Phil Taylor wrote, regarding the proposal for an extended K: syntax to
permit direct notation of accidentals.
>If this change in standard
>becomes accepted, the vast majority of users will use it not just for
>the ambiguous tunes where it is appropriate, but for ALL transcriptions.
>We will have lost what is one of the major advantages of abc over
>conventional notation for the sake of dealing with a theoretical
>problem applying to a very small number of tunes.
For the record, I agree with Phil about this danger. And, I'm not too
bothered by the need to make an arbitrary choice now and again.
On the other hand, the current situation has its own problems. Now, the
problem is that less knowledgeable users simply use the major key which
happens to have the right number of sharps or flats. There are lots of A
dorian tunes which are notated as G major. If the proposed change in the
standard were widely adopted, some of these less knowledgeable users might
just write K: ^f. This is no worse than the wrong key, and perhaps better.
So, given that there are no really clear arguments one way or the other, I
guess it's reasonable to permit the extended syntax and hope for the best.
Robert Bley-Vroman
Honolulu
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