[GLISS] Unifying \chordmode and \notemode

[David Kastrup]

I actually remembered one thing that remains worth doing: integrating
\chordmode into \notemode.

\chordmode and \notemode are quite orthogonal, and there are actually
only few differences:

c  means a major chord in chordmode, a note in notemode
c: means a major chord in chordmode, a tremolo with the same durations
   as the last tremolo in notemode
c:4 ...

Basically, the conflicts are that _not_ using a colon means a single
note vs. a major chord, and tremolo notation.

Sacrifice tremolo notation, and you are almost there.  Alternatively,
find a different way of writing chords, like using / instead of :.
While we are at it with \chordmode, the question is why the octave on
chords is being ignored: c:m and c,:m are the same chord.

Why would it make sense to have a unified mode?  Being able to combine
single notes in the same voice and partly in parallel or succession with
full chords makes sense for the piano, the guitar, the accordion, and
probably several other instruments.  Having to switch modes or spell out
standard chords all the time is an inconvenience.  With all of these
instruments, "Um-pah" kind of accompaniments alternating between a
single bass note and a chord is rather frequent.  Being able to write
those out sequentially would be seriously simplifying things.

This kind of change does not provide significant logical or coding
challenges: indeed the most important aspect is working out the
conflicts with existing syntax and choosing alternatives and sacrifices
where collisions occur.

Parser conflicts while working on this will be rather straightforward to
interpret and will have to be resolved by discussion and decision-making
rather than by coding tricks.

This would actually be a syntax project meaningfully tackled by a
community process, including making the decision of whether one wants to
tackle it.

-- 
David Kastrup