Songwriting Advice
How to Write Persian Traditional Music Lyrics
You want words that sit in a dastgah and feel like they were born to be sung that way. Persian traditional music gives you a whole language of melody that expects language to bend and breathe. You want lyrics that respect the old rules and still slap on a modern playlist. This guide gives you a complete playbook with historical context, poetic forms, melodic mapping, practical drills and studio friendly tips. We will explain every technical word like your persian tea shop uncle explaining politics and we will give real life scenarios so you actually know what to do next.
Quick Links to Useful Sections
- Quick primer: what is Persian traditional music and why the labels matter
- Why lyrics in Persian traditional music are different from western songwriting
- Poetic forms you should know and when to use them
- Ghazal
- Rubai
- Masnavi
- Free verse and modern Persian lyrics
- Choosing a dastgah and why that choice matters for your words
- Understand melody first then place words
- Aruz meter explained in plain words and why you might care
- Radif and radif borrowing explained in songwriting terms
- How to write lyrics that sit in avaz and not sound like stage directions
- Imagery that works and imagery that trips you
- Rhyme, radif and ring phrase techniques
- Prosody in Persian: stress is not the boss
- Vocal ornamentation and how to write with tahrir in mind
- Working with traditional instruments and arranging your lyric for them
- Collaboration tips with master musicians
- Recording and production tips for traditional vocals
- Ethical and cultural notes
- Exercises to write better Persian traditional lyrics
- Vowel pass
- Gusheh mapping
- Radif borrowing drill
- Aruz experiment
- Before and after lyric edits that show what works
- Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Sample workflow you can use today
- How to modernize without disrespecting tradition
- Action plan to write your first Persian traditional song this week
- Questions you will actually ask and answers you will actually use
- Can I write Persian traditional lyrics in modern colloquial Persian
- Do I need to learn aruz to write for this music
- How do I avoid cultural appropriation while using radif and dastgah
- How long should lines be for avaz
- Can I mix Persian and non Persian lyrics
This is for millennial poets, Gen Z singers, and anyone who likes their metaphors with a side of tahrir. We are funny. We are blunt. We do not apologize for making ancient art feel alive and slightly chaotic. Read this, pick an exercise, write something that makes your grandparents raise an eyebrow and your followers hit replay.
Quick primer: what is Persian traditional music and why the labels matter
Persian traditional music is the classical art music of Iran. It is built around a modal system of melodic modes and a repertory of short melodic pieces. The big building blocks you will meet again and again are these terms. We define them and give you a tiny real life scenario so the word is not just vocabulary but a tool.
- Dastgah means modal system or mode. Think of it like a mood playlist. Each dastgah contains a set of smaller melodies and motifs that fit together. Real life scenario: you pick Dastgah Shur when you want an intimate late night confessing mood and Dastgah Mahur when you want something upbeat like a wedding entrance.
- Radif is the canonical repertory of melodic pieces passed down by masters. Radif is a fingerprint of a tradition. Real life scenario: a student learns Mirza Abdollah radif to absorb melodic vocabulary like learning idioms in a language.
- Gusheh literally means little ear or little corner. It is a short melodic piece inside a dastgah. Real life scenario: when a singer improvises they might move from one gusheh to another as if changing topics in a conversation.
- Avaz is a free rhythm vocal improvisation. Real life scenario: the singer drops the metric beat and sings long ornamented phrases that feel like a spoken monologue set on strings and drum brush.
- Tahrir refers to ornamentation in singing such as a small trill or melisma. Real life scenario: you add a tiny vocal shake on the word jan so it lands like a knife with glitter.
- Aruz is the classical quantitative meter used in Persian poetry. It classifies syllables as long or short rather than stressed or unstressed. Real life scenario: mapping aruz to melody feels like converting imperial units to metric. It takes a moment but then everything fits.
- Ghazal is a poetic form of couplets with a repeated rhyme and sometimes a repeated ending word. Real life scenario: a ghazal line can be your chorus substitute because its radif gives listeners a line to remember and repeat.
Why lyrics in Persian traditional music are different from western songwriting
Do not approach this as if you are putting a pop chorus on top of a maqam. Persian traditional music has a different idea of structure. It favors modal exploration, microtonal intervals, long vocal lines and a relationship between text and melody that often relies on classical Persian poetic devices. That does not mean you cannot write modern or minimal songs. It means you must learn which levers to pull so your words land naturally in that musical environment.
