Re: Describing instruments

[Jonathan Wilkes]

> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:17:36 +0100
> From: Mats Bengtsson <address@hidden>
> Subject: Re: Describing instruments
> To: Graham Percival <address@hidden>
> Cc: David Kastrup <address@hidden>, address@hidden
> Message-ID: <address@hidden>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1;
> format=flowed
> 
> 
> 
> Graham Percival wrote:
> > On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 09:06:32PM +0100, David
> Kastrup wrote:
> >   
> >> If you transpose music, Lilypond could warn if
> notes become unplayable
> >> on a baroque soprano recorder.  Because the
> range is left, or because a
> >> particular semitone is not on the
> instrument.  Similar for other
> >> instruments.
> >>     
> > ...
> >   
> >> It would also be helpful for arrangers and
> composers to have a databank
> >> of instruments available, so that they don't go to
> the orchestra with
> >> their finished scores and get told "Dude, that's
> not playable on a
> >> standard bassoon."
> >>     
> >
> > I don't think that lilypond should serve as a crutch
> to composer
> > who know so little about their craft that they write
> unplayable
> > notes.  But if you want to persue this, feel free
> to write a music
> > function which checks the ranges (or anything else)
> and add it to
> > LSR.
> >   
> LilyPond offers partial help, for the composer who has
> access to 
> information on the range of the instruments but wants to
> quickly check 
> if the parts he already has written are within that range,
> thanks to the 
> support for ambitus, 
> http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.12/Documentation/user/lilypond/Displaying-pitches#Ambitus.
> 
> This should also be useful as a starting point if you want
> to implement 
> more automated range checks.

Thanks, that's a great suggestion, Mats!

-Jonathan