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| | | == Styles == |
| (Created by User:IlL)
| | * A vocal style similar to our operatic singing |
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| Traditional Sowaár music is monophonic. Like in many spheres of Sowaár life, there is a division between elite and folk music. The two styles differ not only in the language used (for elite music,
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| [[Sowaár/Classical|Classical]] or very posh [[Sowaár|High Sowaár]]; for folk music, one of the vernacular Sowaár varieties), but also in instruments, scales and form.
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| ==Elite music== | |
| The Sowaár were highly influenced by the tetrachordal and heptatonic musical traditions of Hetom and Naquiz, but they made the style their own.
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| In traditional Sowaár elite society, one was expected to able to play music and to improvise music and poetry. Courts would routinely hold improvisation competitions.
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| ===Instruments===
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| Some instruments used in elite Sowaár music are the lute (''ya'óog''), various spike fiddles such as the erhu (''shjhedgaáñd''), the lyre (''biliiwíd''), various end-blown flutes (''joweét'''), a reed instrument (''ko'kósh''), a large drum (''khoól'') and the woodblock (''gho'éeñ''). String instruments usually are unfretted but marked at perfect fourths.
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| ===History===
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| ===Tuning===
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| The Sowaár tradition takes a purely melodic, rather than harmonic, approach to tuning, unlike the [[Verse:Tricin/Talma/Music|Talman]] and [[Verse:Tricin/Bjeheond/Music|Bjeheondian]] traditions. Traditionally, the building blocks of Sowaár scales are tetrachords or pentachords, i.e. divisions of the perfect fourth into three or four intervals. Innovations over the years have led to finer divisions or "n-chords" of the perfect fourth being used in elite music. Nevertheless, steps in any n-chord are no smaller than about 50 cents.
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| The general term for a division of the fourth in Sowaár is ''hañbaáj''.
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| The octave may be divided into two perfect fourths plus one whole tone, to form a scale type known as '' 'áañjh''. The perfect fourths divided into ''hañbaaj'' may also be stacked on top of each other indefinitely, without regard to octave equivalence, a practice called ''shiilyohóokhin''. The same ''hañbaáj'' or melody may be imitated a fourth above or below in this case. Or, the melody may be voiced in parallel fourths in an organum-like fashion (the only example of harmony in Sowaár music).
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| [[Verse:Tricin/Etsoj Jopah|Etsoj Jopah]] analyzed ''hañbaaj'' in terms of rational divisions of string lengths. More recently, the theorist Woñjéyi proposed representing the Sowaár musical system by dividing the octave into 58 equal parts. One of his rationales was that the perfect fourth in 58edo is 24 steps, a highly composite number.
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| ====Some ''hañbaáj''====
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| There are some hundreds of ''hañbaáj''.
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| The numbers shown are approximate 58 equal temperament equivalents of step sizes.
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| =====Tetrachords=====
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| Tetrachords used in elite music prefer to keep very large steps in the middle.
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| *''beeky'ógh 'áad'': 11 10 3
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| *''beeky'ógh jyek'': 10 11 3
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| *''esyóoñ'': 10 10 4
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| *''cyáañ'': 9 8 7 (approximately 9:10:11:12)
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| *''naajyetóh'': 8 8 8 (similar to the equable diatonic genus)
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| *''see'cyáañ'': 7 8 9
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| *''bajíñd'': 7 7 10
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| *''slót'an'': 6 6 12
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| *''ohkásdiñ'': 3 19 2
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| *''moc'aásh'': 2 11 11
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| =====Pentachords=====
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| *''jook'etóh'': 6 6 6 6
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| *''yiilyí'': 7 6 5 6
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| *''see'yiilyí'': 6 5 6 7
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| *''jhatóñhesh'': 3 9 7 3
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| =====Larger ''hañbaáj''=====
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| ===Rhythm===
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| Elite music is often set to poetic meter. Improvisations, however, are often meterless. There is a smallest note length, and there may be small basic rhythmic figures in the melody, but the rhythms are not organized into measures. When percussion accompaniment is used, "small" percussion such as woodblocks may sound on each "beat" in the music. The drum marks the beginning and end of sections.
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| Very solemn ceremonial and military music uses duple meters such as 2/4 or 4/4.
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| ====Meters====
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| Nyeech’ shaasyoj k’iilyañzhaag bisjhesyagi lowaʔasyiin ch’aayekoot’ shiilyohookhin. (LLLLSLLSSSSSSLLSLLSLL)
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| Looʔsyah cy’asde bishooladeeñt’ jhewot’igii ʔaañsyok’ jighoosiiñ sjhedaal. (LLLSSLSLSSSLLLSLLSL)
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| ===Forms and styles===
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| ===Notation===
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| Much of Sowaár music was traditionally improvised or passed down. Sowaár notation works a little like unheightened neumes: it marks rhythm and rough melodic contours. The ''hañbaáj'' to be used is also indicated. Much is left to the discretion of the performer, however.
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| In vocal music, just the ''hañbaáj'' is specified, and the rest is left to the tonal contours of the lyrics.
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| In modern times, modern Talman staff notation (assuming a 58edo or 87edo framework) may be used, although this is often deemed less than satisfactory for Sowaár music.
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| ===Famous musicians and composers===
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| *Dlaác'ox: court composer, erhu player
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| *Wonjéyi: theorist and composer
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| *Bisrooladéend: musician
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| *'Injolaám: modern artist
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| ==Folk music==
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| ===Instruments===
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| ===Social context===
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| ===Tuning===
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| ====Folk ''hañbaáj''====
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| Folk ''hañbaáj'' only use tetrachords and pentachords, however all the small steps may occur near one end like in Ancient Greek tetrachords.
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| =====Tetrachords=====
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| =====Pentachords=====
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| ===Rhythm===
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| Folk songs are meterless while folk dances are metered.
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| ===Forms and styles===
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| ==Modern popular music==
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| ===Language===
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| The Hosné'eh dialect (at least, Hosné'eh-accented simplified High Sowaár) is the standard language of much of the Sowaár modern popular music canon. This convention was established by early Sowaár band T'elyáhósríib ("The White Ospreys") who hailed from Hosné'eh. Use of High Sowaár is limited to "grandiose" songs with historical, fantasy or religious themes, or songs describing upper-class life.
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