Verse:Tricin/Mpfa Wieb/Music
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Created by Praimhín and Cole
Hlou-Shum music is the longest contiguous tradition of Trician music. It is suspected that Hlou and Clofabosin music share a common root, but this is hotly debated.
Æ music is also discussed here.
Miscellaneous ideas
Hlou-Shum music
The first orchestras (Hlou: Ve Rein, literally 'musical groups') in Mpfa Schlaub were invented by ancient Hlou-Shum speaking musicians. Plud Schrog-Hahn hypothesizes that the theorist Tsăhongtămdi was of Hlou ethnicity.
A popular instrument in Hlou and Ko music is the Blad which is a curled-up long plant leaf (similar to a banana leaf) that when blown, produces a shrill, high pitched sound. Different pitches can be produced by pulling on the Blad. It commonly plays in the soprano register, though modern genetic engineering alows one to make larger leaves for lower-pitched Blad.
Unfortunately, due to modern Hlou music being somewhat like a mish-mash of Talman harmony-based music and Æ melody-based music, it contains artifacts of both in ensemble works.
Other commonly used instruments are:
- the jaw harp (Schön Ried)
- It usually plays in unison with the Trlöb Schmie.
- the tromba marina (Trlöb Schmie)
- It is traditionally (up to the Classical period) the leader (Ndob die in Ve Rein, lit. orchestra's first person) of Hlou Ve Rein. It provides the tuning note and guides the players in melody.
- the bowed psaltery (Trlaub)
- It is thought to be influenced by the Clofab penicillin though this is debated. It plays melodies that the Trlöb Schmie cannot reach.
- the slide guitar (Dru)
- This is slowly becoming obsolete due to its usage in Talma being discouraged by Naeng people.
- the overtone panflute (Kon Txo-Ka)
- These play melodies in the high register.
- the cor omnitonique proper (Fies Txo-Ka)
- This is a refinement of, the Æ vód used in Hlou Ve Rein.
- rebecs (Ntzaun) and violins (Ntxäd) of various sizes
- These form the main bulk of the ensemble, like in Western music, and usually play in four-part harmony similar to the one taught in our Europe, with the exception of the tuning being different.
- the piano (Dxon Nkeg)
- This is used more like pitched percussion, and is a common instrument to specialize in in Hlou conservatories. However, unlike our piano, the Dxon Nkeg uses first-class levers instead of a complicated hammer mechanism.
- the guitar (Lun Schrahn, from Æ music)
- This is used more in Hlou popular music as it provides a harmonic and rhythmic foundation when other bass instruments, like the contrabass rebec (Ntzaun man hahn) are absent.
Inharmonic and unpitched percussion instruments like chimes (Ngien Trad), timpani (Bän), bells (Glog), woodblocks (Zies Rein), marimbas (especially the diamond marimba, Kla Drad), and rasps are also common.
Other common (popular) instruments are the kantele (Zeig Pfaß, from Liai music), the lyre (Zeib), and the viola organista (a Windermere invention), tuned to harmonics from 4 to 16. The modern versions of these instruments have many pedals, like a harp, for the various Rags (sets of fundamentals) used in Hlou music.
Tuning
Hlou musicians don't confine themselves to fixed tuning systems, except on fixed pitch instruments, which are typically tuned to JI scales based on the tonic G = 404 Hz. The note a 4/1 below that, 101 Hz, is referred to in Hlou as the Gab Mud. Notes are specified as ratios from the Gab Mud.
Melodies in Hlou music are inspired by the contours of speech, and follow the tones of the Schlaub language.
Later Hlou music uses tunings that consist of many overtone scales on different fundamentals; often the fundamentals themselves form an overtone or undertone series, in the latter case producing a Partchian "tonality diamond" structure, coincidentally very similar to classical Gweats dynasty courtly music.
Some common tunings in the Romantic period:
- overtone scales up to the 16th harmonic on the fundamentals 1/2, 4/9, 2/5, 1/3, and 2/7.
