Donorian Traditional Music

Donorian music is made up of the instruments, tunes, and musical traditions of the Donorian culture.
Donorian music relies more on harmony and rhythm, with a very common feature being a droning sound played by some instruments or occasionally by vocalists. Polyphonics are heavily used in donorian music, particularly by the instruments, as are heterophonics.
Donorian musical performances often involve multiple instruments and a vocalist and are often accompanied by dancing or some other physical performance.

Instruments

String Instruments

Pruvna

The Pruvna is a long-necked lute with two strings. One of the strings is used to create a droning sound with the other being used to play the melody. The Pruvna’s droning sound is a staple of Donorian music as the droning sound provides a base and stability for the music and the instrument is used in most Donorian music.
They are played with the back of the instrument set against the lap or stomach of the player. Some players use picks, but they are rare as most are taught to use their fingers to play the strings. The typical Pruvna has a range of two and a half octaves.
The Pruvna can be played as a solo instrument and in an ensemble, both as the main sound and as accompaniment.
The Pruvna is traditionally made from wood, with a long thin frettless neck and pear-shaped body with a round back. The strings were traditionally made from animal intestines. Modern materials like plastic, acrylic, and other similar things are used in the construction of the instrument, although traditional players may still prefer the older construction.

Susin

The Susin is a short-necked lute with four strings, not including the resonance strings. It is played either by plucking or more commonly, with a pick. It is used to play melody and has a quite jumpy sound with reverberation from the resonance strings.
They are played with the back of the instrument set against the lap or stomach of the player; a pick is often used to play the strings with some people preferring a larger pick and others preferring to pluck the strings with false nail picks. The Susin typically has a range of three and a half octaves.
The Susin can be played as a solo instrument and in an ensemble, commonly as the main melody instrument.
The Susin is traditionally made of wood, with a short neck and a large pear-shaped body with a round back. The strings were traditionally made of animal intestines and the picks were made from bone or animal shell. Traditional musicians may prefer the old construction, but more modern instruments are made from plastic, acrylic, and other similar materials.

Percussion Instruments

Osh Drums

Osh Drums are a type of donorian drum that come in different widths and heights resulting in different tones when struck. Most of the drums are the width of a person’s forearm or a bit smaller, and a few inches in height. The drums are played using sticks, with the player having multiple drums making up their drum set. The drums are used to create a rhythm for the music and are the primary percussion instrument in Donorian music.
They are played with the player seated with the drums set in a crescent around them. The way the player holds the sticks and the order they have the drums set up depends on the player’s style and preference as different setups result in slight differences in sound.
The Osh Drums are often played in an ensemble, providing accompaniment for the melody instruments. Multiple Osh Drums may be played by multiple players in a drum circle-type band, often used for dancing.
The drums, traditionally are made from wood with the drumhead being made from stretched animal hide. The sticks were made from wood. Modernly, the drums are made from materials like plastic and acrylic though some traditional players still prefer the traditional model of instrument.

Donorian Pan drum

The Donorian Pan Drum is a shallow round drum played with the fingers and palm. They are most often the length of a person’s forearm. They are used to create a rhythm and beat for the music.
They are played by being held in the lap and played with the fingers and palm; using different parts of the can results in different sounds as does hitting the drum in different places. Some pan drums may have jingles, most commonly metal disk jingles, which create jingling sounds as the drum is played.
The drum is often played in an ensemble providing a beat for the music. They may also be used to make a beat for dancing.
The drums are traditionally made from a wooden frame with a stretched animal hide as the drum face. More modern drums are made from plastic and acrylic.

Wind Instruments

Wul’ye

The Wul’ye is a long end-blown flute with five or six finger holes and one thumb hole. It is played by blowing air over the mouth of the flute with the fingers being placed over the holes to create different notes. It is used to play the melody and has a breathy sound. Different Wul’ye will be tuned to different octaves.
They are played with the flute being helped with the left hand at the top of the flute with the thumb at the thumb hole and the finger covering the first few holes and the right hand at the bottom with the fingers covering the bottom holes. The typical Wul’ye has a range of two to three octaves.
The Wul’ye is often played solo or as ensembles, in some cases, there will be multiple Wul’ye players at the same time each tuning to a different octave so that the performance can have a wider array of notes.
The Wul’ye traditionally was made from cane wood or reed, but in modern construction materials like plastic and acrylic are used. Most Wul’ye musicians still have an instrument made from cane wood or reed but with a more modern mouthpiece.

The Hiba Flute

The Hiba Flute is a short transverse flute with six finger holes. It is played by blowing air over the mouth of the flute, with different finger holes being covered resulting in different notes. The flute has a clearer, higher-pitched sound than the Wul’ye and is mostly used for melody.
The Hiba Flute is played by being held horizontally with the left-hand finger covering the first three finger holes and the right-hand finger covering the last three. The Hiba Flute typically has a range of two and a half octaves.
They can be played in ensembles as well as in solos, and are often used in accompaniment for singers.
Hiba Flutes are traditionally made from cane wood and tend to be around eight inches in length. While many musicians still prefer the traditional construction, more modern materials like plastic or acrylic may be used.

Planet of Origin
Donora
Culture of origin
Donorian

Donorian Singing

In Donorian musical tradition, the voice is seen as one of the most important instruments being responsible for adding to the melody as well as using language to tell the audience the story.
In traditional Formal Donorian music only has one vocalist. This is explained as being out of respect allowing the audience to solely connect with the singer and focus on their emotions a very important concept in Donorian culture as they are an empathic species.
In more folk-style music, there may be multiple vocalists often singing in a chant-like style often with call and response sections.