With all this talk of staves, I am tempted to whip out my euphonium & play "Roll Out the Barrel."
Would that stave off an impending disaster? Jim "stave is also a verb, remember!" Williams Sent from my iPhone, so please pardon all the typos. On Jun 14, 2012, at 4:08 PM, "Lawrence" <[email protected]> wrote: > Because a singular line is a stave and the plural is staves. :-) > > Cheers, > > Lawrence (in England) > > Sent from my iPhone > > On 14 Jun 2012, at 07:46 PM, "David H. Bailey" > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On 6/14/2012 1:59 PM, John Howell wrote: >>> At 8:14 AM -0400 6/14/12, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz wrote: >>>> On Thu, June 14, 2012 7:36 am, Florence + Michael wrote: >>>>> Here's what Elaine Gould writes >>>>> "To keep the stave as uncluttered as possible >>>> >>>> Just curious: Do you use 'stave' for the singular form? It sounds odd to >>>> me, >>>> even though it's apparently correct. I hadn't heard this singular form >>>> until >>>> recently, and wondered if it's regional? >>> >>> >>> It may well be a cross-the-pond difference, as >>> some seem to think that a choice between "bar" >>> and "measure" is. (I've always used both terms >>> interchangeably.) >>> >>> To me it's always been obvious that a single >>> staff is a staff, and the plural is staves. >>> "Stave" as a singular feels like an incorrect >>> derivation. But that's just me. I'm also >>> careful to use "medium" as the singular of >>> "media"; "datum" as the singular of "data"; and >>> "timpano" as the singular of "timpani." >>> >> >> On the other hand, if there are multiple groups of people working for an >> organization, they are pluralized to be "staffs." Again for the use of >> the word "staff" as a wooden stick, the plural is "staffs." So why, if >> the singular for a line of music is a "staff" isn't the plural "staffs?" >> >> And thinking about the plural for those pieces of wood shaped to form a >> barrel, they are called "staves" and the singular is called "stave" as >> in "a barrel stave." >> >> I think that somewhere long ago in history words got mistranslated out >> of the Italian and then misused in different English speaking areas. >> >> Since we're on lexicography, can anybody explain why sharps, flats and >> naturals are called "accidentals?" >> >> -- >> David H. Bailey >> [email protected] >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Finale mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