Real life scenario: If you write a chorus with eight short punchy lines it might feel crowded inside an avaz that wants two long sweeping lines. If you try to cram English stress patterns into aruz meter you will sound like you are forcing a flat tire into a sports car. Learn the rules. Then break them with intention.
Poetic forms you should know and when to use them
Poetry and music in Persian culture have been married for centuries. Choosing a poetic form shapes how your melody works and where your ear expects pauses. Here are the primary options and how to use them.
Ghazal
Ghazal is a series of couplets. Each couplet is semi independent and the rhyme scheme binds them together. The first couplet has two rhyming lines. That rhyme then appears at the end of the second line of every later couplet. The radif or repeated word may follow the rhyme. Real life scenario: choose ghazal when you want a song that feels like a collection of short confessions around one repeating motif. It is perfect for avaz sections where each couplet is a different emotional camera angle.
Example pattern simplified
- Matla: first couplet establishes rhyme and radif
- Middle couplets: each adds a new image
- Maqta: final couplet can include the poet name or a twist
Rubai
Rubai is a quatrain form with tight compression and punchy conclusions. Real life scenario: write a rubai when you want one sharp idea that lands like a mic drop inside a gusheh. It is short so the melody can give the rest.
Masnavi
Masnavi is a series of rhyming couplets used for storytelling. Real life scenario: use masnavi when you want narrative verse that can support a long composed vocal line or a composed instrumental introduction before the singing begins.
Free verse and modern Persian lyrics
Modern writers often use free verse. Free verse works well with some dastgahs especially when you want a conversational tone. If you choose free verse make sure the syllable flow and vowel weight feel comfortable for long notes and for ornamentation. That is the common mistake of English pop lyricists writing Persian words that do not project when stretched.
Choosing a dastgah and why that choice matters for your words
Picking a dastgah is like choosing a filter on an app that actually affects the story. Each dastgah gives you certain melodic gestures and emotional colors. You do not need to memorize every gusheh to start writing but you do need to match mood to melody.
- Shur is warm intimate and often used for love and introspective themes. If your lyric is a late night confession pick Shur.
- Homayun has a noble melancholic feel. Use it for serious longing or a dignified sadness.
- Mahur is bright and joyful. It behaves like major modes in western music and is great for heroic or celebratory words.
- Segah is plaintive and piercing. Use Segah for a lyric that needs to feel fragile and sharp at once.
- Chahargah is bold and energetic. It suits strong declarations or playful swagger.
- Nava has a meditative and wistful color. Use for introspective poems and slow avaz passages.
Real life scenario: if you wrote a line like I bury my phone under the cushion and still hear it ring you probably want Shur or Nava. If you wrote I enter like I signed the lease you want Mahur or Chahargah.
Understand melody first then place words
In Persian traditional practice learning the radif and singing it is how students learn the vocabulary of phrases. As a lyricist you should listen to the gushehs you plan to use and identify their melodic contours before you decide on syllable length. This is the single fastest way to stop writing lines that feel squeezed when sung.
Practical method
- Pick a gusheh or short phrase from the radif and sing it on vowels for two minutes without words. Record your phone. This is your melodic map.
- Mark the places where melody lands long notes or ornaments. Those need strong vowels and syllables that can be stretched. Prefer open vowels like a or o when you expect to hold notes.
- Write short lines that match the number of melodic phrase units. If a melody wants two long phrases write two lines that can be elongated.
Aruz meter explained in plain words and why you might care
Aruz is a system that treats syllables as long or short. Think of it as weight training for poetry. A long syllable equals two short syllables in terms of musical weight. You can use aruz to make your lyrics feel classical and to align natural syllable length with sustained notes in the melody.
Example simplified approach
- Listen for long notes in your chosen melody
- Place words whose spoken vowels are naturally longer on those notes
- Use short clipped syllables for quick ornamental phrases
Real life scenario: You have a 10 second phrase in avaz with two long notes. Do not write five short one syllable words that you would rap. Choose two lines with longer vowels or add a melisma friendly word such as azizam where you can ornament the a and the za sounds.
Radif and radif borrowing explained in songwriting terms
Radif is your sample pack of melodic licks. When you borrow a gusheh you are borrowing a melodic sentence. Use it as a palette not a script. Sing your lyrics in the gusheh and then allow the singer to add improvised ornaments. That is how the tradition lives.
Real life scenario: you write a new ghazal couplet and place it on a classic gusheh from the Mirza Abdollah radif. The singer recognizes the gusheh and knows where to ornament. The audience feels new words in an old familiar landscape. It is very satisfying.
