How accurate are lists on the effect of makams on people? Read where the treatises came from, the theory of temperaments and what we know about music and mood.
Picture an image circulating in a family WhatsApp group: names of makams (the melodic modes of Turkish music) listed on a yellow background, each with an illness next to it. "Rehavi is good for melancholy, zirgüle for insomnia, ırak for meningitis. Share this so everyone knows." One of the aunts has left a heart emoji underneath; someone else has written, "Our grandfathers didn't say this for nothing." The effect of makams on people reaches us in exactly this kind of half-history, half-legend mix. In this article we explain where these lists come from, which system of thought they rest on, what current research says about music and mood, and why we should not use these lists as health advice. Our aim is not to belittle the tradition, but to appreciate it in its proper place, as part of our cultural heritage.
What Is a Makam and Why Has It Been Linked with the Human Soul?
A makam is a way of using notes in Turkish music according to a particular scale, particular resting tones and a particular melodic progression. It offers a richer world of sound than the major and minor scales of Western music; each makam has its own "colour" and its own emotional associations. A listener may feel that hicaz carries a mournful air, rast a calmer one, or segâh a more inward-looking one.
This emotional association is the natural starting point for linking makams with the human soul. We all experience music moving us, saddening us or lifting our spirits. Thinkers throughout history tried to explain this experience and placed it within the knowledge system of their own time. The problem arises when these explanations gradually turn into a firm prescription of the kind "this makam cures that illness".
It helps here to separate two different questions. The first is: does a makam evoke a feeling in the listener? The answer to this is largely yes, and it can be tested against personal experience. The second is: does a makam cure a particular illness? That is an entirely different question, and it can only be answered through carefully designed research. Much of the confusion in the debate on the effect of makams on people comes from treating these two questions as if they were the same. The fact that a piece of music moves us does not show that it works like a medicine.
Where Did the Treatises Come From? From al-Kindī to Ottoman Physicians
Thinking about the effect of music on people goes back to the philosopher-physicians of the Islamic world. Some of the important names in this tradition, and what can be said about them with confidence, are as follows:
- Al-Kindī: He is known to have written ten treatises on music, four of which have survived. He linked the four strings of the oud with the heavenly bodies, the signs of the zodiac, the seasons and the four elements, and explained their effects on the human body within the framework of the doctrine of "ethos". Academic studies also report that he recommended using colour and scent to strengthen the effect of music.
- Al-Fārābī: He wrote Kitāb al-Mūsīqā al-Kabīr (The Great Book of Music), a systematic work on makams, instruments and acoustics. He is counted among the thinkers who held that music affects the human soul. However, the primary source for the detailed pairings attributed to him in popular sources, of the "this makam brings sleep, that one brings joy" kind, has not been verified.
- Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna): He devoted a section of Kitāb al-Shifā' (The Book of Healing) to music and defined music as a mathematical science studying sounds and the time intervals between them. Widespread claims that he recommended music as a medical treatment, however, have not been verified.
Notice that, for these thinkers, music was first and foremost a field of knowledge; it was counted among the mathematical sciences. The treatment aspect came to the fore in later centuries, and especially in popular retellings.
It is known that in the Ottoman period treatises were written, or attributed to certain physicians, that linked makams with emotions and organs. For example, a work on treating spiritual illnesses with musical melodies is attributed to the Chief Physician Gevrekzâde Hasan Efendi; yet this attribution is itself disputed, and encyclopaedic sources note that he had no direct link with music. The list of names said in popular sources to have written on this subject has not been verified either.
The Theory of Temperaments: What Idea Did the Effect of Makams on People Rest On?
Behind these treatises lies the theory of the four humours inherited from Hippocrates and Galen. According to this theory, the human body contains four fluids: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Health is attributed to the balance of these fluids, and illness to the disturbance of that balance. Each fluid is associated with a temperament, and each temperament with qualities such as hot, cold, dry and moist.
Within this system, music too is seen as a stimulus carrying a "quality". A particular makam is thought to push the body's balance in one direction or another. Some lists go a step further and match makams with the hours of the day: one makam is recommended for the morning, another for the afternoon.
This system of thought is internally consistent and guided medicine for centuries. Modern medicine, however, abandoned the theory of the four humours long ago. The causes of illness are now explained with entirely different concepts and at very different levels, from micro-organisms to genetics, from brain function to environmental factors. When a theory is abandoned, the recommendations built on it lose their validity along with it.
A makam moving us is a real experience; the same makam curing an organ is the echo of an abandoned theory carried into the present.
Why Are the Popular Lists Unreliable?
If you look closely at the lists of makams and illnesses circulating online and on social media, several problems stand out straight away:
- The lists contradict one another. The same makam is matched with one complaint in one source and with a completely different complaint in another. There is no shared, consistent "prescription".
- The source is unclear. Most lists do not show which treatise, which edition or which page they were taken from. Sometimes information attributed to an author cannot be found in that author's work.
- Concepts of illness have changed. The names of illnesses in the treatises do not correspond one-to-one with today's medical diagnoses. Modern equivalents such as "meningitis" or "paralysis" are often interpretations added later.
- None of them has been tested scientifically. To show that a makam is good for a particular illness, you would need research comparing patients who listen to that makam with patients who do not, with results measured impartially. There is no such evidence for these lists.
