When John first suggested multiple alternate endings and repeats of >2 times I thought it was a good idea and started to implement it in BarFly. Getting it to display was easy, but getting it to play correctly turned out to be a nightmare, to the extent that after working on it for several days I gave up and pulled all the new code out. There were all sorts of problems. Of course that does not mean that it can't be done, just that it ain't as easy as it looks at first sight.
A few things to consider when discussing repeat syntax: * It has to coexist happily with other methods of specifying repeats, such as the P: field in the header, and not rule out the use of conventional musical indirection (e.g. using the Segno). (A lot of people would like to use that.) * If we can have multiple alternate endings, why not multiple alternate segments within a repeat, not necessarily at the end? This is common in pipe music, and we have seen requests for it on this list. * It is very common to see repeats written as: abc |[1 abc :|[2 cba :| which is wrong (the last repeat should be written as || or |]), and is explicitly forbidden by the 1.6 standard. At the moment, because it's so common BarFly lets it go without comment, but what should be done here? Should it be treated as an instruction to repeat the section four times with endings 1,2,1,2, or should it generate an error? * We need a clear set of rules as to where repeats should start from. At present, when it encounters a repeat BarFly searches backwards for one of the following symbols: |:, ||, |], [|, a P: field, or the start of the tune. This seems to give the least problems, but it does mean that you can't use a double bar or thin/thick bar within a repeat. * We also need a (preferably illustrated) description of how the various repeats are to be displayed in conventional notation. If we have a 4x repeat - |:::.......:::|, should that be displayed with four dots arranged vertically next to the bar line? I have seen that symbol used in music where the context suggests that a normal single repeat is what is intended (e.g. in the Original Sacred Harp). Phil Taylor To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
