On May 28, 2006, at 2:53 PM, David W. Fenton wrote:
On 28 May 2006 at 13:41, Richard Smith wrote:
If I may be permitted to yank this thread in another direction, I am
convinced that in many (certainly not all) cases, the use of repeats,
endings, DS, al Coda, al Fine, ect. is obsolete. Current practice is
often stuck in the habits of previous centuries and does not reflect
the capabilities of our software. Finale or Sibelius (even most of the
"toy" notation programs) eliminate the need for repeats to save the
engraver's time. Just copy and paste (and edit as needed).
The one thing that would be lost would be the "analytical" value of
the older notation, which tells you "this is exactly the same music
that you're playing both times" whereas writing it out does not tell
you that immediately.
I would hope that a musician knowing that something is an exact
repeat will cause that musician to perform the music differently in
some way.
I do know that if repeats are written out then I'm going to spend
time figuring out if the music is precisely the same or if it's
varied on its return, something I consider to crucial to
understanding the piece's meaning.
I must say that I am with David on this one. Not invariably, as I can
think of several circumstances where I would prefer a written out
section to a repeat, but generally speaking, when nothing works against
a repeat, I would use a repeat. I use the same logic when writing one
and two-bar repeats. There is something that eases the mind when you
see a bar repeat, knowing that you don't have to decode another measure
all over again. I know it is not standard procedure, but I sometimes
even write a four-bar repeat, but only when it eases the strain, not to
increase it.
Some of the circumstances that work against a repeat are:
If the performer needed to turn a page backwards, I would avoid the
repeat.
If there are any kind of complex instructions, like Tacet 3rd X, Play
2nd X only, 8va 2nd X, etc., that do not apply consistently to the
entire iteration, then I would avoid the repeat.
If a part is meant to be sight read with no rehearsal, like touring
shows and stage acts that hire local musicians, I would avoid a repeat.
If I had a long 2nd ending, then a 3rd ending, I might avoid a repeat
just to avoid, as Hiro says, "the performer jumping around" either in
frustration or while looking for the next passage he is to play. At
least with a coda I can indent it and space it lower to draw the eye to
it. Harder to do with an ending.
If I am saving four measures or less, no repeat.
Christopher
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