Gorean Music
The music on these pages was written by Strummer Koroban
I am Strummer of Ko-Ro-Ba, a Musician in the caste of Entertainers. Like many of us, I have strived for years to make Gor more "real". As I studied what the books (I’ve read just the first 13) and other investigators have said (Marcus of Ar, primarily) about my caste, I wondered what Gorean music might actually sound like. Unfortunately, there is not a great deal of material from which to get guidance. Most of what is written actually limits rather than expands. The books state that there are no bowed instruments on Gor (violins, cellos) for example. There is no written notation. I have found no references to reed or brass instruments at all. Instruments tend to be mentioned mearly in passing; the sistrum (an early Egyptian rattle used in religious ceremony) appears in a story line that includes a procession of Initiates. There is no discussion of its wider use in society, training, tempo or construction.
There is this old argument; "if it’s not in the books, did it exist at all"? I’d prefer to not get too wrapped up in that. The question really is this; is Gorean music more similar than it is dis-similar to the music here on Earth? I believe it must be fairly similar. A drum is still a drum, a sound wave is still a sound wave and the peoples of Gor do have common origins with the peoples of Earth. I expect that most of us would hear it and think "Oh, that is music of some type". The style, meter, instrumentation might be "odd" but it would be recognizable as music made by humans. After much discussion with other serious scholars of things Gorean, I believe that there exists enough material to begin exploration. The information found in John Norman's writings, viewed through the lens of early earth history could reasonably be used as a starting point. For example: the ancient Hebrews are known to have used hollow ram horns as primitive trumpets. Might bosk horns serve as well? A four thousand-year-old bone flute fragment was recently found in a European cave that had holes drilled properly positioned to be steps in a scale. South Sea Islanders understood the concept of "octave". Roman and Greek paintings show flutists with twin flutes, apparantly one played melody while the other an anchoring "drone". There are Egyptian hieroglyphics of harp strings being plucked two at a time. It is reasonable to assume that they noticed some notes sounded "right" together while not others. I don’t think Gorean musicians any less intelligent or creative than their Earthen cousins.
Recently, I began trying to write Midis to interpret Gorean music. After a number of terrible outcomes, I'm ready to let a broader audience listen. It is my hope that this will generate discussion about Gorean instruments, playing techniques, scales and musical theory. This could easily spill over into discussions of societal use, entertainment settings, caste roles, social interaction and so forth. Midi is certainly not a perfect medium (particularly for depicting music and instruments from another planet) and I continue to find it very constraining. Still, tunes can sound reasonably good and they are very small files (good for downloading from the Internet). So far all of my works are relatively short (1 to 2 ehn). I see these strictly as starting points for further development.
I propose publishing one a month for the next 6 months to see if there is any interest is such an undertaking. It would please me greatly to see this aspect of our society fleshed out a bit. Musicians, Poets, Singers and Software Geeks are all sought to contribute their talents. All are welcome to offer their thoughts and ideas.
I wish you well,
Strummer
A Musician in the caste of Entertainers
There is this old argument; "if it’s not in the books, did it exist at all"? I’d prefer to not get too wrapped up in that. The question really is this; is Gorean music more similar than it is dis-similar to the music here on Earth? I believe it must be fairly similar. A drum is still a drum, a sound wave is still a sound wave and the peoples of Gor do have common origins with the peoples of Earth. I expect that most of us would hear it and think "Oh, that is music of some type". The style, meter, instrumentation might be "odd" but it would be recognizable as music made by humans. After much discussion with other serious scholars of things Gorean, I believe that there exists enough material to begin exploration. The information found in John Norman's writings, viewed through the lens of early earth history could reasonably be used as a starting point. For example: the ancient Hebrews are known to have used hollow ram horns as primitive trumpets. Might bosk horns serve as well? A four thousand-year-old bone flute fragment was recently found in a European cave that had holes drilled properly positioned to be steps in a scale. South Sea Islanders understood the concept of "octave". Roman and Greek paintings show flutists with twin flutes, apparantly one played melody while the other an anchoring "drone". There are Egyptian hieroglyphics of harp strings being plucked two at a time. It is reasonable to assume that they noticed some notes sounded "right" together while not others. I don’t think Gorean musicians any less intelligent or creative than their Earthen cousins.
Recently, I began trying to write Midis to interpret Gorean music. After a number of terrible outcomes, I'm ready to let a broader audience listen. It is my hope that this will generate discussion about Gorean instruments, playing techniques, scales and musical theory. This could easily spill over into discussions of societal use, entertainment settings, caste roles, social interaction and so forth. Midi is certainly not a perfect medium (particularly for depicting music and instruments from another planet) and I continue to find it very constraining. Still, tunes can sound reasonably good and they are very small files (good for downloading from the Internet). So far all of my works are relatively short (1 to 2 ehn). I see these strictly as starting points for further development.
I propose publishing one a month for the next 6 months to see if there is any interest is such an undertaking. It would please me greatly to see this aspect of our society fleshed out a bit. Musicians, Poets, Singers and Software Geeks are all sought to contribute their talents. All are welcome to offer their thoughts and ideas.
I wish you well,
Strummer
A Musician in the caste of Entertainers
There are a number of enjoyable aspects to this little project I’ve been working on. One is that it causes me to learn more about computer-generated sound. Truly, this has been a "growth experience" for me. I trust that it has not been too disagreeable for you.
