Persian Classical Radif: From Analysis to Composition

An analytical program in Iranian music that approaches the radif not as a body of repertoire to memorize, but as a living language and a source for musical creation. The gusheh and dastgah of the radif are analyzed from three main angles — modal, melodic, and rhythmic — to reveal their internal logic. The aim is to reach a structural understanding of the radif and extract patterns that can be used in composition and improvisation. Over the course, students learn to generate new musical ideas from the material embedded in the radif — turning analysis into composition. This happens through practical assignments, staged projects, and creative reworkings of gushehs, with every project reviewed and discussed in detail. By the end, students gain not only analytical command of the radif, but the ability to use it creatively in their own music — shifting from reciting the radif to thinking and creating with it. Format: online group class. Topics covered: - The radif as a musical language - Modal analysis (using a specific dastgah as a case study) - Melodic analysis - Rhythmic analysis - Formal analysis - Techniques for developing musical material - Creative reworking and recomposition of gushehs