The Tressed Styles

The Tressed Styles is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originating in The Robust Berry. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. The music is played on a umola, a icithi and a ilare. The musical voices join in melody and counterpoint, harmony and rhythm. The melody has long phrases, while the counterpoint has mid-length phrases throughout the form. It is performed in the otoga rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to glide from note to note, play rapid runs and locally improvise.

• The Tressed Styles has a well-defined multi-passage structure: one to two passages and another one to two passages possibly all repeated, a bridge-passage and a finale.
• Each of the first simple passages is voiced by the melody of the icithi and the rhythm of the umola. Each passage should be jumpy and accelerates as it proceeds, and it is to become louder and louder. The icithi covers its entire range from the wispy low register to the sparkling high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. Each passage is performed using the warere scale. Each passage should often include a falling-rising melody pattern with grace notes.
• Each of the second simple passages is voiced by the melody of the ilare and the counterpoint of the umola. Each passage should be stately and is slow, and it is to become louder and louder. This passage typically has some sparse chords. Each passage is performed using the ifife scale. Each passage should always include a falling melody pattern with legato, always include a falling-rising melody pattern, often include a rising melody pattern with sharpened third degree as well as legato and sometimes include a rising-falling melody pattern with flattened fourth degree on the rise.
• The bridge-passage is voiced by the melody of the ilare and the harmony of the icithi. The passage should be passionate and is extremely fast, and it is to start loud then be immediately soft. The icithi ranges from the rippling middle register to the sparkling high register. Chords are packed close together in dense clusters in this passage. The passage is performed using the aro scale. The passage should sometimes include a rising melody pattern with sharpened sixth degree and flattened fifth degree as well as grace notes and staccato, sometimes include a falling-rising melody pattern with sharpened sixth degree on the rise as well as mordents, trills and arpeggios and always include a falling melody pattern with grace notes, mordents, trills and arpeggios.
• The finale is voiced by the melody of the umola. The passage should be lively and is moderately paced, and it is to be soft. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage. The passage is performed using the datha scale. The passage should always include a falling melody pattern with flattened sixth degree as well as mordents, always include a rising-falling melody pattern with sharpened sixth degree on the fall as well as grace notes and legato, often include a rising melody pattern with sharpened sixth degree, sharpened third degree and sharpened fourth degree as well as mordents and staccato and often include a falling-rising melody pattern with grace notes.
• 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 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 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 aro hexatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 5th, the 10th, the 13th, the 19th and the 21st.
• 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 otoga rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beats are named dinade (spoken di), cenopu (ce), ele (el) and timafi (ti). The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - - x - |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

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