On Mon, 11 Feb 2002, John Walsh wrote:

> As you point out, that leads to a contradiction: by rule one, a tied
> note is the same as the note in the preceeding measure;  by rule 2, it
> can't be the same note since the accidental has just been cancelled by
> the bar line. Bingo, contradiction!

What does this prove, except that *your* rules are self-defeating and
incomplete?  If your rules imply a contradiction where even novice
musicians agree on a single interpretation, don't you think maybe the
problem is with how you stated them?

> While it avoids this particular problem, I can imagine that there may
> be another situation in which that rule conflicts with *another* rule.
> A further, even more careful statement would clear that up...and so
> on.

If this is the case, and I doubt it, then the problem is with careless
statements being made, not the the practices that they are meant to
describe.  An accurate description of a rule *should* require careful
language, and it might require exceptions, or even exceptions to
exceptions.  But that doesn't imply a contradiction.

>       We have indeed discussed this, and I'd hate to undermine any
> consensus the list has by dragging it out. I used this as an example
> because we *had* discussed it, and had agreed on it.

Actually, this interpretation did not come from any discussion or
consensus on this list.  I took it directly from The Norton Manual of
Music Notation.  We aren't breaking new ground here.

>       Sure, I interpret it as an f sharp too, but...well...suppose
> that the second accidental was smaller and had parentheses around it,
> making clear it was a courtesy accidental.  Would that change
> anything?

No.  A courtesy accidental is still an accidental.  In fact, the use of
parentheses is unnecessary, and not recommended.  They don't communicate
anything useful to the performer.

> Would the third f now be sharp or natural?  The conflict for me is
> this:  The accidental on the second f is indeed physically printed in
> the second measure. But the accidental is printed before the note,
> which is also physically printed in the second measure.  Now we agree
> that the note is "really" part of the previous measure,

When did we agree to that?  The (sounded) note is clearly part of *both*
measures.  The second written note simply indicates how much longer after
the barline to sustain it.  And since it describes what is happening
*after the barline,* why should the note or its accidental be considered
part of the previous measure?

John





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