The Rhyming Lace

The Rhyming Lace is a form of music used to commemorate important events originating in The Robust Berry. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. A singer recites any composition of The East Guilds while the music is played on a ilare and a niceci. The musical voices join in melody and counterpoint, harmony and rhythm. The melody has short phrases, while the counterpoint has phrases of varied length throughout the form. The music repeats for as long as necessary. It is performed in the bulifo rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to alternate tension and repose.

• The singer always should evoke tears.
• The ilare always glides from note to note.
• The niceci always should be fiery.
• The Rhyming Lace has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a theme, an exposition of the theme, a bridge-passage and a lengthy recapitulation of the theme.
• The theme is voiced by the melody of the niceci, the counterpoint of the ilare and the harmony of the singer. The passage is at a hurried pace, and it is to fade into silence. The singer's voice stays in the high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage is performed using the eyo scale.
• The exposition is voiced by the melody of the ilare, the counterpoint of the singer and the harmony of the niceci. The passage is very slow, and it is to be moderately soft. The singer's voice stays in the low register. This passage is richly layered with full chords making use of the available range. The passage is performed using the datha scale. The passage should be performed using trills.
• The bridge-passage is voiced by the melody of the singer, the melody of the ilare and the rhythm of the niceci. The passage is consistently slowing, and it is to become softer and softer. The singer's voice covers its entire range. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage is performed using the ifife scale. The passage should be performed using mordents and trills.
• The recapitulation is voiced by the melody of the ilare and the harmony of the singer. The passage is consistently slowing, and it is to become louder and louder. The singer's voice ranges from the middle register to the high register. This passage is richly layered with full chords making use of the available range. The passage is performed using the warere scale. The passage should be performed using trills.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxO, where 1 is the tonic, O marks the octave and x marks other notes. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student. After a scale is constructed, notes are named according to degree. The names are fathinu (spoken fa), thili (thi), fomire (fo), fela (fe), aweme (aw) and yaniye (ya).
• The eyo pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 5th, the 11th, the 17th and the 24th.
• The datha hexatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 4th, the 9th, the 13th, the 17th and the 21st.
• The ifife pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 8th, the 12th, the 15th and the 20th.
• The warere hexatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 4th, the 8th, the 13th, the 16th and the 23rd.
• The bulifo rhythm is a single line with eight beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - - - - x - - x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

Events