Re: Should \partial accept music instead of duration?

[Aaron Hill]

On 2022-03-20 1:56 am, Lukas-Fabian Moser wrote:
> > > What about providing a new command `\upbeat` and moving `\partial`
> > > into oblivion?  Compare this to `\tuplet` vs. `\times`.
> > >
> > >
> > >      Werner
> > ... Or you could use the brand new command \upbeat when music follows,
> > keep \partial, and you don't have to worry about backwards
> > compatibility.
>
> This makes a lot of sense IMHO since, linguistically, it's not the
> music that becomes "partial": it's the measure. The music becomes an
> upbeat (at least in most applications of \partial).

But as you say "most applications".  Partial or incomplete measures are 
not always anacruses.  Hymns nearly always cut the final measure short 
so it logically joins with the partial measure at the start of the tune. 
 You might also find incomplete measures in volta sections when the 
starting repeat mark is mid-measure.

To me, upbeat (opposite the term downbeat) describes 
articulation/emphasis more than it does timing.  \anacrusis or \pickup 
are better options though still too strongly linked to the beginning of 
a piece.  I think the existing \partial is the right word for the job.


-- Aaron Hill