The Offbeat Winter-Melon

The Offbeat Winter-melon is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originating in The Wills of Bottling. The form guides musicians during improvised performances. Two chanters recite any composition of The Riddle of Inquiries while the music is played on a lem. The musical voices bring melody, counterpoint and rhythm. The melody has phrases of varied length, while the counterpoint has mid-length phrases throughout the form. It is performed in the vishages rhythm. Throughout, when possible, performers are to play rapid runs, play staccato and play legato.

• Each chanter always spreads syllables over many notes.
• The lem always does the main melody, should perform sweetly and spreads syllables over many notes.
• The Offbeat Winter-melon has a well-defined multi-passage structure: an introduction and a passage and an additional passage.
• The introduction is voiced by the melody of the lem and the rhythm of the chanters. The passage is at a walking pace, and it is to start loud then be immediately soft. The lem ranges from the muddy low register to the watery middle register and each of the chanters' voices stays in the high register. This passage features only melodic tones and intervals. The passage is performed using the deh scale.
• The first simple passage is voiced by the melody of the chanters and the melody of the lem. The passage accelerates as it proceeds, and it is to be in whispered undertones. Each of the chanters' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register and the lem ranges from the watery middle register to the strident high register. This passage typically has some sparse chords. The passage is performed using the ohural scale.
• The second simple passage is voiced by the melody of the lem and the counterpoint of the chanters. The passage is at a hurried pace, and it is to be loud. The lem stays in the muddy low register and each of the chanters' voices ranges from the low register to the middle register. This passage is richly layered with full chords making use of the available range. The passage is performed using the shudash scale.
• Scales are constructed from fourteen notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1-x-x-x-x-xx-xx-x-xx-x-xO, where 1 is the tonic, O marks the octave and x marks other notes. The tonic note is a fixed tone passed from teacher to student.
• The deh heptatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 3rd, the 4th, the 6th, the 10th, the 11th and the 13th.
• The ohural pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 2nd, the 7th, the 10th and the 14th.
• The shudash hexatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 2nd, the 4th, the 8th, the 9th and the 12th.
• The vishages rhythm is made from two patterns: the desle and the aheda. The patterns are to be played over the same period of time, concluding together regardless of beat number.
• The desle rhythm is a single line with fourteen beats divided into seven bars in a 2-2-2-2-2-2-2 pattern. The beats are named pethrebinpu (spoken pe) and uthrogumat (uthr). The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - x | - x | x - | x - | - x | x - | x x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The aheda rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | - - x x |
• where x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

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