- overtone scales up to the 12th harmonic on the fundamentals 1/2, 4/9, 2/5, 8/21, 1/3, 8/27, 2/7, and 4/15 (higher harmonics above these fundamentals are technically allowed; they're just not used on fixed pitch instruments)
When working with the second tuning, composers often work with subsets of the set of possible fundamentals (called Rag); e.g. they might only work with overtone series on 1/2, 2/5, 1/3, 8/27, and 4/15 (a Rag called Schwan Ton, which is a traditional Rag for the final pieces of concerts).
Other common Rags are:
- Flug Lieb: overtone series on 1/2, 2/5, 8/21, 1/3, 4/15
- Schloß Lieb: overtone series on 1/2, 4/9, 8/21, 1/3, 2/7
- Rad Lieb: overtone series on 1/2, 2/5, 8/21
- Schein Lieb: overtone series on 4/9, 2/5, 1/3, 8/27, 4/15
- Schlaub: overtone series on 2/5, 8/21, 2/7, 4/15
Rhythm
Hlou music makes use of complex rhythmic cycles, called Lei, often consisting of more than 10 beats per "measure". Hlou rhythms are typically subdivided into groups (Xeig) of 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9. Groups of beats divisible by 3 are called schwei (complete); and the others are called eh schwei (incomplete).
"da di gi nra dön", "da ga di mi", "da gi dra", etc. are used to vocalize drumbeats.
"gi dra da ga da di gi dra dön" "di gu da ga da ri gi dra" etc.
"da lä gu dön", "da lä gu dön da di"
"da ga dxa nru"
"dah,,,dih,,, gi dra da ga da di gi dra dön , " etc.
Styles
Hlou music uses many forms familiar from European classical music: canon, fugue, sonata, Lied (art song; the word comes from an archaic Hlou word lieg meaning "to express"), symphony, and concerto.
The Hlou Lied is typically accompanied with a slide guitar (Dru) and its vocal style is much closer to speech than the German Lied.
Notation
Hlou music is notated on a staff. Staff notations vary from instrument to instrument.
Instruments that play a single harmonic series (the Trlöb Schmie and the Schön Ried) are written on a clefless 7-line staff like so:
Ko music
The harp (hlar xhach) was an important part of both folk and classical music in the classical period. But it became obsolete in the romantic period, superseded by the pedal harp (Hlou: höß Klas Xah), when more complex Rags were used.
Tlu music
The Tlu people have a very divergent system of music, using justly tuned tetrachords (diatonic, chromatic and enharmonic). Tetrachords in Tlu are called λαι κοι.
The enharmonic tetrachord, consisting of a rough third tone, quarter tone, and major third, is still in common use in Tlu music (unlike in Greek music).
Tetrachords are roughly classified as βωλ (overtonal) or γχαοιδ (undertonal).
The most common instruments in Tlu music are the lute (ουδ), and a bouzouki-like instrument called the ba yao (βο ζουγ). The ba yao has a set of strings stretched across the soundhole perpendicular to the fingerboard, used for playing melodies, as well as two or three strings that span the fingerboard, used as drone strings.
Shum music
Shum music has an interesting variation of the slide guitar, called a vi-na (Shum: vib nan), which was invented three centuries ago by the Tumhanian designer Vhen-Ttuj Lhaa. It's a roughly ten foot long instrument played vertically, and can be bowed or plucked. The modern vi-na is electrically amplified and very minimalistic and consists of one or two strings stretched across a long metal tube (as in the Gittler guitar).
The vi-na can be played with a slide as well as in natural harmonics, which can be very high owing to the size of the instrument; some pieces use harmonics as high as the 32nd.
Shumian musical forms
Shumian music is based mostly on slow improvisation against a drone. The drone in Shumian music was traditionally produced by repeatingly plucking the strings of a special lute-like instrument called the dhaun and consisted of either just the tonic, or the tonic and dominant.
In modern times, the dhaun is used as a melody instrument, played with a bottleneck slide.
There is no native tradition of vocal music in Shumian culture.
Famous composers
(more Romantic and modern composers?)
