Re: [abcusers] To tell the dancer from the dance
Frank Evil Grin Nordberg challenged Can anybody come up with a clear and consise definition (in twenty words or less) of the difference between musically relevant and purely notational features? A difference between two pieces of notation is musically relevant if and only if it means they should sound different. (20 words) Thus writing in a different key and inserting accidentals to correct is not musically relevant. Writing something in bass clef rather than treble clef with many legers is not musically relevant. Putting guitar chords above the staff rather than below is not musically relevant. An instruction to play a note on fret 9 of the G string instead of the open E string is musically relevant. Laurie To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [abcusers] To tell the dancer from the dance
Laurie wrote: Frank Evil Grin Nordberg challenged Can anybody come up with a clear and consise definition (in twenty words or less) of the difference between musically relevant and purely notational features? A difference between two pieces of notation is musically relevant if and only if it means they should sound different. (20 words) Thus writing in a different key and inserting accidentals to correct is not musically relevant. Writing something in bass clef rather than treble clef with many legers is not musically relevant. Putting guitar chords above the staff rather than below is not musically relevant. An instruction to play a note on fret 9 of the G string instead of the open E string is musically relevant. I agree. However, some features of musical notation which are not musically relevant are nonetheless important beacuse they make the music easier to read (e.g. bar lines and beams) or because they make the notation more compact and efficient (e.g.repeats and the broken rhythm marker in abc). The criterion of musical relevance is certainly something we should consider when discussing extensions to the language, but I don't think it's of overriding importance. Phil Taylor To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [abcusers] To tell the dancer from the dance
Laurie (ukonline) wrote: A difference between two pieces of notation is musically relevant if and only if it means they should sound different. (20 words) Nice one, Laurie :-) Except, I think it ought to be will sound different rather than should sound different, that is, what matters in the end is not what the guy who wrote the notes down intended, but how the performing musicians actually interpret the stuff. But, of course, that's my personal opinion ;-) The problem with both Laurie's definition and my modified one is that they aren't very useful. Both Laurie and Phil listed a couple of examples of notation details that are irrelevant. Well, are they? - No Do any of the two definitions help us decide? - Hardly Phil Taylor wrote: The criterion of musical relevance is certainly something we should consider when discussing extensions to the language, but I don't think it's of overriding importance. I'm afraid I can't fully agree with you here, Phil. It isn't of overriding importance, of course, but it definitely is important. The question of which factors of music are relevant and which are irrelevant, is highly subjective and personal. Some might argue that accidentals are irrelevant, since they can't hear the difference between a c and a c sharp anyway, others might regard minute intonation variations to be of the greatest importance. Anybody who says this notation detail is irrelevant is necessarily wrong. If, on the other hand, he says (as Atte did) this notation detail is irrelevant to me - well, that's fair enough. Frank To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
Re: [abcusers] To tell the dancer from the dance
From: Laurie (ukonline) [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 17:34:58 +0100 Thus writing in a different key and inserting accidentals to correct is not musically relevant. I disagree. Writing __B instead of A, for instance, gives an indication of the chord or chord progression that the composer had in mind. Most players would rather read A than __B, but someone analyzing the score will probably be thankful for the __B notation. In short, it isn't relevant to the sounds that come out, but it is relevant to understanding what's going on musically. I think anything that's relevant to analysis of the music is musically relevant. Jeff To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
