> > 3. The *single* serious argument against absolute music — that it requires > > extra typing [of apostrophes and commas] — is essentially eliminated by > > using an IDE like Frescobaldi: using MIDI input means I avoid typing note > > code (including octavation symbols) almost entirely, and the transposition > > functions let me instantaneously re-octavate large sections of code if > > that’s ever required (which it basically never is). I believe we should be > > encouraging users to use tools like Frescobaldi — because I believe their > > coding lives would be made easier in *so* many ways — and the “crutch” of > > \relative means there’s less incentive to do so in the early stages of the > > learning curve (which is exactly when habits, good or bad, tend to be > > formed). > > Using variables for pieces longer than two bars is probably more > crucial than teaching beginners the intricacies of using \transpose > inline. > > I’ve been using MIDI for years and still use \relative. I mostly work > with vocal music and find it easier to read, and to me, propagating an > octave error to the end of the piece is a feature rather than a bug. > Frescobaldi happily processes \relative music as easily as it does > \absolute music. > > If I sent a score to Kieran, the first thing he would spend 20 seconds > converting it to \absolute in Frescobaldi :-)
I'd like to add my +1 to this. I don't have any of the show stopper Kieren is so evangelistic about and very clearly find \relative easier to enter via a normal keyboard by a long shot. Entering all those "'" (requires SHIFT on a german keyboard) and "," is not at all fluent. I also find reading \relative much easier but that my be depending on what you're used to. I seldom use transpose and I know of no case where I have nested transpose. With unnested transpose I have not yet had a problem. And frescobaldi does very easily transform from \relative to \absolute, should I ever need it. Therefor my conclusion is: Kieren surely has good reason to prefer \absolute, but deriving that \relative is inferior and should be avoided is overdoing it IMO. Kind regards, Michael PS: When I get a LP file with all \absolute, the first thing I do is spend 20 seconds to convert it all to \relative in frscobaldi :D -- Michael Gerdau email: m...@qata.de GPG-keys available on request or at public keyserver