Perfidian Music - an outline

The Perfidian system for writing music is difficult to interpret and whole manuscripts are rarely found, but below are some brief and tentative notes on what we think are typical characteristics of later period Perfidian music.

A lot of further research is needed in this area, but this is what we have so far.

Scales and Chords Employed

Hexatonic Scale :Perfidian music often employs a six-note scale derived from the minor pentatonic scale with an added flattened fifth. The notes in the scale of C, for example, would be C, E♭, F, F♯ , G, and B♭.
Pentatonic Scale: Both major and minor pentatonic scales are also heavily used. The minor pentatonic scale is particularly common, with its notes forming the basis for melody and improvisation. The ability in a composer or a performing musician to smoothly move between the major and minor scales seems to have been highly regarded.

Dominant 7th Chords: As well as major triads, Perfidian harmony often uses dominant 7th chords. These chords are rich in tension and contribute to the characteristic sound of Perfidian music.

Melodic Elements

Melody Notes: Flattened third, fifth, and seventh notes are essential to Perfidian music, often bent or slurred by vocalists and instrumentalists to convey emotion.
Melodic Phrasing: Melodies typically feature call-and-response phrasing, where a melodic phrase (the "call") is followed by a response phrase. This type of phrasing appears to be typical of both instrumental and vocal melodies.

Rhythmic Patterns and Lyrics

Syncopation: Syncopation is common in Perfidian music, with emphasis often placed on the off-beats or weaker beats, adding to the genre's rhythmic complexity.

Lyrical Simplicity: Lyrics, where used, are usually simple and directly rooted in the real world, yet deeply emotive and resonant, allowing for a powerful connection with the listener.

Other forms

There do seem to be other traditions of music in the Perfidian culture, but at present, the only one where we have much information is a "minstrel" tradition, where only the major pentatonic scale is used, and rhythms are more conventional. The lyrics of such songs tend to be more "poetic" and literary.

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