A distinct Iraqi maqam with an originally Kurdish lower structure, later showing practical upper variants such as Rast on Nawa (G) or Hijaz on Husayni (A).

Maqam Lami is of Iraqi origin and is strongly associated in its modern history with Muhammad al-Qubbanchi. Some Arabic references describe it as a maqam built from Jins Kurd on Busalik (E natural), followed by Jins Kurd on Husayni (A).

Maqam Lami is an Iraqi maqam that seems to have entered the modern Iraqi tradition relatively late, rather than belonging to the older and wider Arabic core names such as Rast or Bayati. Arabic references connect it strongly with Muhammad al-Qubbanchi, and some historical accounts even attribute the making or stabilization of the maqam to him as an independent entity in Iraqi performance. A classical Arabic source gives a direct structural description: Kurd on Busalik (E natural), then Kurd on Husayni (A), while also noting later practical variants in which the second jins may appear as Rast on Nawa (G) or Hijaz on Husayni (A).

• Busalik (E natural): the structural tonic in the explicit scalar description
• Husayni (A): the important upper area because it carries the second jins in the original form
• The maqam is not defined by scale alone, but by how these tones are confirmed in phrase and improvisation

• Lami is understood through its basic Kurdish lower structure, then through the possibility of extending the upper region according to school or practice into Rast on Nawa (G) or Hijaz on Husayni (A)
• It should not be trapped inside a rigid scalar explanation, because melodic motion is central to establishing its identity
• Its personality emerges from the clarity of the original lower build on Busalik, then from the upper extension on Husayni
• Its flexibility in Iraqi practice comes from its performance history and development, not from the absence of an original framework

• Stabilize the original lower build on Busalik (E natural)
• Reveal the upper extension on Husayni (A)
• Show either the original Kurdish upper structure or one of its later practical developments
• Return with a cadence that confirms Lami as an independent Iraqi maqam

• Lami is not merely Kurd, even though its original description consists of two Kurd ajnas; its Iraqi historical identity, its independent name, and the later performance transformations make it a maqam in its own right
• Some listeners may hear points of contact with Nahawand because of the position of Busalik (E natural) and the quality of certain phrases, but the reference does not define it as Nahawand; it explicitly defines it through Kurd, not Nahawand
• Studies place Lami among specifically Iraqi maqamat or modern Iraqi-developed maqamat, alongside names such as Mukhalif, and treat it as an independent entity in Iraqi singing
• The key point is the plurality of explanations: the original form is Kurd on Busalik plus Kurd on Husayni, while later performance-based forms may show Rast on Nawa or Hijaz on Husayni in the upper region