John Chambers wrote:
>
> One minor quibble, which deals with a marginal issue that I'd like to
> mention: I think the "without implying a root" isn't the main thing
> here; it would be better to say "without stating a mode".
I stand corrected.
...
>
> So my "marginal" point: The current standard says that if no mode is
> given, major is assumed. It has been suggested that in my extended
> K:<tonic><mode><signature>
> syntax, the same default should apply. I think this is a bad idea. In
> my implementation in abc2ps, what I did was to say that if only the
> <tonic> is given, with no <mode> or <signature>, then major is
> assumed. This is a subtle point, but I think it has significance.
>
> To see why, consider a musician trying to transcribe a tune in what a
> middle-eastern musician would call "E hejaz" or a klezmer musician
> would call "E freygish". I'd write this as
> K:E^G
> That is, the tonic is E and the signature consists solely of a G
> sharp. (It could obviously be K:^g if you prefer.)
The problem is the "global accidentals" of abc. Global accidentals is a
good idea, but it is misinterpreted by a number of applications and
certainly messes up the syntax if we want to introduce non-standard key
signatures. I'm sure we can find a way round that though.
As for the misinterpretation part, I suggest the devolpers of the
applications in question update their software to confirm to the present
abc standard. To avoid a potential sidetrack, here's a quote from the
abc 1.6. standard:
Finally, global accidentals can also be set in this field so
that, for example, K:D =c would write the key signature as two
sharps (key of D) but then mark every c as natural...
So, the standard clearly states that global accidentals is *not* a part
of the key signature.
Frank Nordberg
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