From: mjs@fc.hp.com (Marc Sabatella)
Newsgroups: rec.music.makers
Subject: Re: Musical Notation Questions
Date: 25 Jan 1993 18:28:18 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company
Reply-To: marc@hpmonk.fc.hp.com
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Jon Berger (jonb@Ingres.COM) wrote:
: 
: Incidentally, interesting sidelight on the notion that "if the
: accidental affects all notes, it might as well be in the key signature."
: That's always been my opinion too, but formal music notation doesn't
: really agree.  Where this gets extremely visible is in modal music, i.e.
: tunes that use an arrangement of notes that is neither major or minor.

I have occassionally seen these types of key signatures spelled out, but it is
confusing to read because we are not used to these key signatures.  One could
probably do the same for harmonic minor; at least we are "used" to playing
that enough to perhaps be able to read the seventh as te raised seventh without
an accidental there.

An approach I see is to simply use no key signature at all for pieces in
unconventional keys, and leave everything to accidentals.  This is certainly
the way a lot of nontonal music is written.

Breaking notation rules, of course, is not a felony, and isn't even a
misdemeanor, except possibly in Georgia :-)  Just ask John Cage or Anthony
Braxton.  I would say nonconventional key signatures are at least nonambiguous,
in that they clearly convey their intent.  One could do worse.

: >I'm taking a theory course right now and Gene's opinion is correct.  The
: >accidental affects only the note in that particular octave in that particular
: >measure and nothing else.
: 
: Well, Gene didn't actually express an opinion on the "octave" issue, just
: on the "particular measure" issue.  I distinctly remember being taught
: that an accidental affects every instance of that note in the measure,
: regardless of what octave it's in; if that isn't the rule any more, then
: it's been changed sometime in the last 20 years or so.

I think it is more likely editorial opinion on the part of the professor or
author of the theory text.  I'm pretty sure, but cannot prove, I was taught
an accidental affected only the particular note/octave/measure.  There is
obviously disagreement here.  So I would say that, regardless of the "official"
rule (is there even one true set of official rules?), not including the
accidental on each octave is a very bad idea, in that is ambiguous, in a way
nonstandard key signatures are not.  But if you are reading an existing piece
and trying to figure out how to play it, your only recourse is probably to call
the composer or editor to find out what was meant.  So I think I'd further
recommend using an explicit natural on notes not intended to be altered, to
further remove ambiguity - possibly in parentheses if you believe the natural
isn't "officially" needed.

--
Marc Sabatella
marc@hpmonk.fc.hp.com
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