Critique of Research Book (Art)/ Hidden Layout: A Critique of the Book of Gusheh: Iranian Melody Culture

The book Gusheh: Iranian Melody Culture is the result of thirty years of Arshad Tahmasebi’s life long work, and has undergone a shift in some of the key concepts due to the length of time it took to be written. These changes especially include the great changes in scholarship and music research in recent years. Nonetheless, closer studies show that this book is still very helpful and beneficial due to its critique of the primary sources, the classification of information based on historical periods, first-hand knowledge of musical modal system or Dastgah, and the gathering of large volumes of scattered material from several sources. At the same time, these studies also make it clear that the information on the entries regarding the ancient era and the Islamic period in the book should be studied and used more cautiously, since these periods are not the direct topic of the author's expertise and errors and mistakes in the entries are a possibility.