Persian Traditional Music Songwriting Advice

You want to write songs that sound like they were born on the rooftop of an old Tehran house and then got invited to a late night co write session with the present day. You want melodies that feel ancient and honest. You want words that make poets nod, and arrangements that do not treat the ney like an Instagram prop. This guide hands you the maps, the cheat codes, and the manners handbook. It also gives practical exercises you can use today.

This article is written for artists who grew up on streaming playlists and grew into saz and radif through curiosity or a stubborn unshakable ear. We will cover the system and the spirit. You will learn what a dastgah is and how to use it without sounding like a tourist. You will learn how to set Persian poetry to music. You will also learn modern production tricks so your santur does not sound like a toy in a club track. Expect blunt honesty, helpful drills, and enough real world examples to start three songs before lunch.

What is Persian traditional music in plain language

If you have heard a Persian classic and felt like the melody was telling a secret you wanted to steal, you have felt the effect of the radif and the dastgah system. Here are the core terms explained so you stop nodding politely at masters and sounding confused later at parties.

Radif

Radif is the canon. It is a body of melodies and melodic fragments that master musicians passed down from teacher to student for centuries. Think of it as a recipe book and a family photo album at the same time. It contains the building blocks you will reuse and reinvent. Learning radif means learning how melodic sentences move inside a mode.

Dastgah

Dastgah is the modal system. You can treat each dastgah as a distinct mood palette. If a Western song chooses a key plus atmosphere like minor cold or major sunny, a dastgah chooses a network of intervals, typical melodic turns, and a set of gusheh. Common dastgah names are Shur, Homayoun, Mahur, Segah, Chahargah, Nava and Rast Panjgah. Each one has a personality. Think of them as playlists for emotional weather.

Gusheh

A gusheh is a melodic motif or small piece inside a dastgah. You can think of gusheh like chapters inside a movie. Each gusheh has a small identity and ways it wants to be ornamented. Moving between gusheh is how improvisation develops a storyline. Gusheh often name certain melodic turns so that musicians can reference them in a jam or performance.

Avaz

Avaz is free rhythm vocal or instrumental improvisation. It is the part where time slows down so the melody can breathe. Avaz is where subtle microtonal inflections and tahrir, which are vocal ornaments similar to vocal shakes, get to show off. If you want to be dramatic and make the audience hold their breath, avaz is your friend.

Tasnif

Tasnif is a composed song in a defined meter that often sets poetry to music. If you want to write a song with verses and a steady beat that people can clap along to, write a tasnif. It is the most natural place to combine classical modes with songwriting craft.

Chaharmezrab and reng

Chaharmezrab is an energetic instrumental piece usually fast and rhythm driven. Reng is a dance like piece often used at the end of a set to release energy. If your audience needs to move or you need an intro that says confident and proud, think chaharmezrab or reng.

Why the system matters to songwriters

Knowing these pieces lets you compose with intention. If you pick a dastgah like Shur you commit to a family of melodic habits and emotional texture. If your lyrics are about stoic heartache and you pick Mahur, the mismatch will feel like wearing snow boots to the beach. The goal is not to copy old masters. The goal is to use their grammar to speak new things.

Choosing a dastgah according to mood and story

Pick a dastgah like you pick a mood ring. Each one has associations that audiences who know the tradition will feel even if they cannot name it. Below are brief, usable descriptions with concrete scenarios so you can choose fast.

• Shur Lightly melancholic and intimate. Use for confessions, longing, late night taxi rides where the city has blue lights. Shur is your default if you want warmth with a scratch of sadness.
• Homayoun Deeply emotional with noble regret. Use for serious heartbreak or spiritual searching. Picture a rooftop call at dawn with cigarettes and too many memories.
• Mahur Bright and heroic. Use when you want triumphant humility. This dastgah can sound like sunrise on a mountaintop.
• Segah Intensely intimate and sometimes painful. Use for private sorrow that feels like a secret scream.
• Chahargah Bold and rhythmic. Use for swagger, resistance, or scenes where you are announcing your arrival.
• Nava Quiet, reflective, and mystical. Use for poems about the inner life or late night introspection with tea and a cigarette.
• Rast Panjgah Calm dignity. Use for songs that need to sound ancient and unshakable like a memory carved in wood.

How to set Persian poetry to music without butchering it

Persian poetry is a treasure chest and a landmine. Ghazal is the usual go to for classical songs. Ghazal is a poetic form consisting of couplets called bayt that are largely autonomous but linked by rhyme and refrain. The first couplet sets a rhyme and a refrain. The final couplet often has the poet name or signature. If you are not using classic poets you can write modern Persian lyrics that mimic the cadence of ghazal lines.

Real life scenario

Your producer hands you a ghazal by Hafez and says sing it like it was written this morning. Do not panic. Identify the rhyme word and the refrain. Find natural phrase breaks between couplets. If the poem is dense, choose a few bayt to set rather than the whole poem. The music can repeat or elaborate on the poem like a conversation partner not a translation app.

