Don't know if it helps, but the next release of HARMONY will implement parts, so you can put in a formula such as
A ( (AB)*2 (AC)*2 )*3 Neil Jennings ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Chambers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: 02 December 2003 22:20 Subject: Re: [abcusers] Bar Lengths > Richard Robinson writes: > | On Wed, Nov 19, 2003 at 09:26:40PM -0000, Phil Headford wrote: > | > I may have missed this from an earlier discussion; apologies if so. > | > Real, working musicians in bands need to be able to choose (often in a matter of seconds) a tune to go with the next dance. > | > With a repertoire of hundreds (or a thousand or two) of tunes, the characteristics of each tune or set are not always easy to bring to mind. > | > So, many of us have little 5 or 6 page lists, which give some of our favourite tunes aranged by the following criteria: > | > > | > Tune type (polka, jig, reel, etc) > | > Key (and modulations) > | > Bar length > | > > | > So which field in ABC do I use for bar structure? I have been putting this info into a J: header field - eg 32=8*2+8+8 for Galopede, 40=8*2+12*2 for Herbert Smith's Polka, > | > 40=8*2+8+8*2 for Waterloo Dance. Some might think this academic, but for practical musicians, it's the second thing you want to know about a tune. > | > | It's a good question. I've wished, several times, that I'd done such a > | thing from the start. And maybe one day I'll get round to it, but in the > | meantime I've occasionally cheated, with things like "R:32-bar Jig"; > | which is better than nothing, but not the Right Way. > > I've often thought of this, too. It does seem like these two could be > combined in a form like: > R: Jig 32=8*2+8+8 > This would have the advantage that programs looking only for the > basic rhythm's name would find it where they expect it, and programs > wanting more details could look at the rest and try to make sense of > it. > > OTOH, the modifier first makes more sense in English and many other > languages. Thus, I have a number of tunes with rhythms like: > R: Boda-polska > > I like to include the hyphen to separate the modifier off from the > basic rhythm, though Swedes would of course not use the hyphen. > > In any case, I'd also have the criticism that I often want to know > more about the internal rhythm of measures, so I can find tunes that > truly match. Thus, single and double jigs often don't work well > together, for the same reason that marches and reels don't work well > together. I have a "strathspey" directory that includes tunes used > under that name at Scottish dances, but it's a jumbled mixture of > true strathspeys with shottishes and airs. They come from a lot of > sources, and the borderlines are fuzzy, making it difficult to label > them so that you can select just one kind of tune. > > I'd imagine that most rhythmic terms in most musical styles have the > same sort of problem. I don't know how to handle it well. > > > -- > O > <:#/> John Chambers > + <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > / \ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 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
