emerged during the Republican period in Turkey, the current understanding of usûl found a response in the tradition of theory called Turkish classical music. This can be explained by the results such as including the usûl in Turkish classical music theoretical studies, and in education, performing the usûl through works in the Turkish classical music repertoire. The pedagogical, formal, and rhythmic functions of usûl is evident in the Turkish classical music tradition Following studies on Turkish folk music conducted with this period, studies that aimed to establish Turkish folk music theory were initiated and began to use the concept. This understanding, which was put forward by Muzaffer Sarısözen by determining the measures of compiled Turkish folk music songs, consists of an understanding that explains the double and triple beats that comprise the measures instead of stereotyped measures with special names and strokes such as the existing Turkish classical music usûl. Sarısözen put forward his thoughts on usûl in a book entitled Türk Halk Musikisi Usûlleri (Turkish Folk Music Usûls), which was published in 1962. Although no common understanding on the procedure of studies on Turkish folk music theory emerged during the Republican period, many studies explain the subject of usul by referring to Sarısözen. In this manner, the current study infers that the concept of usûl in the Turkish folk music tradition has been appropriated from Turkish classical music. Thus, it aims to elucidate the use of the concept of usûl in the Turkish folk music tradition by associating it with the concept of appropriation, as used in various fields. This concept, which is mainly associated with copyright in music, can be explained as a cultural behavior toward the appropriation of different elements of music (e.g., instruments, sound systems, genres, and vocalization style) given the cultural and sociological backgrouns of music. It was aimed to rapidly implement innovations during the establishment of the Republic of Turkey and spread them to cultural life. At this point, the implementation of such innovations on cultural elements with historical depth is a behavior that aims to create the impression that a new situation or phenomenon is, in fact, old. This situation can be described as a form of invention of tradition, as proposed by Hobsbawm and Ranger (2006)t. Given the historical depth of the concept of usûl, the study stresse the necessity of using the historical method. Toward this end, the study scanned the literature and used a comparative method due to the fact that various approaches are used to examine usûl on the basis of the distinction between Turkish classical and folk music.
