1) From a notation propriety point of view, any reactions to this strategy? I understand that there are alternatives, such as notating D mixolydian with one sharp; or 2) notating with two sharps and then using naturals throughout where alteration is required. A problem with (1) is that classically oriented players will tend to read that as G major / E minor; and fiddle tune structure and cadences don't always make the tonal center visually obvious; for example many Irish D mixolydian tunes have strong cadences on the G, or IV chord. A problem with (2) is the visual clutter if the flatted seventh occurrences predominate; and a vague philosophical discomfort with presenting these modes as somehow an alteration of a presumed major scale.
Well, I've learned a lot from all of you in your posts regarding this topic. Wow! Thanks!
Personally, if I saw the words "D mixolydian" at the top of the piece and F#'s either in the key signature or without a key signature but as accidentals throughout the piece, I'd know what to do. One could also add "Lilting" to be extra clear I suppose...:-) Putting two sharps in the key sig and then naturals throughout would be distracting to me.
3) Last but not least, since these will be recurring key signature requirements, is there any way to create a library of them for reuse? The problem of course is that # of modes times root tonics will result in a large number of special signatures that have to be worked up. It would be helpful to be able to define a mode, then assign it/transpose it to a key and have the accidentals just sort themselves out. Have I missed an obvious feature of Finale to accomplish this?
You could set up a template with these libraries in them and you'd only have to create them once. Then, name it something like "modal template"and make it read only...on a mac you can make it a stationary file. Then just create a new document from the template once you go to write.
-K
-- Karen Guthery [EMAIL PROTECTED] ichat: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
