The Incenses of Toning
The Incenses of Toning is a form of music used for entertainment originally devised by the dwarf Endok Mindfullabor. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. The music is played on a betan and a vagush. The music is melody and rhythm without harmony. The melody has mid-length phrases throughout the form. It is performed in the agek rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to glide from note to note, play arpeggios and play legato.
- The betan always should be spirited.
- The vagush always should bring a sense of motion. The voice uses its entire range from the wispy low register to the wavering high register.
- The Incenses of Toning has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a theme and a series of variations on the theme possibly all repeated and a finale.
- The theme is voiced by the melody of the vagush and the rhythm of the betan. The passage slows and broadens, and it is to become louder and louder. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage is performed using the bemong scale.
- The series of variations is voiced by the melody of the vagush and the rhythm of the betan. The passage is moderately fast, and it is to start loud then be immediately soft. This passage is richly layered with full chords making use of the available range. The passage is performed using the kulet scale.
- The finale is voiced by the melody of the betan and the rhythm of the vagush. The passage accelerates as it proceeds, and it is to fade into silence. Chords are packed close together in dense clusters in this passage. The passage is performed using the tosid scale.
- Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student. After a scale is constructed, the root note of chords are named. The names are feb (spoken fe) and berim (be).
- The bemong hexatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named nicol and mabdug.
- The nicol trichord is the 1st, the 3rd and the 11th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The mabdug tetrachord is the 15th, the 18th, the 22nd and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The kulet hexatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named anam and sedil.
- The anam trichord is the 1st, the 9th and the 11th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The sedil tetrachord is the 15th, the 17th, the 19th and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The tosid pentatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named alak and zustash.
- The alak trichord is the 1st, the 7th and the 11th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The zustash trichord is the 15th, the 23rd and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The agek rhythm is made from two patterns: the roder and the ibruk.
- The roder rhythm is a single line with thirty-two beats divided into four bars in a 8-8-8-8 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | x x - x - x X - | x X x x - x - - | x x - X - x - - | - X x x - - x - |
- where X marks an accented beat, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
- The ibruk rhythm is a single line with thirty-two beats divided into four bars in a 5-8-10-9 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | - - - - x | - - x x x X - x | x - X - x x x - - - | X x - x - - x - x |
- where X marks an accented beat, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
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