An abugida (/ɑːbʊˈɡiːdə, ˈæb-/) is a writing system where characters/"letters" represent a consonant combined with a vowel. Abugida pieces use the concept of consonant-vowel combinations to help guide improvised and chance-composed music.
In an abugida, usually letter forms representing consonants are modified to also represent an accompanying vowel. Symbols that represent a sound family, plus modifications to the symbols that represent modifications to the family's base sound.
Abugida pieces is to use one group of symbols (consonant or vowel — doesn't matter) to represent some primary aspect of musical sound, chosen by performers or composers, in advance or extempraneously. The other group of symbols then represents modifications to the base sound. What the "base sounds" and "modifications" actually are is open-ended. Some examples might be:
| Consonants | Vowels |
|---|---|
| chord root | chord quality (maj, dom7, alt, etc.) |
| starting note | short melodic phrase |
| string | fret |
| synth parameter | parameter value |