- Aodh Bach - medieval Ko composer
- Rene du Fay - medieval Clooa composer
- Don bin Chois - medieval Clooa composer
- Lou de la Croix - romantic Clooa composer
- Trohn Scheib - modern Hlou composer
- Hob-Bes Kod - Shumian vi-na player of Ko descent
- Ttiid-Bes Kod - Shumian composer of Ko descent, Hob-Bes's brother
- Schrog-Hahn Plud - modern Hlou composer and linguist
Famous orchestras
- Ve Rein Schnas vög in Wien - the Trician counterpart to our world's Vienna Philharmonic
Pieces
Æ music
Traditional Æ music is comprised of various styles.
Modes
Traditional Æ music is entirely based on the following nine seven-note modes found in harmonics 8-16 (the complete list of 7-note subsets that are constant structure and have a 3/2 on the tonic). These were formalized by theorist Rå̃v Ngúm Sæ̊m in year 2046 in the Trician calendar, and the nine modes are referred to as rụ̊r vọj Rå̃v 'the Rå̃v modes' (note: Æ people are referred to by their given names).
- vọj Bæ̀v: 8:9:10:11:12:13:14:16
- This vọj is used in a meditative mood as it is also the simplest to describe mathematically.
- vọj Hủd: 8:9:10:11:12:13:15:16
- This is canonically called the happiest vọj because of its "leading tone" and is frequently used in dance pieces. Due to its association with lighthearted dance, it is not usually included in longer works.
- vọj Rů̃: 8:9:10:11:12:14:15:16
- This mode only exists in theory and is only used in post-Rå̃v Ngúm Sæ̊m works.
- vọj Var Njị: 10:11:12:13:15:16:18:20
- This vọj symbolizes sadness, fear, or distress, like the similar Maqam Saba.
- vọj Kyn: 10:11:12:14:15:16:18:20
- This vọj symbolizes a melancholy but uplifting mood at the same time.
- vọj Gjám: 10:11:13:14:15:16:18:20
- This vọj expresses anger, and due to the sociopolitical context of Æ folk music, said anger is often directed at the upper classes.
- vọj Jav Læ̣q: 12:13:14:16:18:20:22:24
- This vọj is said to symbolise fullness or serenity.
- vọj Hír Må̉r: 12:13:15:16:18:20:22:24
- This vọj is also termed happy like vọj Hủd, but it is a more selfless happiness.
- vọj Mèd: 12:14:15:16:18:20:22:24
- This mode only exists in theory and is only used in post-Rå̃v Ngúm Sæ̊m works.
Unlike Hlou-Shum speakers, the Æ do not have speech-tone music.
The fundamental pitch, dó (commonly called pitch class 8, see the section on notation), is usually taken to have a value of 2²² vibrations per day (approximately 48.55 Hz) in scientific communities, though traditional Æ ensembles usually have a movable dó. There is usually only one traditional tonic for each mode:
- for the first group, Bæ̀v, Hủd and Rů̃ the tonic is pitch class 8
- for the second group, Var Njị, Kyn and Gjám the tonic is pitch class 10
- for the third group, Jav Læ̣q, Hír Må̉r and Mèd the tonic is pitch class 12
The octave in Æ music plays a central role as the interval of equivalence, so this document will use the English term "octave" for lack of a Æ term that is universally agreed upon by Æ musicians. This means that there are only eight pitch classes in traditional Æ music.
Sometimes pieces modulate from any mode from the first group to the third group, and vice versa.
Instruments
- æ̉m: the vertical flute
- The lowest pitch of this instrument's traditional size is 8³ and it is an eight-holed instrument, one for each of the eight pitches, with the top note of the lowest register being identical to the lowest note in the next highest register.
- vód: the natural horn
- The fundamental pitch is usually 8⁰, though there have been smaller models of horn that are straight and have a fundamental pitch an octave higher, and some models of modern vód, most notably the Bládq company model have a pitch one octave lower than the traditional vód, used for lower melodies.
- bæ̣̊m: the bass drum
- This bass drum is usually square and single-headed. The skin is not fastened to the body of the bass drum, instead they are usually tied with rope. In modern pieces it is tuned to the tonic of the mode.
