Tech progress report (again)

Well I got vowel phonology mostly figured out; bascially, it's six vowels (i
@ u e a o) with various qualitative and quantitative ablauts with special
consideration given to Vj and Vw diphthongs.

Right now, I'm working on musical terms. I want to use the most
"conservative" terminology for music theory, which would require a mostly
Greek-based vocabulary. From there, I use reverse derivation back to IE
roots, then back to theoretical pre-IE/Nostratic. So I have words for
intervals, from the smallest _k'omma_ to the full octave, the _djapason_,
all of Greek origin.

The musical instruments reflect a marriage of Byzantine-Western polyphonic
harmony and Iranian-Arabic-Turkish-Indian melody, and rhythm is influenced
mostly by the latter macroculture and African concepts (polyrhythm).
Innovations such as attaching a keyboard to a large zither or dulcimer-type
chordophone parallel to the piano (something I currently call a
_k'leidopsalt'erjon_ "keyed psaltery", also subject to back-formation).
Other instruments are the 'ud (short-necked fretless lute, paired with the
keyboard instrument to function as the bass of the continuo of Baroque
music), the tanbur (long necked lute much like a mandolin or bouzouki), the
duff (frame drum, like a bodhran, but with metal jingles), the microtonal
button accordion (think of a bandoneon with 14-17 tones per octave), and the
kamançah (spike fiddle in four sizes: "violin", "viola", "tenor viola" and
"violoncello").

There are MANY different musical modes, called _mkamat_ (singular _mkam_),
choosing from 53-tones in the octave. And polyphonic musical styles like the
fugue do exist.

Just imagine J.S. Bach or Beethoven's interpretation of Sufi music (or vice
versa), with folk, jazz and pop ideas thrown in. My dream musical culture.

~Danny~ ("I hope I didn't brain my damage." -- Homer Simpson)

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