The Zephyr of Flutes
The Zephyr of Flutes is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originally devised by the elf Rathe Rubbeddeer. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. A singer recites any composition of The North Strangers. The melody has mid-length phrases throughout the form. Only one pitch is ever played at a time. It is performed using the yaniye scale and in the bulifo rhythm.
- The singer always does the main melody and should be stately.
- The Zephyr of Flutes has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a passage and another one to two passages possibly all repeated and a coda.
- The first simple passage gradually slows as it comes to an end, and it is to be moderately soft. The singer's voice stays in the high register. The passage should be composed and performed using syllabic phrasing.
- Each of the second simple passages is slow, and it is to be loud. The singer's voice stays in the high register. Each passage should be composed and performed using syllabic phrasing.
- The coda is slow, and it is to be in whispered undertones. The singer's voice ranges from the middle register to the high register.
- Scales are constructed from twelve notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student.
- The yaniye heptatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named eyo and fomire.
- The eyo tetrachord is the 1st, the 2nd, the 4th and the 6th degrees of the semitone octave scale.
- The fomire tetrachord is the 8th, the 10th, the 11th and the 13th (completing the octave) degrees of the semitone octave scale.
- The bulifo rhythm is made from two patterns: the thuna (considered the primary) and the thafatha. The patterns are to be played in the same beat, allowing one to repeat before the other is concluded.
- The thuna rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beats are named arazi (spoken ar) and fidale (fi). The beat is stressed as follows:
- | x - |
- where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
- The thafatha rhythm is a single line with twenty-five beats divided into five bars in a 5-5-5-5-5 pattern. The beats are named etini (spoken et), ile (il), atha (ath), alo (al) and aveya (av). The beat is stressed as follows:
- | x X - x - | - x x - X | x - x x X | x X x - - | x x x X - |
- where X marks an accented beat, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
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