Phil Taylor writes: | | Section 2.1.2, the paragraph on Global accidentals could at | least mention the possibility of adding these to the key signature | rather than dotting them through the tune as an option.
Since this is one of the things I've implemented, I was also thinking of suggesting some modifications. Actually, I think the section could be improved by shortening it. The suggestion of putting the accidentals before notes is best simply dropped. Then you might end up with something like: Global accidentals can also be set in this field so that, for example, K:Amix=g would write the key signature as two sharps and one natural (on the g space). Note that the there can be several global accidentals, each specified with an accidental, `__', `_', `=', `^' or `^^', (see below) followed by a letter in lower case. Global accidentals are overridden by accidentals attached to notes within the body of the abc tune and are reset by each change of signature. This leaves ambiguous just where the accidentals are to be drawn. We might mention this explicitly with something like: Such accidentals are usually written as part of the key signature at the left of each staff. Optionally, they may be drawn before the notes in the tune. I'd have a few uses for this if it were implemented (and I've been thinking of doing that with my personal abc2ps clone). I'd also have uses for an option that put all the accidentals before the notes, with no key signature at all. This could come in handy in writing musical teaching documents. But it might be better to just leave this out. Such options would only be found in a few advance programs. You might also find useful things like unrolling repeats. But it's hardly worthwhile wasting words in the standard talking about such things. I've also found the phrase "explicit key signature" more useful than "global accidentals", though I don't suppose that's a real big deal. Careful readers might note that I also dropped the old standard's requirement that global accidentals be set off by spaces. There's no real reason to require this, just as we don't require that the tonic and the mode be separated by a space. I wonder if it would be useful to explicitly state that these spaces are optional. To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