- ỏr: the monochord
- This is usually tuned to 8⁰, with the two main methods of playing the instrument being plucking while pressing the strings or lightly touching them to produce harmonics.
- slů̀: the erhu
- This is usually tuned to 8² 12². It is played vertically, and it has a small circular body and a long neck.
- hjǿr sã: the crychord
- This instrument is descended from the musical bow. The range it has is 8⁰ to about 10². Despite its narrow range it works well as a bass all-purpose instrument, and unlike Partch's crychord, it is hammered.
- lum jáq: the guitar
- This is usually tuned to 8¹ 12¹ 8² 12². This is played in the exact same manner as the Chinese ruan but it has a rectangular body. When the væ̃ and bæ̣̊m are absent this instrument plays a harmonic and rhythmic foundation.
- væ̃: shruti box
- This replaced an organ-like instrument, also formerly called the væ̃, which was used to provide drones. It has one reed for each of the eight pitch classes in two octaves, giving 16 reeds.
Notation
The numbers 8 to 15 are used on a line, indicating the harmonic scale 8:9:10:11:12:13:14:15, with superscript numbers to indicate how many octaves above dó the note is played. Here are the 40 notes in the traditional gamut of Æ music. 8⁰ is the notation for the lowest dó.
8⁰ 9⁰ 10⁰ 11⁰ 12⁰ 13⁰ 14⁰ 15⁰ 8¹ 9¹ 10¹ 11¹ 12¹ 13¹ 14¹ 15¹ 8² 9² 10² 11² 12² 13² 14² 15² 8³ 9³ 10³ 11³ 12³ 13³ 14³ 15³ 8⁴ 9⁴ 10⁴ 11⁴ 12⁴ 13⁴ 14⁴ 15⁴
The unit of time is the beat and usually no music uses any units of time smaller than the beat. Lengthenings are written using dashes. Hence rhythm is highly additive.
The bæ̣̊m does not get its own staff, instead the beats are marked with slashes over the other instrumental parts. Some modern composers, like Fryd Glạnq Sæ̊, instead use the bæ̣̊m as a pitched percussion instrument, using a set of three bæ̣̊m tuned to 8⁰, 10⁰, and 12⁰.
Ensembles
All ensembles (commonly called kẹdq) must contain a væ̃, and a bæ̣̊m as the tonal and rhythmic base respectively for the entire ensemble, with the exception of small ensembles in which case a lum jáq can be used for the tonal and rhythmic foundation at the same time.
A typical Æ traditional ensemble, the kẹdq slằn grõd consists of væ̃, bæ̣̊m, vód, ỏr, æ̉m, hjǿr sã, and slů̀.
| Instrument | Traditional function |
|---|---|
| væ̃ | Tonal foundation, provides drones |
| bæ̣̊m | Rhythmic foundation |
| vód | Provides unembellished melodies in the middle-to-high register |
| ỏr | Provides a more fluid tonal foundation, acts as a kind of low/middle-register melody instrument |
| æ̉m | Provides embellished melodies in the high register, sometimes doubles the vód |
| hjǿr sã | Doubles the ỏr and sometimes plays rhythms in conjunction with the bæ̣̊m to provide a bassline. |
| slů̀ | Provides embellished melodies in the middle-to-high register, doubles the vód heterophonically, and acts as a melody instrument if the vód is not playing |
Styles and forms
The most common folk style is a monophonic melody over a drone on 1/1 and 3/2 of the tonic of the mode. It is mostly rhythmic but with complex changing meter. Usually this is played by the væ̃, bæ̣̊m, and a melody instrument, usually slů̀, æ̉m, or vód.
A number of Æ dances are listed below in the context of the slằn grõd (dance cycle).
slằn grõd (dance cycle)
The dance cycle form (slằn grõd) is the longest of all Æ traditional musical forms. The traditional order of the sections is so:
- The main rhythm of each dance is played by the bæ̣̊m. Most of the time the rhythms are not specified by slashes over the score and the bæ̣̊m player is expected to know them by heart.
- The beginning is in vọj Bæ̀v and is an arythmic improvisation, usually by the slů̀ or æ̉m, or both, in imitation.
