ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the problem of theory and practice in Central Asian maqam traditions with reference to two distinct traditions: the Kashmiri Sufyana Musiqi and the Uyghur on Ikki Muqam. Both of these traditions pay homage to the Systematist School of music theory as it was transmitted to Central Asia, but they have also evolved over time, absorbing new layers of theorization and new kinds of repertoire and adapting to new contexts of performance. In occasional conversations about contemporary Central Asian maqam traditions, Owen Wright was more radical and suggest more than once that in these traditions the maqam were little more than "bins" or repositories for organizing and storing repertoire. The two traditions share the names of various maqam, but in terms of actual musical correspondences, this may be less significant than the finer points of melodic and rhythmic style that they share.
