The Pod of Songs

The Pod of Songs is a form of music used during marches and military engagements originating in The Meritorious Bowline. The rules of the form are applied by composers to produce individual pieces of music which can be performed. One to six singers recite nonsensical words and sounds. The entire performance should evoke tears. The melody has short phrases throughout the form. Only one pitch is ever played at a time. It is performed using the iwarivuli scale and in the wonethu rhythm.

• Each singer always does the main melody.
• The Pod of Songs has a well-defined multi-passage structure: a lengthy introduction, a brief theme, an exposition of the theme and a recapitulation of the theme.
• The introduction is at a walking pace, and it is to be very loud. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the low register to the middle register.
• The theme is very slow, and it is to be soft. Each of the singers' voices ranges from the middle register to the high register.
• The exposition is very fast, and it is to be moderately soft. Each of the singers' voices covers its entire range.
• The recapitulation is very slow, and it is to be in whispered undertones. Each of the singers' voices stays in the high register.
• Scales are constructed from twenty-two notes dividing the octave. In quartertones, their spacing is roughly 1xxxxxxx-xxx-xxxxxxxxxxxO, 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.
• The iwarivuli pentatonic scale is constructed by selection of degrees from the fundamental scale. The degrees selected are the 1st, the 4th, the 13th, the 17th and the 21st.
• The wonethu rhythm is made from two patterns: the ebecari (considered the primary) and the umamalu.
• The ebecari rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | X x - x'|
• where X marks an accented beat, ' marks a beat as late, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.
• The umamalu rhythm is a single line with four beats. The beat is stressed as follows:
• | x'- X x |
• where X marks an accented beat, ' marks a beat as late, x is a beat, - is silent and | indicates a bar.

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