Remo D. wrote:
> I'm not sure I understand what you mean, I think that working on one of
> the alternatives we discussed, we would find an acceptable solution, am
> I missing anything?
No, it seems you've got it, but just in case:
+ Writing percussion abc to be read by a human drummer is easy. You just
write each drum in whatever pitch you feel makes sense (or whatever
pitch you chosen "standard" tells you to). Stuff like special clefs and
note shapes and hiding accidentals and key signatures are nice and helps
readability, but not really essential.
However, you can't expect a abc-midi player to play this kind of
notation correctly.
+ Writing percussion abc to be played through midi is also easy. You
just find out what midi note the sound you want is assigned to.
But that kind of notation will be all but unreadable to a human.
+ Writing percussion abc that is readable *both* to a human and a midi
converter is tricky. I think we've made some progress through this
discussion, but we're not nearly there yet and there are still a lot of
unresolved issues.
Three examples:
1) Computer friendliness
I don't know neither your nor Hudson's background, but my impression is
that like me you are musicians rather than programmers. If I'm correct,
no programmers have entered the discussion yet. That may be more
important than you think. What's the point in agreeing upon standards if
nobody's going to write software that supports it?
2) Lack of focus
The recent suggestion of mixing note shape definitions and note mapping
shows that we keep confusing human and computer readability:
+ Note shapes are for humans and humans only. An abc-to-midi converter
couldn't care less about them.
+ Note maps are for midi converters and midi converters only. Most
humans who read the music won't even see the map.
That doesn't mean we can't combine the data if convenient. It only means
that such a mixing must be done through a conscious and well founded
decision, not because of mushy thinking.
3) Lack of simplicity
I know I keep repeating myself, but abc's one and only real advantage is
its simplicity. Once its gone, sentimentality would be the only reason
why anybody should want to support the standard.
Frank Nordberg
http://www.musicaviva.com
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