As I’ve mentioned before, I find Midi very constraining. What I mean is this: I regularly have access to three computers, each with a different sound card. Between the three, I use a total of eight media programs. It turns out that various computers interpret/relay Midi information quite differently. A Midi might not sound at all on one computer the way it does on another. Depending on the card/programs on your computer, what you hear may or may not be what I actually wrote. The basic tune might be right, but the instrumentation could be completely different. I do try to write these tunes so that they sound reasonably good regardless of the computer, but none of them really sound exactly "right" on any one computer. I’m afraid that this month’s piece is a particularly good/bad example of what I’m talking about. If it sounds like bad drums played through muddy water, put it on a disk and listen on a different computer. Hopefully, you’ll hear something like what I had in mind when it was recorded.
Additionally, when I write in Midi, I am forced to choose between the 127 available non-Gorean instruments: helicopters, telephones and gunshots included. I sometimes ask myself: "what might a kalika sound like, or a czehar"? Or even: "how might they sound played together"? Here is the real problem: while Midi instruments really can do some pretty neat things, they are terrible at playing music from other planets. As a result, I have to use these electronic versions of earthen instruments to represent my interpretations of possible Gorean music.
Still, I am learning. There is now software out there that converts Midis into small compact waves. These waves can be created, altered, organized and manipulated, constrained only by the writer’s imagination. Theoretically, I could generate sounds that I believe an instrument from our little alter Earth might really make. We’ll see how that goes. I’ve only just started to investigate this software and so far, my experiments would have to be described as "just plain awful"! Hopefully, that’ll improve. If I am eventually able to produce music in these tight, flexible little waves, I’ll have more control over what you actually hear. They may even sound "Gorean".
Strummer
A Musician in the Caste of Entertainers
As I’ve mentioned before, I find Midi very constraining. What I mean is this: I regularly have access to three computers, each with a different sound card. Between the three, I use a total of eight media programs. It turns out that various computers interpret/relay Midi information quite differently. A Midi might not sound at all on one computer the way it does on another. Depending on the card/programs on your computer, what you hear may or may not be what I actually wrote. The basic tune might be right, but the instrumentation could be completely different. I do try to write these tunes so that they sound reasonably good regardless of the computer, but none of them really sound exactly "right" on any one computer. I’m afraid that this month’s piece is a particularly good/bad example of what I’m talking about. If it sounds like bad drums played through muddy water, put it on a disk and listen on a different computer. Hopefully, you’ll hear something like what I had in mind when it was recorded.
Additionally, when I write in Midi, I am forced to choose between the 127 available non-Gorean instruments: helicopters, telephones and gunshots included. I sometimes ask myself: "what might a kalika sound like, or a czehar"? Or even: "how might they sound played together"? Here is the real problem: while Midi instruments really can do some pretty neat things, they are terrible at playing music from other planets. As a result, I have to use these electronic versions of earthen instruments to represent my interpretations of possible Gorean music.
Still, I am learning. There is now software out there that converts Midis into small compact waves. These waves can be created, altered, organized and manipulated, constrained only by the writer’s imagination. Theoretically, I could generate sounds that I believe an instrument from our little alter Earth might really make. We’ll see how that goes. I’ve only just started to investigate this software and so far, my experiments would have to be described as "just plain awful"! Hopefully, that’ll improve. If I am eventually able to produce music in these tight, flexible little waves, I’ll have more control over what you actually hear. They may even sound "Gorean".
Strummer
A Musician in the Caste of Entertainers
The Instruments of Gor
To one side, across a clearing from the fire, a bit in the background, was a group of nine musicians. They were not as yet playing, though one of them was absently tapping a rhythm on a small hand drum, the kaska; two others, with stringed instruments, were tuning them, putting their ears to the instruments. One of the instruments was an eight-stringed czehar, rather like a large flat oblong box; it is held across the lap when sitting cross-legged and is played with a horn pick; the other was the kalika, a six-stringed instrument; it, like the czehar, is flat-bridged and its strings are adjusted by means of small wooden cranks; on the other hand, it less resembles a low, flat box and suggests affinities to the banjo or guitar, though the sound box is hemispheric and the neck rather long; it, too, of course, like the czehar, is plucked; I have never seen a bowed instrument on Gor; also, I might mention, I have never on Gor seen any written music; I do not know if a notation exists; melodies are passed on from father to son, from master to apprentice. There was another kalika player, as well, but he was sitting there holding his instrument, watching the slave girls in the audience. The three flutists were polishing their instruments and talking together; it was shop talk I gathered, because one or the other would stop to illustrate some remark by a passage on his flute, and then one of the others would attempt to correct or improve on what he had done; occasionally their discussion grew heated. There was also a second drummer, also with a kaska, and another fellow, a younger one, who sat very seriously before what appeared to me to be a pile of objects; among them was a notched stick, played by sliding a polished tem-wood stick across its surface; cymbals of various sorts; what was obviously a tambourine; and several other instruments of a percussion variety, bits of metal on wires, gourds filled with pebbles, slave bells mounted on hand rings, and such. These various things, from time to time, would be used not only by himself but by others in the group, probably the second kaska player and the third flutist. Among Gorean musicians, incidentally, czehar players have the most prestige; there was only one in this group, I noted, and he was their leader; next follow the flutists and then the players of the kalika; the players of the drums come next; and the farthest fellow down the list is the man who keeps the bag of miscellaneous instruments, playing them and parceling them out to others as needed. Lastly it might be mentioned, thinking it is of some interest musicians on Gor are never enslaved; they may, of course, be exiled, tortured, slain and such; it is said, perhaps truly, that he who makes music must, like the tarn and the vosk gull, be free.
- Nomads of Gor, pgs. 153 - 154 -
- Nomads of Gor, pgs. 153 - 154 -