Xaetjeon

Naquian music

Tuning

Naquian music uses 7-tone scales rich in neutral thirds. Scales are abstractly viewed as subsets of 27 roughly equal divisions of the octave. The 3L 4s MOS scale (5 3 3 5 3 5 3) may be used, but they use other, non-MOS 7-note scales too. The quasi-equal 6L 1s MOS scale (4 4 4 4 4 4 3) in 27edo is mainly used as a reference point rather than as an actual musical scale, in that notation is based on the 6L 1s scale in the same way that Western notation is based on the diatonic scale.

Movement by one step of 27edo is usually avoided, since it is considered difficult to sing.

Historically other micro-divisions have been used or proposed - especially 27-well temperaments, 17-well temperaments or 17-equal.

Sjowaazheñ music

(Created by User:IlL)

Sjowaazheñ music is either monophonic or homophonic. Accompaniment, if present at all, is sparse and consists of only one voice (in addition to percussion).

Some Sjowaazheñ instruments are the lute (ya'ook), various spike fiddles (shjhedgaañt), the lyre (biliiwid), various end-blown flutes (joweet'), the bass drum (khool) and the woodblock (ghonyeeñ). String instruments usually are unfretted but marked at perfect fourths.

Tuning

The Sjowaazheñ tradition takes a purely melodic, rather than harmonic, approach to tuning, unlike the Talman and Bjeheondian traditions. Traditionally, the building blocks of Sjowaazheñ 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 more "sophisticated" music. Nevertheless, steps in any n-chord are no smaller than about 50 cents.

The general term for an n-chord in Sjowaazheñ is hañbaac (pl. hañbaacin).

The octave may be divided into two perfect fourths plus one whole tone. However, in monophonic music, the perfect fourths divided into hañbaacin may even be stacked on top of each other indefinitely, without regard to octave equivalence.

More recently, the theorist Wañjeyi proposed representing the Sjowaazheñ 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.

Some hañbaacin

The numbers shown are approximate 58 equal temperament equivalents of step sizes.

Tetrachords

they might like small-big-small better than big-small-small or small-small-big

• naajyetoh: 8 8 8 (similar to the equable diatonic genus)
• esyooñ: 10 10 4
• beeky'ogh 'aad: 11 10 3
• beeky'ogh jyek: 10 11 3
• claañ: 9 8 7
• seeclaañ: 7 8 9
• ookasdiñ: 19 3 2
• moc'aash: 2 11 11

Pentachords

• jook'etoh: 6 6 6 6
• yiisli: 7 6 6 5
• seeyiisli: 5 6 6 7

Rhythm

Sjowaazheñ music is typically unmetered, except ceremonial or military music. 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.

Notation

Sjowaazheñ music was traditionally improvised, memorized and passed down by oral tradition; they were seldom, if ever, written down. What we know of historical Sjowaazheñ music comes from music treatises and other writings about music.

In modern times, either Talman staff notation (assuming a 58edo or 87edo framework) or Naquian notation is usually used, although both systems are often deemed less than satisfactory for Sjowaazheñ music.

Hetomic music

Hetomic music uses inharmonic quasi-equal tunings of e.g. 5, 7, 9, 13, 14 notes per octave. As such, inharmonic instruments like marimbas and metallophones predominate.