Family: Saba family
Maqam Saba
Mood: mournful, deep, ascetic — used for spiritual and tragic themes
Scale & intervals
D, E half-flat, F, G-flat, A, B-flat, C, D
Tonic: D
Where it's used
Mourning songs, classical-influenced ballads, spiritual music
Ornamentation
Heavy on the lowered fourth; long ornamental phrases
About Maqam Saba
Maqam Saba is one of the most distinctive Middle Eastern modes, with both a half-flat second and a flatted fourth — an unusual combination that gives it a uniquely sorrowful character. In Kurdish Sorani music it appears in classical-influenced compositions and in funeral or mourning pieces.