We are not the only ones making this criticism. In an interview published in the press in 2011, a music therapy specialist criticised the way information about al-Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā was being used "with a tabloid logic, without conforming to scientific methodology". Many researchers interested in the tradition give a similar warning: respecting a tradition does not require presenting it as something it is not.
The same applies today to commercial products such as "healing music", "frequency music" or "432 Hz". Claims that such products cure particular illnesses are not supported by evidence. If you enjoy listening to a piece of music you can carry on listening to it; but you should not expect a medical result from it.
What Does Science Say Today About Music and Mood?
If the lists are unreliable, does that mean music has no effect on people at all? Of course it has an effect; but that effect is different from, and more modest than, what the lists promise.
Even our everyday experience shows that music can influence our mood, our attention and our physical tension. A favourite song can perk us up on a tiring day; a calm piece can help us feel a little better on a crowded bus. But this effect depends less on the makam itself than on the person's relationship with the music, their memories, their taste and how they are feeling at that moment. A taksim (improvised instrumental prelude) that brings peace to one person may, in someone else, awaken the memory of a lost loved one and bring sadness.
Cultural context also plays a large part. For a listener who grew up with Turkish music, an uşşak song may call up a familiar emotional world, while someone hearing this music for the first time may find the same piece simply "different" or "exotic". This, too, shows that the effect of makams on people is not a universal, fixed formula but something shaped together with the listener's background. Assuming that a makam will do the same thing to everyone means leaving out of the equation the very person who is experiencing the music.
Research in music therapy follows the same line. According to a Cochrane review, music therapy added to usual care may reduce symptoms of depression in the short term; however, the evidence has been rated as low to moderate in certainty. There is an important detail here: in this research, music therapy is defined as a process in which a trained practitioner engages in musical interaction with the client within a therapeutic framework. Simply listening to recorded music does not fall within this definition. In other words, the advice to "listen to this makam for half an hour every day" is not the same thing as what has been studied. We explain how today's approach works in detail in our article on music therapy.
The shared limitations of studies in this field are also well known: samples are often small, participants know what they are taking part in, measurements rely largely on self-report, and follow-up periods are short. That is why the most honest sentence we can say today is this: music-based approaches can be supportive; they do not replace medication, psychotherapy or medical treatment.
How Can We Think About the Effect of Makams on People in Everyday Life?
Knowing the scientific limits does not mean staying away from makam music. On the contrary, there are many healthy ways to bring this music into our lives as cultural heritage and as a personal source of enjoyment:
- Observe your own reactions. Which piece calms you, and which saddens you? For a week, you could briefly note how you feel after the music you listen to.
- Use music as a break. Closing your eyes for a few minutes in the middle of a busy working day and listening to a piece you love can create a short breathing space.
- Listen together. Putting on the songs an older relative listened to in their youth can start a conversation about memories and strengthen the bond between you.
- Stay open to learning. Starting a ney or oud course can offer both a new skill and a social setting.
- Steer clear of prescription language. Instead of telling yourself or someone else "listen to this makam for that illness", saying "this music does me good" is both more accurate and safer.
Imagine a retired teacher who has noticed for some time that she feels a heaviness in her chest in the evenings, and who starts listening to a particular makam every evening according to a list she read online. A few weeks later she says nothing has changed, and that she has become even more pessimistic, thinking, "So there must be something wrong with me; even music doesn't work." Yet the problem lies neither in the music nor in her, but in an expectation that was set up wrongly. Music can be a lovely companion for her; but understanding the reason for a heaviness that has lasted for weeks may also require talking to a professional.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Trying to feel better through music is a valuable step in self-care. However, it is a good idea to talk to a mental health professional in the following situations:
- Low mood, lack of motivation or an inability to enjoy anything lasting more than two weeks
- Marked changes in sleep, appetite and energy
- Anxiety or restlessness making it hard to manage daily tasks
- Even the music you love no longer making you feel anything
- Thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life
If the last point applies, call 112 (emergency services) without delay or go to the nearest emergency department.
In psychological support for depression and mood, the core work is a structured process focusing on the person's thoughts, feelings, behaviours and life circumstances. In this process, bringing activities that make the person feel good, such as music, back into daily life can also be discussed; but this is not a makam prescription, it is a self-care plan built around the person's own preferences. If you are curious about how music was played to patients in history, our article on the Edirne Darüşşifa is a good place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is listening to makam music good for mental health?
Listening to music you love can have a positive effect on your mood and help you relax. However, this effect varies from person to person and is not specific to makam music. It does not replace treatment for a mental health difficulty.
Are the lists showing which makam is good for which illness accurate?
These lists are based on historical treatises, contradict one another and have not been tested scientifically. They are interesting from the point of view of cultural history, but they should not be used as health advice.
Does 432 Hz or "healing frequency" music work?
Claims that such products cure particular illnesses are not supported by evidence. If you enjoy listening to them, you can; but it is important not to expect a medical result from them and not to postpone the treatment you need.
Is music therapy the same as listening to music?
No. Music therapy is a structured process in which a trained practitioner engages in musical interaction with the client within a therapeutic framework. Listening to music on your own is a valuable self-care activity, but it is not therapy.
Bu yazı genel bilgilendirme amaçlıdır; tanı veya tedavi yerine geçmez. Yaşadığınız güçlükler için bir ruh sağlığı uzmanına başvurmanız önerilir. Acil bir durumda lütfen 112'yi arayın.
Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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