system (was: names of vertical spacing dimensions)

[Graham Percival]

On Tue, Oct 12, 2010 at 07:18:37PM -0400, James Lowe wrote:
> As an instrument player (as opposed to a singer or 'vocalist')
> who has neither conducted or composed anything more than a few
> 'dittys' I can see how this would be the case where I have never
> come across the term system.

For the record, I'm pretty certain that I played the Dvorak cello
concerto with an orchestra before encountering the term "system".
I know that I first encountered it in lilypond, after I'd been
playing professionally in orchestras [1] and teaching.

I took conducting lessons after that (where I'm certain I
encountered the term), and got a B.Mus after that (where I'm
certain I encountered it again)... but instrumentalists can
definitely be quite skilled without knowing the term.


[1] I must admit that I interpret "playing professional in
orchestras" to include "getting paid for playing with a community
orchestra", not merely "playing in a professional orchestra".
They were relatively minor orchestras, and I had to drive up to
220 miles (sorry, that's 350 km.  The Brits are getting to me!) to
reach them.

Cheers,
- Graham