From tradition to the future of Turkish music: An interview with Prof. Dr. Cenk Güray on meşk, makam, improvisation, and historical musicology

Abstract

Drawing on an interview with Cenk Güray, who is known for his work in Turkish music theory, historical musicology, and performance, this study examines perspectives on the transmission, theory, production, and future of Turkish music. Employing an interview technique within a qualitative research approach, the study presents the ideas articulated during the interview in article form, supported by relevant examples and sources. The main themes of the interview include the contemporary function of the meşk system; the relationship of the concept of makam to tonal and modal systems; the role of improvisation and taksim in musical production; the relationship between traditional musical memory and contemporary approaches to composition; the potential contributions of historical musicology to research on Turkish music; and the future of Turkish music. In Güray’s assessments, meşk emerges not merely as a teaching method based on the transmission of repertoire, but as a holistic approach to music education that brings together theory, performance, and diverse intellectual domains. He also emphasizes that makam should be understood not solely in terms of pitch collections, but through melodic movements and functions. While improvisation is considered one of the fundamental means through which traditional musical memory is reproduced in performance and composition, the perspective of historical musicology highlights the need to read musical sources in conjunction with the literature, philosophy, astronomy, astrology, and systems of belief of their respective periods. The interview ultimately foregrounds the view that the future of Turkish music may be shaped not by preserving tradition unchanged, but by understanding its logic of musical production and intellectual foundations and by reconnecting this accumulated knowledge with contemporary theoretical, technological, and creative possibilities.