The Aquamarine Bewilderment

The Aquamarine Bewilderment is a form of music used to commemorate important events originating in The Tress of Bewildering. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. Two speakers recite nonsensical words and sounds while the music is played on two leye, two rino and three athathi. The musical voices bring melody, counterpoint and rhythm. The entire performance should be fiery, and it is to be moderately soft. The melody and counterpoint both have short phrases throughout the form. Only one pitch is ever played at a time. It is performed using the datha scale and in the etini rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to add fills and play staccato.

• Each leye always does the counterpoint melody.
• Each rino always provides the rhythm. The voice uses its entire range from the dark low register to the fluid high register.
• Each athathi always does the main melody. The voice stays in the raucous high register.
• The Aquamarine Bewilderment has a simple structure: a lengthy passage.
• The simple passage slows and broadens.
• Scales are constructed from thirteen notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1-x-x-x-x-x--xx-xx-x-x-xO, where 1 is the tonic, O marks the octave and x marks other notes. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance.
• The datha hexatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 3rd, the 6th, the 7th, the 8th and the 13th.
• The etini rhythm is made from two patterns: the otoga (considered the primary) and the fomire.
• 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.
• The fomire rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beats are named fela (spoken fe), aweme (aw), yaniye (ya) and atho (ath). The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - - x x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

Events