On 10-Jun-12, at 10-Jun-12 12:42 AM, Darcy James Argue wrote: > To be fair, it's also because "proper" vertical spelling of > enharmonics in highly chromatic music (like jazz, and like a lot of > interesting pop/B'way/etc) frequently results in less legible parts > than you'd get by spelling parts in a horizontally logical fashion. > > At one point, I experimented with spelling every accidental > according to Hoyle, regardless of the resultant double-sharps and > double-flats, etc. The musicians I presented this to universally > *hated* it, even those with extensive classical backgrounds. >
We've had this discussion before, and I don't expect to convert you, but I can't help but think that you weren't doing it right. Generally, correct harmonic spelling is preferred on anything slower than a quarter note, and correct melodic spelling (try to stay in natural scales and arpeggios as much as possible) on anything faster. Diminished 7th chords don't count, unless they are secondary VIIdim7 resolving up a half step, because they are generally the result of linear movement, not vertical forces. Also, things like #9 are correctly spelled as b10; they just don't have the correct name in usual jazz nomenclature. Synthetic scales and anything that acts like a synthetic scale (like the altered scale) don't have correct spellings, so you do the best you can and try to avoid augmented and diminished intervals unless they resolve like aug and dim intervals are supposed to. > The expectation in jazz (and pop etc) is that you will spell > accidentals with a minimum of fuss, and players get ornery if you > get too cute, even if the accidentals are technically correct. > I totally agree with the first clause of that sentence, but if the accidentals are technically correct (see my first paragraph) there shouldn't be any dissent. Players who automatically scoff at a C flat just don't get out enough in my opinion, but what are you SUPPOSED to do with flat 7th degree in the key of Db, say in a blues line? Things get harder to nail down if you don't use a key signature but ARE in a key, which is why I much prefer to use a key signature for anything that you can hear a key in. I understand you compose a lot of music that might be in a key at times, but doesn't use a key signature, so this might account for your different experience to a certain extent. > I'm all for spelling basic chord tones consistently on parts that > actually show the entire harmony (piano, guitar). At no point > should anyone ever write a B major seventh chord with an Eb and A#. > But at at a certain point, musicians of all stripes learn to tune > by ear, not by eye. So no, I'm not that sympathetic to the idea > that string players tune an F# and a Gb differently, because in > point of fact, *good* string players learn to hear where they are > in the harmony and adjust accordingly, enharmonics be damned -- > just like wind players and brass players. > > Cheers, > > - DJA Well, you can help them out in tuning quite a bit if you spell correctly. In say the key of C, a G# is most likely to act as if it were a major third (tune lower) and an Ab is most likely to act as a minor third (tune higher) so if the passage is slow, you get to help them by choosing the right spelling. Likewise, if it is acting as an ornament in a fast passage, you spell it by its melodic resolution, not by its harmonic value. I consider the barrier to good performance is higher, not lower, by using incorrect spellings. Christopher _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
