The Compositional String-Bean

The Compositional String-bean is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originating in The Mighty Flags. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. One to three singers recite nonsensical words and sounds while the music is played on a apoy and a teqoad. The musical voices cover melody, harmony and rhythm. The melody has long phrases throughout the form. Only one pitch is ever played at a time. It is performed in free rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to syncopate, alternate tension and repose, play arpeggios and play staccato.

• Each singer always does harmony, should be fiery and is to become softer and softer. The voice stays in the low register.
• The apoy always does the main melody and is to start loud then be immediately soft.
• The teqoad always provides the rhythm, should be delicate and is to become louder and louder.
• The Compositional String-bean has a simple structure: a lengthy passage.
• The simple passage is moderately fast. The passage is performed using the toipe 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 toipe pentatonic scale is thought of as two disjoint chords spanning two perfect fourths. These chords are named opoq and uki.
• The opoq trichord is the 1st, the 3rd and the 6th degrees of the semitone octave scale.
• The uki trichord is the 8th, the 11th and the 13th (completing the octave) degrees of the semitone octave scale.

Events