Prosody rules that actually matter

• Respect syllable weight. Persian poetry often uses long and short vowels in traditional meters. Align musical long notes with poetically long syllables.
• Keep the natural word stress. Persian does not use stress the way English does. Do not force odd accents because the melody wants them. Instead choose melodic contours that support the natural speech rhythm.
• Use repetition. Repeating a line in the chorus or in a refrain gives the listener a foothold. Ghazal already has natural repetition through refrains sometimes called radif which is not the same as musical radif but a poetic repeated word or phrase.

Melody craft using gusheh and radif without sounding like a museum piece

Start with the smallest usable unit. Learn one gusheh in one dastgah really well. Play or sing it slowly until the characteristic turn sits in your mouth like a candy. Then do these steps.

1. Identify the signature leap or resolving note in the gusheh. That note is the hook.
2. Create a short motif of three to five notes that captures that signature. Repeat it like a chant.
3. Write a line of lyrics that lands on the hook note on a meaningful word.
4. Use ornamentation sparingly. Tahrir and grace notes are powerful but lose impact if every other syllable is vibrato. Let the plain note speak before you decorate it.

Example motif in Shur: small rising phrase that leans into a neutral note before resolving down. Make that phrase your chorus anchor. Sing the title on the resolving note.

Ornamentation and phrasing that do not sound like karaoke for ghosts

Ornamentation is like seasoning. Too little and the food is boring. Too much and no one can tell what the meal was. Here is how to use common ornaments with taste.

• Tahrir A vocal oscillation or slight warble on a long note. Use it for emotional punctuation. Practice short tahrir of one to three oscillations first. Long endless shakes make your listener check their phone.
• Note bends Slide into notes instead of hitting them hard. Make the slide arrive like a confession.
• Fioritura Rapid decorative runs. Use at the end of a phrase or to decorate a repeated line. Keep rhythmic clarity so lyrics do not vanish.

Rhythm and form when you write a tasnif

Tasnif is your songwriting playground inside the classical world. It has meter and can support strophic verse and an instrumental interlude. Common meters include 6 8 or 4 4 like in Western music but the phrasing and emphasis will feel Persian because of melodic language.

When you write a tasnif follow this procedure.

1. Choose a dastgah and the gusheh family you will use.
2. Pick a meter that matches the poem. If the poem feels like long breathing lines pick a slower meter. If the poem is playful pick a lighter meter.
3. Write a simple repeating chord or drone. Persian music often uses a sustained tonal center which you can replicate with a bass drone or pad in production.
4. Set the first couplet and build the melody around the gusheh motif so each couplet becomes a variation with small ornament changes.

How to modernize the sound and make it relevant for Gen Z listeners

Modern listeners like texture that feels both ancient and present. Here is how to get that without being performative.

• Choose one signature acoustic instrument like santur or kamancheh and let it be the ear worm in the track.
• Use modern drums but keep them subtle under the verses. Allow the rhythm to breathe during avaz.
• Use synth pads to create atmosphere. Tune the pad to the microtonal center of the dastgah if you plan to overlay microtonal melodies.
• Make production decisions that support the voice. If your vocalist uses tahrir, avoid over compressed vocals that kill expression. Preserve dynamics.

Microtones and tuning tricks that do not require a PhD in acoustics

Persian intervals often sit between Western semitones. You do not need to retune your whole life to play with microtones but you will need some basic tools and a little bravery.

Options for getting microtonal right in the studio

• Use fretless instruments such as violin family instruments or fretless guitar. They can play the exact pitch your ear wants.
• For fretted instruments use pitch bend and subtle slides to imply microtonal steps.
• Use sample libraries that include microtonal santur or tar patches. Many libraries are tuned to equal temperament but some include ethnic tunings. Read descriptions carefully.
• If you use a digital audio workstation or DAW which stands for Digital Audio Workstation you can tune individual notes in sampled instrument plugins. Retune the sample or the synth oscillator to the target frequency.

Real life tip. If you are layering a Western pad under a kamancheh solo, tune the pad down or up by a few cents so it does not sound like two strangers singing together. Small detuning can sound magical rather than wrong.

Songwriting workflows that actually produce songs

Here is a repeatable sequence you can use to write your next Persian traditional inspired song.

1. Pick the mood. Write one short plain sentence that states the emotional promise of the song. Example. I leave at dawn and I sing to an empty cup.
2. Choose a dastgah. Match it to mood. If the sentence is wistful take Shur or Homayoun.
3. Find a gusheh. Play or sing a small motif until it feels like the song wants to live there.
4. Write a title line. Make it short and singable in Persian or English. Place it on the resolving note of the motif.
5. Set one couplet. Use a ghazal couplet or write a modern couplet. Keep the second half of the couplet as a payoff.
6. Build an arrangement map. Intro motif, verse, chorus or refrain, instrumental solo which can be an avaz or kamancheh improvisation, final refrain with variation.
7. Record a quick demo. Use a simple drone, a rhythmic pattern and a lead instrument. Sing the melody on vowels first to check flow.

Exercises you can do in 10 minutes

Vowel pass

Play a two chord drone from the dastgah and sing on ah and oh vowels. Mark the moments that feel inevitable. Those are candidate hooks. This is easy, ridiculous and works like caffeine for melody.