How to write lyrics that sit in avaz and not sound like stage directions
Avaz wants breathing, room to ornament and lines that can be extended. Think sentence fragments that are ready to be completed with melody. Avoid long strings of consonants.
Do this quick check
- Read each line out loud and stretch the vowels naturally. If you cannot stretch them gracefully rewrite.
- Put your hand on your throat and hum. Lines that require fake throat pushing are lying to you. Rewrite.
- Mark every line where the melody will need a tahrir. Add an extra vowel or a short repeated syllable like ah or ya so the singer has a handle.
Imagery that works and imagery that trips you
Traditional Persian poetry has a lexicon that includes wine, tavern, rose, nightingale, beloved and candle. These are powerful but overloaded with history and cliché. You can use them but freshen them with a small modern concrete detail.
Examples
- Overused: The rose wept in moonlight.
- Fresh: I water your plastic basil at midnight and tell it stories about you.
Real life scenario: your grandmother will nod at the rose and nightingale but your followers will replay the basil line because it is oddly specific and funny.
Rhyme, radif and ring phrase techniques
Rhyme in Persian songs is traditionally formalized. Qafia means rhyme and radif means repeating word or phrase after the rhyme. Use a ring phrase to create memory. A ring phrase is a repeating phrase at the start or end of lines that anchors the song.
How to create a ring phrase
- Pick a short phrase that can be sung on repeated long notes such as janam or barg.
- Place it at the end of the matla or first line so the audience knows to expect it again.
- Use it as the emotional pivot. The meaning can change across the song depending on context. That is the trick.
Prosody in Persian: stress is not the boss
English cares about stress patterns. Persian cares about vowel length and syllable closure patterns. When you write for Persian singing think about how vowels open up under long notes. Avoid writing long clusters of consonants that implode when sung.
Practical tip
- Choose words with open vowels like a, o, and e for lines that will be held.
- Use closed vowels and consonant clusters for quick ornamental phrases or final staccato closures.
Vocal ornamentation and how to write with tahrir in mind
Tahrir can be a small trill on a vowel a long melisma that stretches syllables across many notes. When you write mark places where a singer might add ornamentation. Leave one or two words intentionally open for that treatment.
Real life scenario: you write the line man delam tangeh. Mark delam with a long vowel on the a so the singer can add a tahrir and the audience gets the feeling that the singer actually swallowed the sadness and then spat it back out in high notes.
Working with traditional instruments and arranging your lyric for them
Instruments like the tar, setar, santur, kamancheh and tombak each have personalities. The tar and setar are string instruments good at microtonal slides. Santur offers percussive shimmer. Kamancheh can hold a long bowed note that supports avaz. Tombak provides subtle rhythmic cycles. When you write lyrics think about which instrument will carry your phrase and how it can breathe around the words.
Example arrangement idea
- Intro: santur motif that masks the opening radif phrase
- Verse: setar and light tombak. Singer uses minimal ornamentation to let words land.
- Avaz: kamancheh drone and santur bell patterns. Singer stretches two key lines with tahrir.
- Close: repeat ring phrase with a small tar solo as an answer.
Collaboration tips with master musicians
If you do not play these instruments or know the radif do not fake it. Find a teacher or collaborator who knows the repertoire. Show respect. Learn the melodic skeleton. Bring your lyric drafts and ask for suggested gusheh fits. The best songwriting is a conversation between lyric and melody.
Real life scenario: you bring your new ghazal to a tar player. They hum two gushehs. One fits like socks and sandals. Pick it. Record five takes. You will learn more in one session than three months of guessing.
Recording and production tips for traditional vocals
Microphones matter. For avaz choose a mic that captures air and voice detail not just bass. Record dry vocals with two passes. One intimate single tracked pass and one expressive pass with ornaments and ad libs. Keep room sound minimal for clarity unless you want the sound of a courtyard echo.
Mixing tips
- Use a small amount of reverb that feels like a room not a cathedral unless you want cathedral.
- Double the chorus or repeated ring phrase with a slightly detuned double for warmth not chorus madness.
- Keep low end for kamancheh and tombak so the voice sits on top without competing.
Ethical and cultural notes
Persian traditional music is not aesthetics to borrow casually. If you are not Persian or not steeped in the tradition get permission, give credits and compensate artists. If you use a radif line or a poem by a contemporary poet get clearance. Classical poems by Rumi, Hafez and Saadi are public domain but modern translations or specific arrangements may not be. Cultural humility goes a long way.
Exercises to write better Persian traditional lyrics
Vowel pass
Sing the melody on a pure vowel for two minutes. Mark the moments you want to repeat. Now add one real word per long phrase that fits the vowel sound. Ten minutes.
