Re: Chords and what they mean

[Noeck]

Hi Kaj, Kieren,

Am 18.09.2015 um 22:47 schrieb Kieren MacMillan:
>> The question why c:5 only just gets a "normal" c chord instead of a power 
>> chord
> It’s a good question.
> Certainly, composers (like me) who work in musical theatre write C5 to mean 
> <c g>… so it would be nice to enter the same in Lilypond.

Answering why is easy: The number indicates the step up to which thirds
are added [1] and between c and g you can put the usual 2 thirds.
The question is more whether that is a desirable logic, because this
standard C chord is already entered as c and – as posted several times –
C5 usually/often indicates <c g> in scores. So this could qualify for an
exception.

Back to the question by Kaj whether the input language could be
adaptable: I would say, flexible ways of specifying the *output* is a
design goal of LilyPond and you can tweak almost everything to your
liking in the output on paper. Like the chord exceptions others posted.

Having different *input* syntax for different people according to their
taste is more complicated and it's doubtable that this is a good aim for
LilyPond. Exchanging code gets more complicated and small snippets are
not necessarily self-consistent. You always would have to specify the
definitions. One example where it is possible is the input language of
notes (e.g. \language english): In my German (\language deutsch) code <c
e g b> is a C7 chord not a Cmaj7. For note names I like that.
What I am trying to say: Adjustable input syntax also makes life more
complicated in other circumstances.

Cheers,
Joram

[1]:
http://www.lilypond.org/doc/v2.19/Documentation/notation/chord-mode.html#extended-and-altered-chords