The Pear of Blueberries
The Pear of Blueberries is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originating in The Confederacy of Dowels. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. The music is played on two eran and a milu. The musical voices join in melody and counterpoint, harmony and rhythm. The entire performance is to become louder and louder. The melody has short phrases, while the counterpoint has long phrases throughout the form. It is performed using the desle scale and in free rhythm. Throughout, when possible, composers and performers are to alternate tension and repose.
- The milu always plays arpeggios.
- The Pear of Blueberries has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a passage, a finale and a lengthy coda.
- The simple passage is voiced by the melody of the eran and the rhythm of the milu. The passage should be broad and slows and broadens. Each of the eran covers its entire range from the wavering low register to the strained high register and the milu ranges from the raspy middle register to the fragile high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals.
- The finale is voiced by the melody of the eran and the harmony of the milu. The passage should be broad and is consistently slowing. Each of the eran stays in the wavering low register and the milu ranges from the heavy low register to the raspy middle register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
- The coda is voiced by the melody of the milu and the counterpoint of the eran. The passage should sparkle and is moderately fast. The milu ranges from the raspy middle register to the fragile high register and each of the eran stays in the strained high register. Only one pitch is ever played at a time in this passage.
- Scales are constructed from twenty-four notes spaced evenly throughout the octave. The tonic note is fixed only at the time of performance.
- The desle heptatonic scale is thought of as joined chords spanning a perfect fifth and a perfect fourth. These chords are named equanamsespe and oruslumcopo.
- The equanamsespe pentachord is the 1st, the 4th, the 7th, the 13th and the 15th degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
- The oruslumcopo tetrachord is the 15th, the 16th, the 21st and the 25th (completing the octave) degrees of the quartertone octave scale.
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