At 02:43 PM 11-19-2001 +0000, James Allwright you wrote: >On Mon 19 Nov 2001 at 01:34PM -0000, Laurie Griffiths wrote: > > > > Some people (I think it was Frank that started it) say (and I'm putting > > words into their mouths) "Look, the Q: syntax is all very well for > > controlling the speed of a player program, but what I want to be able to do > > is to say 'play this at an Allegro speed' (or 'Lento' or some other word > > whose meaning I know. And what 'Allegro' means is about 120 per minute. I > > don't mind writing down what Allegro means once, but I shouldn't have to > > write it every time. I mean Allegro is Allegro". > > > >I think we need to know whether "Allegro" is one of a small set of >well-defined tempo descriptors (in which case it would be really nice >to have the complete set together with their definitions) or one >tempo definition in a large and vague set that spans the complete >Italian language and is interpreted at the performer's discretion.
The latter, and then some. I have a songbook at home in which the composer chose a different English tempo description for every song -- about 60 all told. The composer is a humorist, and the tempo markings relate more to the subject matter of the song than the speed to be played (at what speed is "Ecumenically"? or "Elementally"). However, if I were to transcribe his work into ABC, I would wish to preserve his tempo markings, even if I did have to indicate what speed "Painfully" was in terms of beats per minute. Also, when transcribing Arbeau's dances, I'd prefer to keep his tempo indications (roughly, slow, medium, and fast, but written in 16th century French, and not always mentioned directly), which would not be Italian terms. It may be reasonable to have a set of pre-defined Italian tempo terms available, but the user may have need for more, especially if working with modern, non-western, or pre-classical music. >James Allwright >To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: >http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
