The Tones of Amethyst

The Tones of Amethyst is a devotional form of music originally devised by the goblin Stasost Flightmalice. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. Two speakers recite any composition of The Larks of Teaching while the music is played on a odsnen and a gasnasp. The music is melody and rhythm without harmony. The entire performance is at a free tempo. The melody has short phrases throughout the form. It is performed using the usnusp scale and in the uto rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to glide from note to note and play legato.

• Each speaker always should be spirited.
• The odsnen always provides the rhythm and should stress the rhythm.
• The gasnasp always does the main melody and should perform expressively.
• The Tones of Amethyst has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a brief introduction and a verse and a brief chorus.
• The introduction is to be in whispered undertones. The gasnasp covers its entire range from the watery low register to the strident high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage should be performed using trills and staccato.
• The verse is to start loud then be immediately soft. The gasnasp covers its entire range from the watery low register to the strident high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage should be performed using trills.
• The chorus is to become louder and louder. The gasnasp stays in the strident high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage should be performed using locally improvisation. The passage should sometimes include a rising-falling melody pattern with sharpened fifth degree on the rise as well as staccato.
• Scales are constructed from eighteen notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1xxxx-xx-x-x-xxxxx-x-xxxO, where 1 is the tonic, O marks the octave and x marks other notes. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student. Preferred notes in the fundamental scale are named. The names are ekxox (spoken ek, 4th), asmuk (as, 5th), ok (ok, 11th) and slulasp (slu, 12th).
• The usnusp pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 5th, the 10th, the 13th and the 17th.
• 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 uto rhythm is made from three patterns: the odu, the nuklat and the slusna. As stated above, they are to be played in polymeter.
• The odu rhythm is a single line with seven beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - - x - x x x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The nuklat rhythm is a single line with eight beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x - x x x x x x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The slusna rhythm is a single line with three beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - - x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

Events

• In midspring of 202, The Tones of Amethyst was created by the goblin Stasost Flightmalice in Whimcrows