At 12:40 PM 6/24/06 -0400, Andrew Stiller wrote: >I don't think this "cycling back out" is likely any time soon. >Historically, the norm for notation is a very gradual evolution based >on changing understanding of what notations mean. Periods of frank >experimentation come along only about once every 300 years, and seldom >last very long.
The recently-ended experimental period was a long stretch, about 75 years, and the last one was only a century earlier (Beethoven). Before that, the time largely ignored now, Sturm und Drang. And Mannerism, that spectacular post-Renaissance turmoil. And the previous biggie, of course, and probably my favorite, the Ars Nova. But my point was that experimentation is ongoing with rare exceptions -- and this time is one of the exceptions (ca. 1985-present). Its beginning also corresponded with the introduction of notation programs, meaning there was no pressure of any kind to include the complete music symbology as represented by Karkoschka et al. And I'd suspect some symbiosis as composers wrote to the software, particularly since Finale (and now Sibelius) were and are new nonpop-hostile in design and execution. This temporary conservative retrenchment will break down within a decade, if history is any guide. And with cycles increasing in speed, I expect that by 2010 we'll see it happening. The only problem will be the stratification I mentioned -- I think of it as the 'professional' composers vs. the 'creative' composers. The Moeller/Shim/Staebler "SoundVisions" book shows that notational improvement continues, so there will be no generational loss while we work ourselves out of the present climate. Dennis -- Please participate in my latest project: http://maltedmedia.com/waam/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
