[HANASHIR:1509] Re: HANASHIR digest 353

[Bailey, Kent R., Ph.D. <baileyk...>]

Dear HN,


Regarding communicating musical melodies --


I don't know if this notation is out there, but why not just a simple
text notation like:


C(1) D(1) Ef (2) Fs(1) ...  indicating C for 1 count, D for 1 count, 
E flat for 2, F-sharp for 1, etc.

you could have R(2) for a 2 count rest, etc. 

A count can be a quarter note, or it could be an eighth note, or
anything else you specify for a particular piece.

You could give the time signature, key signature, etc. 

You'd have to indicate what beat of the measure the whole thing starts off
with.  Or you could have a code for measure marks (M), indeed measure marks
might be essential with complex changing time signatures.

Notes that extend over measures -- ? 


Certainly for communicating melodies, this takes modest time to
put down, and it requires no software.  It is very easy to read,
and if someone doesn't understand, a simple query would probably
clarify it.  

It doesn't capture every nuance or phrasing, and isn't a replacement for
written music. 

There is also still the problem of combining it with the words. Oftentimes,
it may be obvious how to fit the words in.  If not, you might be able to
accomplish it by starting at the same point, and including counts for each
syllable of each word, as well as rests, i.e. two streams of data, one
with the musical notes in rhythm, and one with the syllables in rhythm.


Often, I don't need an elegant standard musical representation, I just
need to know the sequence of notes combined with the rhythm, at least
to get me started.

If we could agree on such a language, I think this would be a tremendous
boon to people like me, who just want to have the melody on paper, and not
have to depend on a rapidly decreasing aural memory.


Example:  Ein Keloheinu

C(2) C(1) C(1)  M  D(1) E(1) C(2)  M   etc.

Ein(2)  Ke(1) lo(1)  M  Hei (2) Nu(2)  M   etc.

(I don't know Steve Dropkin's, but if anyone does, can they (or Steve)
 put it in this notation?)


Kent Bailey
Rochester, MN 
baileyk (at) mayo(dot)edu