Poem chop

Take a short couplet and reduce it to three important words. Use those words to build a repeating chorus. This keeps the poem while letting the music breathe.

Microtonal echo

Play a simple melody on a fretless instrument or pitch bend on a guitar. Record and then duplicate the track and detune the copy by 8 to 12 cents. Mix low. The result is a subtle otherworldly chorus shimmer you can use as a pad layer.

Common songwriting mistakes and how to fix them

• Trying to use every ornament Let the melody speak first. Use ornamentation to answer not to shout. Fix by removing every second ornament. If the line still breathes you are on the right track.
• Mismatched mood and dastgah If your upbeat lyrics are in a slow dramatic dastgah your song will feel confused. Fix by moving the lyrics or changing the dastgah to match the story.
• Overproduced acoustic instruments Too much reverb and too much compression flatten expression. Fix by recording clean takes and adding only what supports the vocal micro details.
• Ignoring poetry prosody If your sung syllables fight the natural rhythm of the poem the audience will sense friction. Fix by speaking the poem aloud, marking natural phrase breaks and aligning music to those breaths.

Recording and production tips for Persian traditional songs

Preserve space for micro phrasing and tahrir. Use close miking for ney and kamancheh to capture breath and bow details. For santur use a stereo pair but keep the mix open. Keep vocals dynamic. Avoid heavy pitch correction which kills tahrir and slides.

If you do use pitch correction use it as an effect not a tool to flatten nuance. Homogenized vocals are a crime against tahrir. Use subtle compression, a small plate or room reverb and simple doubles on repeated lines. Arrange the mix so the signature acoustic instrument sits slightly forward of the vocal during instrumental phrases and slightly behind during verses so the voice feels intimate and the instrument tells the room story.

How to collaborate with traditional musicians without being an awkward cultural tourist

If you want authenticity call it what it is and be respectful. Do not ask for permission and then ignore what they teach. Bring prepared sketches to the session and be open to swapping your chorus for a gusheh. Credit lineage. If a master gives you a melodic idea credit them. Offer fair pay. If a teacher expects a share of rights be transparent. The music gets better and the room stays human when you show respect.

Live performance tips

Structure your live set like a conversation. Start with a pishdaramad an instrumental opening that introduces the mode and signature motif. Move into a tasnif or a vocal piece. Place an avaz mid set when the lights go down. Finish with a reng or chaharmezrab to let people leave with their bodies remembering the rhythm.

Talk to the audience between pieces. Say what the poem is about and who wrote it. If you sing in Persian and your audience does not understand the language give them a one line translation that hits the emotional truth. People like context. It helps the microtones land as intention instead of weirdness.

Resources and teachers to start with

• Listen to Mohammad Reza Shajarian for classical vocal phrasing and tahrir examples.
• Listen to Hossein Alizadeh and Kayhan Kalhor for modern arrangements that respect tradition.
• Find a local master or teacher who learned from a master. Radif is best absorbed in person but you can start with recorded radif books and method guides.
• Use a DAW like Reaper, Ableton Live, or Logic Pro for demos. Learn how to retune samples by cents.
• Explore sample libraries that include santur, setar, tar, kamancheh and ney. Read patch notes about tuning.

Persian Traditional Songwriting FAQ

What is the fastest way to get started writing in a dastgah

Pick one dastgah and learn one gusheh. Make a three to five note motif and repeat it while you sing on vowels. Write a one line title that lands on the motif. Set one couplet of poetry. Record a short demo. Repeat this process three times and you will have three usable song seeds.

Can I use Western chords in Persian modes

Yes with care. Western chords can provide a harmonic foundation but avoid forcing equal temperament chord changes into a melody that expects microtonal resolve. Use drones or single bass notes to support modal motion. If you use chords, try simple suspensions and open fifths. Choose voicings that do not clash with the modal center.

How do I tune synths to Persian intervals

Use your synths oscillator tuning or retune individual notes in the sampler by cents. Many samplers allow micro tuning. Set a reference frequency for the tonic and adjust other notes. Another option is to use pitch bend and subtle detune techniques to imply the microtones without fully retuning the instrument.

Is it OK to write lyrics in Persian if I am not a native speaker

Yes if you do it respectfully. Learn the basics of grammar and idiom first. Work with a native speaker for poetic nuance. Avoid literal translations. If you use classic poetry credit the poet and the translator if you used one. Honesty and humility go a long way.

Where do I place the refrain or title in a Persian song

Place the title on a strong resolving note of the gusheh motif. Repeating the title at the end of each stanza or after an instrumental phrase gives listeners a hook. If you use a tasnif structure the refrain can function like a chorus in Western songs and appear after each verse.

FAQ Schema

Get Contact Details of Music Industry Gatekeepers

Looking for an A&R, Manager or Record Label to skyrocket your music career?

Don’t wait to be discovered, take full control of your music career. Get access to the contact details of the gatekeepers of the music industry. We're talking email addresses, contact numbers, social media...

Packed with contact details for over 3,000 of the top Music Managers, A&Rs, Booking Agents & Record Label Executives.

Get exclusive access today, take control of your music journey and skyrocket your music career.

Unlock Instant Access