One could say that this is actually a non-ABC question.
If ABC is a language for specifying the layout of music as tadpoles on a
five bar gate then it matters. If ABC is a method of specifying the intent
of the music (for instance that all Es and Bs are to be flattened and that
all Fs are to be sharpened) then whether this is displayed as accidentals
sprinkled or as a "non-standard" key signature is a matter for the
displaying software.
On the other hand, it probably does matter. For instance the above Bb, Eb,
F# I would probably like to be all in the keysig - but transpose it up a
tone and you get just G# and nothing else. Write that as a keysig with a
sharp on the space just above the line and most people will read it as the
key of G without looking too closely. If they look closely, they'll
probably say to themselves "misprint".
Write it as just a # on the line below the middle one and they'll say
"that's odd" and you'd better hope they don't think it's an accidental.
-----Original Message-----
From: James Allwright <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 29 January 2001 16:28
Subject: [abcusers] Global Accidentals
>On Mon 29 Jan 2001 at 03:12PM +0000, John Chambers wrote:
>>
>> Yes. If you read the 1.6 spec carefully, what it says is that the
>> things called "global accidentals" are to be drawn before all the
>> notes in the tune. It says "... for example, K:D =c would write the
>> key signature as two sharps (key of D) but then mark every c as
>> natural ...." It also states that such accidentals are separated from
>> each other and the key signature by spaces.
>>
>
>Does anyone have a requirement for global accidentals as described above ?
>Would anyone object if they were dropped and you got the ability to add
>accidentals to the key signature instead ? If the answer to both of these
>is "no", then we should adopt the key signature implementation of global
>accidentals.
>
>James Allwright
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