The Flowery Drumbeat

The Flowery Drumbeat is a form of music used for entertainment originating in The Mighty Flags. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. A singer recites nonsensical words and sounds while the music is played on a qaqo. The musical voices are joined in melody. The melody has phrases of varied length throughout the form. The music repeats for as long as necessary. It is performed in free rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to glide from note to note and alternate tension and repose.

• The singer always does the main melody and should be fiery.
• The qaqo always does the main melody and should be delicate.
• The Flowery Drumbeat has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a theme, a lengthy exposition of the theme, a lengthy bridge-passage and a recapitulation of the theme.
• The theme is very slow, and it is to fade into silence. The singer's voice ranges from the middle register to the high register and the qaqo covers its entire range from the slicing low register to the floating high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage is performed without preference for a scale.
• The exposition is extremely fast, and it is to fade into silence. The singer's voice stays in the high register and the qaqo stays in the floating high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage is performed using the kotoq scale.
• The bridge-passage gradually slows as it comes to an end, and it is to be soft. The singer's voice stays in the high register and the qaqo ranges from the wispy middle register to the floating high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage is performed using the piaki scale.
• The recapitulation is twice the tempo of the last passage, and it is to be loud. The singer's voice ranges from the low register to the middle register and the qaqo ranges from the wispy middle register to the floating high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage is performed using the ituq scale.
• Scales are constructed from twelve notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance. After a scale is constructed, notes are named according to degree. The names are edo (spoken ed), dodap (do), qahpa (qa), oqua (oq), ej (ej), at (at) and iadok (iad).
• The kotoq pentatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named iqap and axod.
• The iqap trichord is the 1st, the 5th and the 6th degrees of the semitone octave scale.
• The axod trichord is the 8th, the 9th and the 13th (completing the octave) degrees of the semitone octave scale.
• The piaki hexatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named iqap and kopi.
• The kopi tetrachord is the 8th, the 10th, the 12th and the 13th (completing the octave) degrees of the semitone octave scale.
• The ituq pentatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named kiteq and uok.
• The kiteq trichord is the 1st, the 2nd and the 6th degrees of the semitone octave scale.
• The uok trichord is the 8th, the 10th and the 13th (completing the octave) degrees of the semitone octave scale.

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