A maqam of the Bayati family whose tonic is Dukah (D), but whose special character comes from beginning in the upper register on Muhayyar before descending to the tonic.

Bayat Muhayyar is a Bayati branch whose defining trait is that its sayr begins from the jawab on Muhayyar (upper D) and then descends to the tonic on Dukah (D).

Bayat Muhayyar is a branch of Bayati, and its essential peculiarity is that its sayr begins from the jawab and descends to the tonic, rather than rising upward from the tonic as in the simpler classroom presentation of some maqamat. Amar states explicitly that Muhayyar is one of the Dukah/Bayati branches, that it begins from the jawab and descends to a sudden cadence on the tonic Dukah, and that it is called Muhayyar because it concentrates on Muhayyar (upper D), the octave of Dukah (D).

• Dukah (D): the final tonic of the maqam
• Muhayyar (upper D): the most prominent resting and focal tone in the sayr, because it is both the point of departure and the main center of emphasis
• Husayni (A) and Nawa (G): important passing tones in the descent toward the tonic

• Bayat Muhayyar differs from ordinary Bayati not so much by its raw material as by its point of departure, center of gravity, and sayr
• Its essence is descending: it begins from the jawab, centers on Muhayyar (upper D), and then descends to the tonic on Dukah (D)
• If the sense of beginning from Muhayyar and returning to Dukah is lost, the performance collapses into a more general Bayati and loses the specific identity of Muhayyar
• Its character is confirmed through beginning from the Bayati jawab rather than through a preparatory buildup from the tonic below

• Begin from Muhayyar (upper D)
• Confirm the Bayati jawab in the upper region
• Descend through the usual Bayati tones
• Close with a descending cadence on Dukah (D)

• Ordinary Bayati confirms its tonic on Dukah (D) and usually begins in the lower or middle region, whereas Bayat Muhayyar begins from Muhayyar (upper D) and descends to the tonic
• Husayni is close to the Bayati family and tied to the upper area, but Bayat Muhayyar is defined more specifically by beginning on Muhayyar itself and descending back to Dukah
• Bayati Shuri differs structurally because its identity depends on a lowered fifth and the emergence of Hijaz in the upper position, whereas Bayat Muhayyar is essentially about beginning from the Bayati jawab
• Some sources add a historical note linking this maqam to a Sufi vocal method attributed to Baba Tahir in the Persian sphere