Maqam (Arabic) · Majestic · central

Rast Scale

Rast is the central “mother” maqam of Arabic music: bright, dignified and resolved. Its signature comes from the quarter-flat 3rd and 7th degrees — microtones that do not exist on a Western piano and give Rast its unmistakable colour. It is the natural starting point for understanding the whole maqam system.

Open the interactive Rast scale →

On the piano keyboard

Rast scale shown on C

RootScale toneQuarter-tone

Rast scale on every key — keyboard diagrams

Rast scale in every key

Key	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
C	C	D	E‡	F	G	A	B‡
Db	Db	Eb	F‡	Gb	Ab	Bb	C‡
D	D	E	F#‡	G	A	B	C#‡
Eb	Eb	F	G‡	Ab	Bb	C	D‡
E	E	F#	G#‡	A	B	C#	D#‡
F	F	G	A‡	Bb	C	D	E‡
F#	F#	G#	A#‡	B	C#	D#	F‡
G	G	A	B‡	C	D	E	F#‡
Ab	Ab	Bb	C‡	Db	Eb	F	G‡
A	A	B	C#‡	D	E	F#	G#‡
Bb	Bb	C	D‡	Eb	F	G	A‡
B	B	C#	D#‡	E	F#	G#	A#‡

Popular songs in this scale

A curated list of well-known songs built on the Rast is coming soon.

Coming soon

‡ marks a quarter-flat (microtonal) note — a pitch between two piano keys that is characteristic of Arabic Maqam scales. Hear it in the interactive app.

On the piano keyboard

Rast scale on every key — keyboard diagrams

Rast scale in every key

Popular songs in this scale

More scales