The Periwinkle of Lilacs
The Periwinkle of Lilacs is a form of music used for entertainment originally devised by the goblin Ngokang Clamseduce. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. One to four speakers recite nonsensical words and sounds while the music is played on a ugu and two udu. The music is melody and rhythm without harmony. The entire performance is slow. The melody has short phrases throughout the form. Never more than an interval sounds at once. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to use mordents and add fills.
- Each speaker always should feel mournful.
- The ugu always does the main melody and should perform expressively.
- Each udu always should bring a sense of motion.
- The Periwinkle of Lilacs has the following structure: an introduction and a passage.
- The introduction is voiced by the melody of the ugu and the speakers reciting any composition of The Riddled Champion. The passage is to be soft. The passage is performed without preference for a scale and in the ulu rhythm.
- The simple passage is voiced by the melody of the ugu, the rhythm of the udu and the speakers reciting nonsensical words and sounds. The passage is to be moderately loud. The passage is performed using the ost scale and in the smug rhythm.
- Scales are constructed from twelve notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student.
- The ost heptatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning a perfect fifth and a major third. These chords are named asmuk and ok.
- The asmuk pentachord is the 1st, the 3rd, the 6th, the 7th and the 8th degrees of the semitone octave scale.
- The ok trichord is the 9th, the 11th and the 13th (completing the octave) degrees of the semitone octave scale.
- The ulu rhythm is made from three patterns: the agun, the gosma and the ustrok. The patterns are to be played in the same beat, allowing one to repeat before the other is concluded.
- The agun rhythm is a single line with thirty-two beats divided into four bars in a 8-8-8-8 pattern. The beats are named ung (spoken ung), stotho (sto), bor (bo), osm (osm), enu (en), zak (za), tuxxu (tu) and ugas (ug). The beat is stressed as follows:
- | - - - - - - x'- | x x - x'x`x X x | x - - !'x - - x | - - x'- - x - - |
- where ! marks the primary accent, X marks an accented beat, ` marks a beat as early, ' marks a beat as late, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
- The gosma rhythm is a single line with thirty-two beats divided into eight bars in a 4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | 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 ustrok rhythm is a single line with seventeen beats divided into four bars in a 6-3-3-5 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | 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 smug rhythm is made from three patterns: the dab, the kabu and the ron. The patterns are to be played over the same period of time, concluding together regardless of beat number.
- The dab rhythm is a single line with seventeen beats divided into two bars in a 8-9 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | - x - - - - - - | - x - - - x x x X |
- where X marks an accented beat, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
- The kabu rhythm is a single line with eighteen beats divided into two bars in a 8-10 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | x`- - - - x - - | - - - - X x x x x - |
- where X marks an accented beat, ` marks a beat as early, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
- The ron rhythm is a single line with twenty-two beats divided into four bars in a 6-7-3-6 pattern. The beat is stressed as follows:
- | - x - - x X | x - - x - x X | x`- x`| - x X x - - |
- where X marks an accented beat, ` marks a beat as early, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
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