The Sprig of Dates

The Sprig of Dates is a form of music used for entertainment originating in The Verbatim Brass. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. One to three singers recite any composition of The Banana of Inquiring. The melody has mid-length phrases throughout the form. Only one pitch is ever played at a time. It is performed using the imkekir scale and in the adokegudim rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to play rapid runs and alternate tension and repose.

• Each singer always does the main melody and modulates frequently.
• The Sprig of Dates has the following structure: a verse and a chorus all repeated two times.
• The verse should feel agitated and is extremely fast, and it is to fade into silence. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the low register to the middle register.
• The chorus should be joyful and is at a free tempo, and it is to be very soft. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register. The passage should be composed and performed using melismatic phrasing.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance. After a scale is constructed, the root note of chords are named. The names are mer (spoken me) and zulal (zu).
• The imkekir hexatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 5th, the 10th, the 12th, the 15th and the 22nd.
• The adokegudim rhythm is made from two patterns: the sek (considered the primary) and the kistek. The patterns are to be played over the same period of time, concluding together regardless of beat number.
• The sek rhythm is a single line with eight beats. The beats are named ibmas (spoken ib), ster (ste), ozlomig (oz), comthad (co), tigir (ti), erith (er), binmonor (bi) and gubolil (gu). The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - - x - - - x - |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The kistek rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x x - x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

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