radif

Radif (Persian: ردیف) is the traditional repertory of Persian classical music. The word means "order" or "sequence" and refers to a comprehensive, organized collection of melodic figures that form the basis of performance and pedagogy. Radif is primarily a repository of gusheh—short melodic pieces or motifs—that are grouped within modal families called dastgah and their associated avazes. Each dastgah presents a characteristic scale and melodic rules, around which the gusheh are composed. Musicians improvise by elaborating within the framework of a chosen dastgah, using taqsim-like development while staying within the established melodic grammar.

Traditionally the radif is transmitted orally from master to student. There is no single authoritative text; many legendary masters have compiled their own versions, resulting in variations among radifs. Learning the radif involves memorizing a large set of gusheh in a prescribed sequence and mastering the ornamentation and performance conventions of each piece. The radif thus functions as both repertoire and method: it preserves musical idioms and serves as a pedagogical tool for training improvisation and technical facility on instruments such as the tar, setar, santur, and voice.

In modern practice, the radif remains central to Iranian classical music, used in formal training and in performance. Different schools maintain their own radif traditions, and contemporary performers may reinterpret or extend the repertoire while preserving its core melodic language. The concept of radif is also found in other Persianate musical cultures, where analogous repositories of traditional melodies guide performance and pedagogy.