- The next section is a medium-tempo (about 3 beats per second) dance in 16 called grõd Njrå̉v in vọj Jav Læ̣q. Its main rhythm is:
\ . . \ . . \ . . \ . . \ . \ .
- The next section is a slower dance (about 2.5 beats per second) in 14 called grõd Fóvq in vọj Kyn. Its main rhythm is:
\ . . \ . . \ . . \ . . \ .
- The next section is a slow dance (about 2 beats per second) in 10 called grõd Sle Fạjq in vọj Gjám. Its main rhythm is:
\ . \ . \ . \ . \ \
- The final section is a slow dance, played at the same tempo as the grõd Sle Fạjq, in 16, called the grõd Ů́q in vọj Hír Må̉r. Its main rhythm is:
\ . . . \ . . . \ . . \ \ . \ .
Example folk pieces
Æ̊́q Rin Jav
(Out-universe note: This is a paraphrased transcription of the Earth folk song "Eirik Jarl" into vọj Jav Læ̣q.)
This is in a fast dance, usually called grõd Drŭv, with a meter of 16 (same rhythm as the grõd Ů́q but faster), and it has a pace of 4 beats per second. It is written in vọj Jav Læ̣q. Some scholars and musicians deny this and say that the mode is vọj Hủd due to the repetition of the pitch class 8.
12² | 12² 8³ 8³ 9³ 10³ - 9³ 8³ 12² 8³ 8³ 15² 8³ - . 12² | 12² 8³ 8³ 9³ 10³ - 9³ 8³ 12² 8³ 8³ 15² 8³ - . .
| 12³ 12³ 12³ 10³ 11³ - 11³ 9³ 10² 10³ 10³ 8³ 13² - . . | 12² 8³ 8³ 9³ 10³ - 9³ 8³ 12² 8³ 8³ 15² 8³ - . .
| 12³ 12³ 12³ 10³ 11³ - 11³ 9³ 10² 10³ 10³ 8³ 13² - . 13² | 12² 8³ 8³ 9³ 10³ - 9³ 8³ 12² 8³ 8³ 15² 8³ - .
Iq Gýv Lĩm Ngị
(Out-universe note: This is a paraphrased transcription of the Earth folk song "Igilimni, khoomeimni" into vọj Bæ̀v.)
This is not meant to accompany any dance and is the signature piece of the Æ National Orchestra (Æ: Kẹdq Hŭ̉n Æ). The pace is about 4.25 to 4.5 beats per second, and the main rhythm, known as grõd Hjæ̊̀d (though this name is misleading). The main rhythm of this is:
\ . . . . . \ . . . . . \ . . .
The melody of the piece itself (bracketed notes are not for the main melody by the vód but are played by other instrumental parts, notably slů̀):
Intro (without vód) | 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² 8³)| 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² 8³) | 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² 8³)| 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² 8³) A1 section | 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² - )| 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 9³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² - ) | 9³ - 11² 12³ 9³ 10³ 9³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² - )| 9³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - - - (14² 8³ 14² - ) Transition 1 (without vód) | 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²)| 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²) | 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²)| 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²) A2 section | 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²)| 8³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 9³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²) | 9³ - 11² 12³ 9³ 10³ 9³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²)| 9³ - 14² 8³ 9³ 10³ 8³ - - - (8³ 9³ 14² 8³ 14² 12²) Transition 2 (without vód) | 14² 8³ 9³ - - - 12³ - 10³ 12³ 9³ 10³ 8³ 9³ 14² - | 12² 14² 8³ - - - 9³ - 8³ - 9³ - 14² - - - | 14² 8³ 9³ - - - 12³ - 10³ 12³ 9³ 10³ 8³ 9³ 14² - | 12² 14² 8³ - - - 9³ - 8³ 9³ 14² - 8³ - - -
The sequence usually played is I-A1-T1-A2-(second line of A2)-T2-T2-A2-A2-(second line of A2)-(4-cycle improvisation for slů̀, æ̉m, and ỏr)-(second line of A2)-(second line of A2).