Re: Issue 3286: add single-C time signature style (issue 164830043 by address@hidden)

[Joram]

Hi Dan,

Am 26.10.2014 um 19:30 schrieb Dan Eble:
> On Oct 26, 2014, at 13:36 , Joram <address@hidden> wrote:
> > So C instead of 4/4 because of the quarter notes (and not the 4 of them) and ¢ 
> > instead of 2/2 for the halves (not the 2 of them). A 4/2 would then be ¢ not C, 
> > right?
>
> I might be persuaded that you are right by an example of c being used with a 
> measure length of 3/4 or ¢ with a measure length of 3/2.

No, I havn’t seen that. I was arguing mainly because of the 4/2 = ¢ case 
that Simon explained here:
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-user/2014-10/msg00273.html

> The way I have been looking at it, c represents quadruple meter and ¢ 
> represents duple.

This is an interpretation I guessed from 4/4=c and 2/2=¢, too. But I 
don’t think it is correct from the above mail by Simon, which I found 
quite convincing. I havn’t seen the double cc and ¢¢ so far. But wasn’t 
your style called single-C?


> This interpretation is partly drawn from a hymnal I have in which cc 
and ¢¢ are each used in songs with a measure length of one breve, and I 
have difficulty believing that cc is being used to indicate 8/4.  It 
makes more sense to say ¢¢ = 2/1 and cc = 4/2.  (One possibility that 
occurred to me is that cc is a typo for ¢¢ and they both mean 4/2. 
Simon dissuaded me from that.)
> I thought it would make little difference to people such as Simon whether their 
> Lilypond code says 4/2 or 2/1 as long as they got the right symbol, and I was 
> looking for a way to do it that was more consistent on the whole, based on the 
> examples I’ve seen.

The same way they could use 8/4 or 4/2 to choose the symbol, couldn’t they?

I see your consistency issue. But according to my understanding the 
reason for the symbols is different and I would like to see Lilypond 
reflect musically and historically correct styles and not a posteriori 
invented rules. But I am by no means an expert on this. I added Simon 
because it seems he knows more than me.

In short:
- I appreciate this work on a new time signature style.
- I have doubts that the numerator should be used to select the symbol
- I would like to see a music expert comment on this, because I am not

Cheers,
Joram