The Influences Of Aruz Poetic Meter On Rhythm Of Melody In Nawa Mukam

Some parts of the texts of the"Uyghur Twelve Mukam"adopted the classical poems written in the Aruz meter. The Aruz meter system, derived from the Arab literature, was introduced to ancient Xinjiang area in 10 A.D., and it was accepted by the ancient Uygur people. On the basis of combination and transformation of the long and short syllables of the Arab language, the Aruz contains 8 stanzas and 19 patterns.Although there is no distinction in terms of its long and short vowels, the Aruz meter system was applied in the poems of the 15th century represented by Elshir Nawai's works in a perfect way. And at the same time, the poems of many Uyghur poets of the time became the texts of"Uyghur Twelve Mukam"and they have been spread among the Uyghurs generation by generation. It is also noticed that the formation of Aruz meter system with its long and short syllables has greatly influenced the music forms of"Twelve Mukam"after it was merged into Muqam texts.The present study, based on an analysis of the meter and melody of"Nawa Mukam", comes to the conclusion that there are some similarities in the tune-duration time of the music, which corresponds to long and short syllables in the Aruz meter system. The shorter syllable corresponds to a comparatively short tune-duration time and often appears in the weak tempo, while the longer syllable is used freely in the tune-duration, number and position. This finding explains why the dotted rhythm and syncopation appear in melodies of Muqam music forms when short and long syllables are used in a combinative way in the texts of Muqam.