Healing Soundscapes
Project Overview
Exploring Makam Music and Mystical Traditions in Comparative Perspective
This international research initiative explores makam music as a spiritual, emotional, and therapeutic modality that transcends doctrinal boundaries, emerging as a shared aesthetic language across diverse mystical traditions. Rooted in the modal systems of Turkish and Islamic musical cultures, the project extends its inquiry to a broader geography shaped by the legacy of Turkish-Islamic civilization—from Anatolia and Central Asia to the Balkans and South Asia—where makam-based practices have long served as vessels for devotion, introspection, and healing.
Makam music, as a modal tradition, refers to a structured yet flexible system of melodic progression built on culturally encoded tonal relationships, microtonal nuance, and expressive affect. Modal systems have held central roles in sacred, contemplative, and therapeutic contexts across many religious cultures. From the neumes of Byzantine liturgy to the melodic formulas of Sephardic and Ashkenazi chant, from Eastern Christian prayer traditions to the rāgas of South Asia, the modal imagination has shaped both spiritual expression and healing practices. These traditions, while distinct, often converge in their understanding of music as a pathway to equilibrium—restoring balance in the body, mind, and soul.
Within Turkish-Islamic culture, makam music evolved not only as an art form but as an integrated mode of spiritual and medical care. This is especially evident in the institutionalized practices of the Ottoman world, where specific makams were believed to influence emotional states and physiological conditions. In healing lodges and hospitals—particularly in the bimaristans of Edirne and beyond—music was used as a therapeutic force alongside herbal medicine, water architecture, and compassionate care. Such practices reflect a holistic philosophy, in which music functioned simultaneously as remedy, ritual, and remembrance.
Combining historical, ethnomusicological, psychological, and performative perspectives, this interdisciplinary project investigates how modal music operates within devotional soundscapes and continues to shape experiences of inner transformation. By tracing both common frameworks and localized expressions, the project examines the therapeutic imagination and emotional grammar embedded in makam traditions.
Research Components
Healing Sounds in Traditional Medicine: Historical Analysis and Seminar
This component investigates the therapeutic roles of modal music across historical traditions, with a central focus on Islamic and Ottoman sources but also comparative reference to Byzantine, Christian, and Jewish frameworks. In collaboration with archival collections at Harvard and Boston University, the research will culminate in a seminar and performance exploring the medicinal and spiritual functions of makam in holistic healing systems.
Emotional Resonances of the Makam: Pilot Study and Performance
Drawing on Turkish makam theory and practitioner insights, this experimental study assesses emotional responses to select makams in a series of controlled listening sessions. Pre- and post-listening assessments with healthy participants will be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results will inform a public concert accompanied by interpretive narration and digital documentation.
Comparative Dialogues: Podcasts and Intercultural Webinars
This public-facing series fosters conversation across disciplines and traditions, exploring the role of modal music in healing, devotion, and aesthetic experience. The program will feature scholars and musicians engaging with themes such as emotion, sound, and spirituality across cultures.
Team and Collaborators
Dr. Arzu Eylül Yalçınkaya
Research and Artistic Team: Prof. Dr. Emre Ömürlü, Dr. Arzu Eylül Yalçınkaya, İstanbul Meskh Ensemble (with additional collaborators and guest artists to be announced)
Lead Institution: The Kenan Center for Turkish Cultural Studies (Boston)
Partner Institutions: Institute for Sufi Studies at Üsküdar University (Istanbul), Kyoto University's Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies
Contributing Scholars: Affiliated researchers from institutions including Humboldt University
Outcomes and Prospects
- Academic publications on modal music and therapeutic traditions
- Curated concerts featuring makam music performances with interpretive narration
- Lecture-performances bridging scholarly and artistic perspectives
- Podcast series exploring intercultural dialogue on healing and devotional sound
- Workshops on makam theory and practice for diverse audiences
- Educational resources for understanding modal music traditions
- A concluding symposium convening scholars and practitioners
- Digital documentation and archival materials for future research
Framed as a pilot platform for future inquiry, Healing Soundscapes positions makam music not only as a historical tradition, but as a living, generative medium for embodied contemplation across spiritual worlds. Its comparative lens offers a foundation for new research on devotional sound as a form of aesthetic knowledge and as an agent of emotional and therapeutic transformation.