My concern is that this is the "thin end of the wedge". Up to now abc is entirely contained within a single file and there is no external macro mechanism. If it is introduced for the Q: field then I think that sets a precedent and I don't want that. By all means publish a list of suggested tempos as predefined symbols. Perhaps the list might include Largo, Lento, Moderato, Andante, Allegro, Allegretto, Presto, Prestisimo and a few others for classical music (apologies if I've spelled any wrongly, my Italian pronunciation is poor) Rant, Step hop, Skip, Walk, Run for folk dance music
Any player program can have a mechanism for adjustable defaults which is outside ABC. I just don't like at all the idea of a piece of music which relies on connections between several ABC files. (And we could have even more fun, we could have nested files so that each can reference the next and we could even have an annual ACB obfuscation competition). Laurie ----- Original Message ----- From: Anselm Lingnau <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, November 12, 2001 9:33 PM Subject: Re: [abcusers] something really simple > Laurie Griffiths <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > No!! I am very much against this. Although it may be convenient for > > writers of ABC it's horrid for readers. It makles it even harder to extract > > a tune and the probability would be very high that we should find orphan > > bits of ABC floating round with macros used but not defined. > > It's not as bad as all that. In the case of tempo specifications, a > player program could always fall back to a list of standard speeds (like > the ones given on a honest-to-goodness wind-up metronome) while > outputting a warning to its user that the tempo specification is > undefined. Notation programs are likely to output just the macro `name', > anyway (like `Allegro'), so it doesn't really matter whether there is a > speed associated with it or not. > > The nice thing about Jack's original proposal (which the silly > discussion on `display' vs. `playback' speeds has managed to obscure > quite thoroughly) is that it abstracts musical information (like > `Allegro') from presentation issues and/or matters of taste/convention > (like `1/4=120'). If implemented, it would, among other things, make it > possible to control the tempo of a bunch of tunes without having to > change the `Q:' line for every single one, which I find quite appealing. > > Anselm > -- > Anselm Lingnau .......................................... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > I think there is a world market for about five computers. > -- Thomas J. Watson, CEO, IBM Corporation, 1947 > > To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html > > To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
