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=Sjowaazhéñ music=

[[Sjowaazhéñ]] music is monophonic.

Some Sjowaazhéñ instruments are the lute (''ya'óok''), various spike fiddles such as the erhu (''shjhedgaáñt''), the lyre (''biliiwíd''), various end-blown flutes (''joweét'''), a reed instrument (<i>'awalós</i>), a large drum (''khoól'') and the woodblock (''ghonyéeñ''). String instruments usually are unfretted but marked at perfect fourths.

In traditional Sjowaazhéñ elite society, one was expected to able to play music and improvise. For example, courts would periodically have improvisation competitions.

The Sjowaazhéñ 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 Sjowaazhéñ 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 Sjowaazhéñ is ''hañbaác'' (pl. ''hañbaacín'').

The octave may be divided into two perfect fourths plus one whole tone, to form a scale type known as '' 'áañjh''. However, in monophonic music, the perfect fourths divided into ''hañbaacín'' may even be stacked on top of each other indefinitely, without regard to octave equivalence, a practice called ''shiilyohóokh''. The same ''hañbaác'' 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 Sjowaazhéñ music).

[[Verse:Tricin/Etsoj Jopah|Etsoj Jopah]] analyzed ''hañbaacín'' in terms of rational divisions of string lengths. More recently, the theorist Woñjéyi proposed representing the Sjowaazhéñ 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.

Sjowaazhéñ tetrachords prefer to keep very large steps in the middle.

Sjowaazhéñ music is typically unmetered. 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.

Much of Sjowaazhéñ music was traditionally improvised. Sjowaazhéñ notation works a little like unheightened neumes: it marks rhythm and rough melodic contours. The ''hañbaác'' to be used is also indicated. Much is left to the discretion of the performer, however.

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 Sjowaazhéñ music.