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Turkish makam scales had many notes which do not correspond exactly to notes on the Western equal-tempered scale. These could be played on fretless instruments such as the oud or the Cretan lyra. They also could be played on fretted instruments such as the saz baglama, on which the frets were irregularly spaced to match the intricacies of the scale in a particular key.

The scales were adapted by the Greeks to play, first on Western mandolins, mandolas and octave mandolins, and then on a new instrument, the bouzouki, created from a combination of the Turkish long-necked saz and the octave mandolin. The bouzouki has an equal tempered fret spacing so the scales were 'straightened out' slightly. These scales are called 'roads' (dromoi) by the players of Rebetiko, the most common style of bouzouki music.

Notes

1. Beware of any site that tries to claim that the bouzouki did not come from Turkey but was in Greece all along. This is a common feature of nationalistic Greek sites and while it may be true, the claim must be treated with suspicion.

2. Because the names for Greek scales come from both Italian and Turkish, there is a j sound used (c in Turkish, gi in Italian). This is normally spelt dz or tz in Greek, but is pronounced as a proper j so I'm writing it as a j here.

Scales are given here in the key of D, as that is the most common one in bouzouki playing, but for reference they are repeated further down in A or C for easier comparison with Western scales. Each scale has seven intervals, normally from low D to high D, although a few flatten the top D and go from low D to high D flat. Some scales have extra notes called 'passing notes' which are used only as ornamentation while reaching a note. The tune never sits on them.

Most scales are the same on the way up as on the way down. Some have different versions for descending, in the same way as the Western Melodic Minor does.

All scales have either a minor third (3 semitones) or a major third (4 semitones) between the first and third notes, making them major or minor. Most scales have a perfect fifth (7 semitones) between the first and fifth notes, although a few use a diminished fifth (6 semitones) for this interval.

The tables here show the names given by P, Bouzouki Spot, Doctor Dark, Rebetiko Notes by Walrus, and the phone app by Incognito.

A 'T' in the Taximi column means that the scale is not normally used for songs, just for the improvisations known as taximi. As a result, there are not usually any chords associated with the scale.

Most Common Scales

Major Scales

These scales are major because the third note in the scale is four semitones (a major third) above the first note. I got the first six of them from my bouzouki teacher P, and the other one from other sources on the internet. All sources seem to agree on these scales. There are a few different spellings because of the lack of a standard way of transcribing Greek alphabet to Roman.

Some sites add a passing G note as well as the G# to the Pireotikos scale.

Minor Scales

These scales are minor because the third note in the scale is three semitones (a minor third) above the first note. The first seven scales were given to me by P, although I've used different names for two of them. The other one, number 8, is from the web.

Scales where Ascending is Different from Descending

Some scales have a different pattern when ascending and descending. I've listed them here separately from the major and minor scales to make the table more manageable.

Notes

The Turkish names here just show where the Greek names came from. The Greek scale is not necessarily derived from the equivalent Turkish scale.

There are some differences between the three authorities here:

1. I've shown P's version of Sabach with the flattened octave. Descriptions of Turkish scales show the equivalent Saba scale has a flattened octave. Other authorities don't use a flattened octave for the Greek scale, but otherwise the scale is identical.
2. I've taken the names for minor scales 1 and 4 from various online sources.
3. Some sites add a top D to the Neveseri scale which makes the C# into a passing note.
4. There's also a scaled called Kiourdi, but every site gives a different version of it, so I've omitted it.

Notes

• Ousak was called Phrygian mode in mediaeval European music (although actual Ancient Greek Phrygian mode was something else). It has been described as the 'belly-dancing' scale.
• Houseini (Hooos-ayni rather than House-inny) is major on the way up and minor on the way down.

Comparison with Western Scales

In Western musical theory it is normal to think of minor and major scales as the same sequence of notes, just starting on a different note in the scale. For this reason, it is usual to write major scales starting on C and minor scales starting on A. The major scale and natural minor scale become:

Major C D E F G A B C

Minor A B C D E F G A

Here are the Greek bouzouki scales presented in this form to make it easier to compare with Western scales. This is somewhat artificial as many of the Greek scales are somewhere between major and minor. Since Houseini is both major and minor, I've written it twice, once starting on C and once starting on A.