Gazel

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Gazel is a form of Turkish music. While in other parts of West Asia, gazel is synonymous with ghazal, in Turkey it denotes an improvised form of solo singing,{{cite book |title=World Music: The Rough Guide |last=Broughton |first=Simon |author2=Ellingham, Mark |year=1999 |publisher=Rough Guides |isbn=1-85828-635-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo |url-access=registration |quote=Gazel +music. |page=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoworl00simo/page/403 403] }} that is sometimes accompanied by the ney, ud, or tanbur. It is the vocal equivalent to the Turkish taqsim, an improvised instrumental composition.

The form began to die out in the mid-20th century because of its associations with nightclubs,{{Clarify|date=August 2011}}{{cite book |title=Rethinking Modernity and National Identity in Turkey |last=Bozdoğan |first=Sibel |author2=Kasaba, Reşat |year=1997 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=0-295-97597-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lEKu-Bv_HEcC&dq=Gazel+%2Bmusic&pg=PA230 |page=230 }} but it has recently begun a revival process.Garland Encyclopedia of Music, vol. 6, pp. 114–121