Re: SKETCH: A conlang based on music (was: Music-conlangs & music)

A very interesting proposal, Carsten.

The technical terms you weren't sure of are:
--Reversal, mirroring, 'crabbing' (term?)
cancrizans --("crab-wise") i.e. the theme played backwards

Isophony (term?) vs. polyphony
Monophony

Warbling (term?)
Trilling
--------------------------------
Some other ways to vary a theme:
-- switch major to minor or v.v. (can't be done with a penta- or hexatonic
scale, but there, you might switch from a scale based on C to one based on,
e.g. E; or if using the Greek/medieval modes, switching from one mode to
another. That might work for subordinate clauses, or parentheses/asides (the
verbal equiv. of footnotes :-). An interesting system from the Javanese
gamelan: there are two scales (and 2 sets of instruments), one penta-, the
other hepta-tonic with only one note in common. When you modulate, you bang
on the common note while changing position to play the other-tuned
instrument. Something like this might work to switch from hexatonic
c-d-e-f#-g#-a# to (using f#) g-major

-- stretching out or compressing the theme (now I've forgotten the tech.
terms :-(( )-- e.g. doubling or halving the values of the notes.

-- turning the theme upside down (perhaps that's what you mean by
"reversal").

-- changing the tempo e.g. 3/4 >> 4/4. Or emphasize different beats, 1 2! 3
or 1 2 3! 4 etc.

-- in addition to trills, also single/double grace notes, mordents, turns,
etc., perhaps for nuance, emphasis etc.

-- Another technique from gamelan: phrases/melodies are counted in multiples
of 4-- 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. (I think 64 is the max, though I'm not totally
sure. And I don't know if 2 is ever used.) The biggest, lowest-pitch gong
plays on beat 1, smaller gongs play at the various intermediate beats.  Thus
in a 16, you'd have gongs at 1, 5, 9, 13 (or even just 1 9) while the melody
goes on over that.  And the drum-- the drummer actually controls the whole
piece.(Possibly derived from Indian systems)

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