Syncopated Instrumental Collaborative Improvisational music
Syncopated Instrumental Collaborative Improvisational (SICI) is a popular Illuminatian music genre and wireless broadcasting format characterized by off-beat rhythms, moderate dissonance, spontaneous improvisation, and the relatively small size of the instrumental groups that perform this music. Illuminatian SICI music corresponds very closely to and is inspired by Earthly jazz music. The Earthly jazz repertoire makes up an important portion of the SICI music that is enjoyed in Illuminatia today.
SICI music ensembles will vary from 4 to 25 performers, making SICI musical groups much smaller than those that perform Acoustic Symphonic Instrumental music but on average larger than most other popular contemporary music genres. Musical works of the SICI format often are notated with sections devoted to improvisation during which members of the ensemble are expected to collaboratively adlib and extemporize within previously defined bounds—typically within certain harmonic series or chords. The duration of the performance of the average SICI musical work varies between slightly less than 1 TU up to 3.5 TU.
Illuminatians have been known to describe Syncopated Instrumental Collaborative Improvisational using words like jazzy, lush, dynamic, and off-kilter. Up-tempo SICI tunes evoke a flashy or zippy feeling that might inspire listeners to dance. SICI ballads are often described with adjectives like plush, saucy, or toasty.
Most historians agree that Illuminatian SICI music first came to being as a recognized musical form during the Lucidus mission well before the settlement of Illuminatia, however the first instances of SICI music ensembles in Illuminatia receiving published critiques in the media occurred very early in Illuminatian history between AI 20 and AI 40.
Syncopated Instrumental Collaborative Improvisational music has several popular contemporary cousin genres. Notably, songs that might otherwise qualify as SICI music except for their inclusion of vocals are often included in the Contemporary Electroacoustic Colloquial Vocal (CECV) genre. Illuminatians recognize a distinct separation between the instrumental and vocal forms of music and therefore performers and broadcasters of either style of music have a tendency to remain remarkably exclusive to one format or the other. Artists who cross over between genres will direct their writing or their performance to audiences who follow one of the genres depending on the instrumentation and style of the specific song or album.