The Offbeat Oat

The Offbeat Oat is a form of music used for entertainment originating in The Reprobate of Blustering. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. Two chanters recite any composition of The Cognitive Cashew while the music is played on a rotu and a otsoddoz. The musical voices cover melody, harmony and rhythm. The entire performance is slow. The melody has phrases of varied length throughout the form. It is performed using the masul scale and in free rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to spread syllables over many notes.

• Each chanter always does the main melody and should perform with feeling. The voice ranges from the low register to the middle register.
• The rotu always should evoke tears.
• The otsoddoz always should be stately.
• The Offbeat Oat has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a verse and a chorus all repeated two times and a finale.
• The verse is voiced by the melody of the chanters, the rhythm of the rotu and the rhythm of the otsoddoz. The passage is to become louder and louder. Each of the chanters' voices ranges from the low register to the middle register and the otsoddoz covers its entire range from the liquid low register to the rich high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords.
• The chorus is voiced by the melody of the chanters, the melody of the otsoddoz and the rhythm of the rotu. The passage is to be very loud. Each of the chanters' voices ranges from the low register to the middle register and the otsoddoz stays in the liquid low register. This passage typically has some sparse chords.
• The finale is voiced by the melody of the chanters and the harmony of the otsoddoz. The passage is to be very soft. Each of the chanters' voices ranges from the low register to the middle register and the otsoddoz covers its entire range from the liquid low register to the rich high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-two notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxO, 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 masul pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 10th, the 12th, the 16th and the 21st.

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