Re: Diatonic notation system

[Graham Breed]

2008/12/10 Hans Aberg <address@hidden>:
>
> On 10 Dec 2008, at 07:40, Graham Breed wrote:

>> Transpositions aren't "computed against" any equal temperament.  If
>> you transpose by a comma, then a comma will be added or subtracted
>> from the previous alterations.  The resulting alterations will be
>> calculated according to the grid you specified.  If you defined
>> accidentals for them, those accidentals will be shown.  Maybe there's
>> an error -- if you find it, report it as a bug.
>
> I did it for E53 - it did not work. I attach a file.

No you didn't.  You did something else in E53 and that didn't work.
There are still no transpositions.  There are some attempts to get the
MIDI output to work.  Did it?  It looks like you're on the right
track.

I wouldn't expect transpositions to work with this file because you've
defined your flat according to an equal temperament -- exactly what I
told you not to do.  You've also specified fine tunings and not
included them in the accidental lookup table so I wouldn't expect
printed output to work even without the transpositions.  Maybe these
problems can be fixed but it will still mean different init files for
printing and MIDI.

Define the flat as a half step (-1/2) and the other accidentals
relative to it.  Then transpositions might work.

>>> Since the name diesis has many uses, you will have to elaborate.
>>
>> Since even the name "enharmonic diesis" has more then one use even in
>> a meantone context, I did elaborate.  I got the definition wrong
>> though, because I said it was 1 step from 50.  It should be 2 steps so
>> maybe that's what confused you.  It's 1 step from 19, 31, 43, 55, and
>> so on adding 12 each time.  In M and m it would be 2m-M I think.
>
> Perhaps you mean the between a sharp and a flattened M, like between F# and
> Gb, which may be positive or negative. Since I do not impose any such
> relations, those are not confused.

Yes, that's the one.  If you only record pitches with M and m they
will be confused because m=m.  The diesis above C# (let's call it C#^)
will come out the same as Db.  If I asked for C#^ maybe you'll give me
Db.

>>>> I'm not writing it.  If I did I'd probably use Pythagorean notation
>>>> with a comma accidental.
>>>
>>> So that would then work with the method I gave.
>>
>> I didn't say it wouldn't.  But, in fact, it wouldn't.  Your
>> Pythagorean notation would make the comma below E indistinguishable
>> from Fb.
>
> Why would that be: m and M generate the Pythagorean system, and it already
> contains a comma if you so like, but if the comma has different musical
> function, introduce a netral second to describe it.

Yes, and a comma below E is the same as an M-m below F.  If all you're
doing to record pitches is storing values for M and m there's no way
to distinguish E lowered by a comma (call it E\) and Fb.  So my score
might end up with Fb when I wanted E\.  If you're doing something else
you haven't specified it.  I could define a new alteration (not a
neutral second) for the comma to make it distinct from M-2m (or
whatever) but then I'd be lying to Lilypond in exactly the way you
don't seem to like with the existing system.


                                 Graham