Azerbaijani mugham
Mugham is the main genre of Azerbaijani oral classical music tradition. Lyrics for mughams are usually the poems of classical poets. There are 7 basic mughams in the Azerbaijani folk music: rast, shur, segyakh, chargyakh, shushter, bayati- shiraz, humayun and several additional mughams. In Azerbaijan, mugham is usually performed by a trio: a tar payer, a kamancha player and a gaval player – tambourine player (often the khanende – singer himself acts as a gaval player).
In modern Azerbaijani music, mugam is played on any instrument except drums. However, tar, kamancha, as well as oud, canon and balaban are accepted as the basis for mugham instruments.
Most mugham performers come from Karabakh, specifically from the town of Shusha.
In 2008 UNESCO declared Azerbaijani mugham as one of the "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".