Gusheh mapping
Pick three short gushehs from recordings. Hum them and write one line per gusheh that could be stretched. Do this in 20 minutes and you will have a map for a short avaz piece.
Radif borrowing drill
Take one short radif phrase. Write three ghazal couplets that end with the same radif word. Keep the radif word meaningfully different in each couplet. The exercise trains you to make a ring phrase do different emotional work.
Aruz experiment
Take one aruz pattern and write a single couplet in it. Read it aloud slowly. Then sing it on any short gusheh. Observe where the pattern helps the melody and where it fights it. This builds sensitivity to meter.
Before and after lyric edits that show what works
Before: I miss you tonight, my heart is broken and I cannot sleep.
After: The kettle counts my sleepless nights; your cup is empty on the windowsill.
Before: Your eyes are like stars in the sky.
After: Your lamp left the hallway and now the stair is dark where my jacket used to hang.
Before: I will not call you anymore.
After: I put my thumb in my pocket and it learns my phone is not permission to speak.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Too many images. Fix by committing to a single central metaphor per verse or couplet.
- Writing for reading not singing. Fix by reading lines aloud while humming the melody and trimming anything that fights the breath.
- Overusing clichés. Fix by adding one small modern detail or sensory object that is unmistakably yours.
- Ignoring radif. Fix by studying a few gushehs and using them as melodic frames instead of copying entire melodies without credit.
- Forgetting breath marks. Fix by marking where the singer must breathe and rewriting lines to permit natural inhalation.
Sample workflow you can use today
- Write one sentence that sums your emotional promise. Keep it short. This is your title candidate.
- Pick a dastgah that matches the promise. If you cannot decide pick Shur for intimacy or Mahur for brightness.
- Find one gusheh in that dastgah and sing its opening phrase on vowels. Record it on your phone.
- Map the long notes and ornaments. Write one to two lines per long phrase with open vowels.
- Decide on poetic form. If you want repetition choose ghazal couplets with a radif word. If you want short punch write rubai style quatrain.
- Practice with a musician or backing track. Adjust words until they breathe with the melody.
- Record two passes: a dry intimate pass and an expressive pass. Pick the best bits and then ask a traditional musician for one suggested ornament placement.
How to modernize without disrespecting tradition
You can write modern lyrics and still honor the structure. Use modern imagery and contemporary language. Keep the formal elements like radif or aruz when they serve the song. Be transparent. Credit the source if you borrow a gusheh. Collaborate with traditional musicians so the arrangement supports the new words and the tradition is not reduced to wallpaper.
Action plan to write your first Persian traditional song this week
- Pick one short emotion to write about. Make a one line title.
- Choose Shur or Mahur. Find two short gushehs on YouTube or in a radif collection.
- Do a vowel pass for five minutes on the first gusheh. Mark long notes.
- Write two lines that match the long notes. Use open vowels and a clear image.
- Repeat for a second gusheh for verse two or for a contrasting mood.
- Record a demo on your phone with a friend beating a simple rhythm or with a setar player if you can.
- Play the demo for one trusted musician and one non musician. Ask both what line they repeat back to you. If neither repeats a line rewrite until one does.
Questions you will actually ask and answers you will actually use
Can I write Persian traditional lyrics in modern colloquial Persian
Yes. Many modern songwriters use conversational Persian. The key is to match the language to the musical demands. If the melody wants long sustained vowels choose colloquial words that have those vowels. If you use formal classical Persian make sure the singer can pronounce old forms without sounding like a museum tour guide.
Do I need to learn aruz to write for this music
No. You do not need to become a meter scholar. You do benefit from learning the basic idea of long and short syllables and practicing mapping words to melody. Many successful songwriters use free verse and still respect melodic phrase length with simple vowel awareness.
How do I avoid cultural appropriation while using radif and dastgah
Work with tradition bearers. Credit radif sources and the masters who taught them. If using specific traditional recordings or text get permission and offer payment. Learn enough of the tradition so you are not just decorating your work with cultural markers. This shows respect and improves your art.
How long should lines be for avaz
Lines can be long and breathy. Measure by melody not by syllable count. If your melody has a five second phrase aim for one or two clauses that can be sung across that time. Practice singing the line slowly and mark breath points.
Can I mix Persian and non Persian lyrics
Yes. Code switching can be powerful. Use Persian for the emotional core and another language for a hook or a background phrase. Be mindful of prosody. Do not force English rhythm into Persian long notes. Match vowels and breathing requirements.
