Verse:Tricin/Musical traditions archaeology

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 CS and have a 3/2 on the tonic):

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. vọj Rů̃: 8:9:10:11:12:14:15:16
   • This mode only exists in theory.
4. vọj Var Njị: 10:11:12:13:15:16:18:20
   • This vọj symbolizes sadness, fear, or distress, like the similar Maqam Saba.
5. vọj Kyn: 10:11:12:14:15:16:18:20
   • This vọj symbolizes a melancholy but uplifting mood at the same time.
6. 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.
7. vọj Jav Læ̣q: 12:13:14:16:18:20:22:24
   • This vọj is said to symbolise fullness or serenity.
8. 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.
9. vọj Mèd: 12:14:15:16:18:20:22:24
   • This mode only exists in theory.

These were formalized by theorist Rå̃v Ngúm Sæ̊m in [what calendar?] year 3657, and the nine modes are referred to as vọj-vọj Rå̃v (note: Æ people are referred to by their given names).

Unlike other cultures in Timeline 1's Theasphere, 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.

Functions of each of the instruments in the kẹdq slằn grõd

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

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 -  .