Wood sylvan music is characterized by complex percussion and vocals. Lyrics are sung as a counterpoint to the drums, generally by a single singer. Vocal melodies are highly complex. Many incorporate a wailing tone, allowing the pitch to change in waves and travel up and down the scale in patterns. Harmonies are rare, but in some pieces performers each sing one verse or part of the song. Meisylvan songs also generally lack choruses. Instead they follow rolling patterns with short transitional bridges.
Wood sylvan instruments are mostly percussive. The Gevpahm is very common, a wide drum with a boiled skin over the top. It is played with bare hands, and a skilled player can produce a wide range of tones from different parts of the skin. Tachipahma are smaller wooden drums, skirted around with woven cords. The cords hold tiny metal bells and beads which chime together in chorus with the drum’s high-pitched tone.
The signature instrument of meisylvan performances, however, are various sorts of Hudupahma (Pipe Drums). These consist of two wooden or airbone pipes fitted together on a stand. One player drums on the instrument while another shifts the unanchored pipe around to change the pitch of the note. Some hudupahma have multiple pipes of different diameters, and they are built in a staggering variety of sizes. The largest are Mei Pahma (Drum Trees), lifeshaped trees with open channels running their entire length that can alter their pitch by stretching or flexing. Some smaller hudupahma are built so that the free pipe can be shifted by the drummer’s foot, allowing them to be operated by a single player.
Many Felasta are scored for music, and nearly all Chisten Felasta are. Performances of Chisten Felasta, whether sung or recited, are common at high-society gatherings, but many modern Felasta are written for the public. Performances of these are growing popular as crowd affairs. Some have also now been translated into Imperial Common for traveling musicians to share with a wider audience.
Meisylvan art frequently focuses on depictions of depictions of animals and natural scenes. The traditional style of painting known as Molshari Chess (Flowing Brush) uses broad, flowing strokes to hint at outlines in an impressionistic fashion. Many Molshari Chess paintings use animals to represent factions or major figures. These draw on extensive lists of established symbols called Chess Taffeta (Brush Faces). Some Chess Taffeta are general, such as the use of cats for naisylphs, but many are very specific. A badger with a streak of red fur, for example, represents the great mythical warrior Alachesin Moresh.
Intricate wood carvings are also popular among meisylphs. Traditionally they would be hewn into the wood of the trees that supported a sylph’s home. These commonly included family names or slogans in Meisylvan incorporated into natural scenes or depictions of the sylph’s spirit animal. In modern times, small wooden charms have grown in popularity. Tarrow (ash) and groemond (ebony) wood are most commonly seen, but other woods are also used. Some sylphs bear charms carved from the wood of their spirit tree, but this is a somewhat contentious practice. Wooden charms depict a wide variety of subjects, but the majority have animal faces engraved with Meisylvan runes.
Performance art is rare among wood sylphs apart from large community dances. These often take place on Wodeir Beala (Dance Platforms), platforms of wood with colored paths woven around in patterns. Each path has empty spaces beneath, allowing impacts to reverberate through the structure. Groups of dancers follow the patterns in step with each other, and their footfalls accompany a singer in time with the dance.
Wood sylvan instruments are mostly percussive. The Gevpahm is very common, a wide drum with a boiled skin over the top. It is played with bare hands, and a skilled player can produce a wide range of tones from different parts of the skin. Tachipahma are smaller wooden drums, skirted around with woven cords. The cords hold tiny metal bells and beads which chime together in chorus with the drum’s high-pitched tone.
The signature instrument of meisylvan performances, however, are various sorts of Hudupahma (Pipe Drums). These consist of two wooden or airbone pipes fitted together on a stand. One player drums on the instrument while another shifts the unanchored pipe around to change the pitch of the note. Some hudupahma have multiple pipes of different diameters, and they are built in a staggering variety of sizes. The largest are Mei Pahma (Drum Trees), lifeshaped trees with open channels running their entire length that can alter their pitch by stretching or flexing. Some smaller hudupahma are built so that the free pipe can be shifted by the drummer’s foot, allowing them to be operated by a single player.
Many Felasta are scored for music, and nearly all Chisten Felasta are. Performances of Chisten Felasta, whether sung or recited, are common at high-society gatherings, but many modern Felasta are written for the public. Performances of these are growing popular as crowd affairs. Some have also now been translated into Imperial Common for traveling musicians to share with a wider audience.
Meisylvan art frequently focuses on depictions of depictions of animals and natural scenes. The traditional style of painting known as Molshari Chess (Flowing Brush) uses broad, flowing strokes to hint at outlines in an impressionistic fashion. Many Molshari Chess paintings use animals to represent factions or major figures. These draw on extensive lists of established symbols called Chess Taffeta (Brush Faces). Some Chess Taffeta are general, such as the use of cats for naisylphs, but many are very specific. A badger with a streak of red fur, for example, represents the great mythical warrior Alachesin Moresh.
Intricate wood carvings are also popular among meisylphs. Traditionally they would be hewn into the wood of the trees that supported a sylph’s home. These commonly included family names or slogans in Meisylvan incorporated into natural scenes or depictions of the sylph’s spirit animal. In modern times, small wooden charms have grown in popularity. Tarrow (ash) and groemond (ebony) wood are most commonly seen, but other woods are also used. Some sylphs bear charms carved from the wood of their spirit tree, but this is a somewhat contentious practice. Wooden charms depict a wide variety of subjects, but the majority have animal faces engraved with Meisylvan runes.
Performance art is rare among wood sylphs apart from large community dances. These often take place on Wodeir Beala (Dance Platforms), platforms of wood with colored paths woven around in patterns. Each path has empty spaces beneath, allowing impacts to reverberate through the structure. Groups of dancers follow the patterns in step with each other, and their footfalls accompany a singer in time with the dance.