The Strawberry of Heathers

The Strawberry of Heathers is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originating in The Saltpeter of Rhapsodies. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. Three chanters recite nonsensical words and sounds. The entire performance should stress the rhythm. The melody has short phrases throughout the form. Only one pitch is ever played at a time. It is performed using the ucame scale and in the slothepanine rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to make trills and play rapid runs.

• Each chanter always does the main melody.
• The Strawberry of Heathers has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a lengthy introduction, a first theme, a brief exposition of the first theme, a second theme, an exposition of the second theme and a brief synthesis of previous passages.
• The introduction is extremely fast, and it is to fade into silence. Each of the chanters' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register.
• The first theme is very fast, and it is to be in whispered undertones. Each of the chanters' voices covers its entire range.
• The first exposition is at a walking pace, and it is to be soft. Each of the chanters' voices stays in the high register.
• The second theme is twice the tempo of the last passage, and it is to be moderately soft. Each of the chanters' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register.
• The second exposition is slow, and it is to be in whispered undertones. Each of the chanters' voices stays in the middle register.
• The synthesis accelerates as it proceeds, and it is to become softer and softer. Each of the chanters' voices stays in the low register.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-two notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1xxxxxxxx-x-xxxxxxxxxxxxO, 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. After a scale is constructed, the root note of chords are named. The names are emayethi (spoken em) and ithi (ith).
• The ucame pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 4th, the 12th, the 17th and the 22nd.
• The slothepanine rhythm is made from two patterns: the moro and the seyawi. The patterns are to be played over the same period of time, concluding together regardless of beat number.
• The moro rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x - - - |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The seyawi rhythm is a single line with two beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x x |
• where x is a beat and | indicates a bar.

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