Alain, I haven't the vaguest idea of what you are talking about.
> Tony, > His real name is Spaminabocks, > Alain But I think I agree with you. I promised myself some time ago not to get into the nit-picking of words and HIP details on this list, but I am weak and broke my promise to myself. Can't blame anyone else. I blame Canada (a convenient place to blame, I drink their beer and I am of biology a Canadian - my father was born in NWT in 1898 - and was a "green carder" in the USA from the mid twenties until his death at 90 in 1988). My message was silly, definitions aren't perfect - but this list seems to require "perfection". Luckily, for all of us, and particularly for music, there is no such thing as perfection, although there is always the goal of perfecting. We can define a perfect thing, even within the scope of language. An atom of Hydrogen, or atoms of many simple elements. So many electrons and so many protones and so many neutrons (but it gets a bit hazy when one looks at the super sub-atomic particless that may have transient mass - but let's not go that deep into the sh!t); Carbon has several major isotopes, the definition of carbon on the physical scale and the chemical scale differs. And that simplest of molecules, the free hydrogen, has variations. Think deuterium (heavy water). Nothing is perfect, and the sound of strings is a fine example. Somewhere else in this thread someone mentioned the use of the lip muscles on the brass, but that is a canard when it comes to sound. It is true for the brass, and for the reeds. But there is no way to manipulate the sound (pitch) of the whistle, or organ pipe. (OK, you can do it, but is is a lot of effort). Who gives a damn if it is a' = 392, or a'=440. That is one of the beauties of tab. Pitch is irrelvant. If the musicians come together intentionally they can tune together in tab, Tab has no pitchesl But the key signatures come into play with the other instruments. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
