Re: A few remarks concerning \relative

[David Kastrup]

Graham Percival <address@hidden> writes:

> On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 07:54:11AM +0200, David Kastrup wrote:
>> 
>>    * The pitch of the first note is relative to `STARTPITCH'.
>>      `STARTPITCH' is specified in absolute octave mode, and it is
>>      recommended that it be a octave of `c'.
>> 
>> Why c?
>
> Because C is the default "base note" in western classical music.

That's a non-sequitur since it means that the following note will,
without any octave indication, be one of

    g a b c' d' e' f'

So \relative c' leaves us with a "base note" of g.

> I have no clue why we didn't call A major the key with no sharps
> or flats, but that's the legacy we're left with.  Most people
> think of octaves happening from C to C.

\relative c' selects the happening octave to be from g to f'.

>> Then we also have:
>> 
>>    If no `STARTPITCH' is specified for `\relative', then `c'' is
>>    assumed.  However, this is a deprecated option and may disappear in
>>    future versions, so its use is discouraged.
>> 
>> Note that if that syntax is discontinued, then \relative can be
>> implemented as a music function.
>
> Well, I've been wanting to get rid of it for years.  I was only
> waiting for GLISS.

One could start by removing it from snippets and regtests.

-- 
David Kastrup