The Intricate Droplet
The Intricate Droplet is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originally devised by the elf Ametha Mothscales. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. A speaker recites nonsensical words and sounds while the music is played on a ipivi. The musical voices are joined in melody. The entire performance slows and broadens. The melody has short phrases throughout the form. Throughout, when possible, performers are to play staccato.
- The speaker always should feel mournful.
- The ipivi always does the main melody and should feel mysterious.
- The Intricate Droplet has the following structure: a passage and an additional brief passage possibly all repeated.
- The first simple passage is to become softer and softer. The ipivi stays in the piercing high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage is performed using the warere scale and in the ele rhythm.
- The second simple passage is to be in whispered undertones. The ipivi covers its entire range from the ringing low register to the piercing high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage is performed using the adi scale and in the timafi rhythm.
- Scales are constructed from seventeen notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1-xxxx-x-x-x-xxx-xxxx-xxO, where 1 is the tonic, O marks the octave and x marks other notes. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance.
- The warere hexatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 4th, the 8th, the 10th, the 13th and the 16th.
- The adi pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 6th, the 9th, the 12th and the 17th.
- The rhythm system is fundamentally polyrhythmic. There are always multiple rhythm lines, and each of their bars is played over the same period of time, regardless of the number of beats. The rhythm lines are thought of as one, without a primary-subordinate relationship, though individual lines can be named.
- The rhythm system is fundamentally polymetric. There are always multiple rhythm lines, and the beats are always played together, even if one rhythm line completes (and then repeats) before the other is finished. The rhythm lines are thought of as one, without a primary-subordinate relationship, though individual lines can be named.
- The ele rhythm is made from two patterns: the otoga and the fela. As stated above, they are to be played in polyrhythm.
- The otoga rhythm is a single line with thirty-two beats divided into eight bars in a 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | - 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.
- The fela rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | - x |
- where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
- The timafi rhythm is made from two patterns: the aweme (considered the primary) and the datome. As stated above, they are to be played in polyrhythm.
- The aweme rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | x X x x |
- where X marks an accented beat, x is a beat and | indicates a bar.
- The datome rhythm is a single line with eight beats. The beats are named lari (spoken la), aratha (ar), imeri (im), thuna (thu), fidale (fi), tarathe (ta), cuthefi (cu) and cede (ce). The beat is stressed as follows:
- | 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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