Re: Attempted spec for low-C bass clarinet diagrams

[Joseph Rushton Wakeling]

On 02/08/2013 05:30 PM, Wim van Dommelen wrote:
> Mmmh, but the correct use of it is vital. See e.g. Sparnaay pages 57 and 58. By
> looking back to these pages I noticed he writes the usage of the hole with a
> cross in circle "one". Henri Bok does the same. I like the graphical
> representation along the line we currently have because it is much easier when
> using it to play or practise something, but it is also arguable that we are
> going to forget the "h" completly and have a "oneX" option for the central
> column hole "one" producing a circle with a cross? Then we are also in line with
> the usage in the contemporary literature. Or better: let's do this in
> "numerical" mode (see below).

Let's not overdo our obedience to sources.  Most likely Spaarnay and Bok choose 
that notation for their diagrams because it was easier for them to achieve, not 
because it is some sort of "standard".

You're probably better off preserving "h" for backwards compatibility, and 
allowing an option for how it should be displayed if you want to provide that.

> Sparnaay also use two extra symbols (a small arrow up and a small arrow down)
> for indicating if this combination is too high or too low and some comments,
> that can easily be created outside of the woodwind stencils by regular markups.

Indeed, that's something separate from fingering diagrams.  "New Directions for 
Clarinet" uses something similar for multiphonic fingerings (but the arrows are 
close to the notes, rather than the fingering diagrams).

> And: both Sparnaay and Bok just use numbers for the keys, not mnemonical
> descriptions, we could think about replacing the (graphical . #f) setting with a
> choice:
>      \override #'(diagram-mode . graphical)        %(the default)
>      \override #'(diagram-mode . keyname)
>      \override #'(diagram-mode . numerical)

We could, but I think that's something to revisit at a later time.  There's a 
fairly long-standing numerical notation for clarinet fingerings -- IIRC it dates 
from Klosé's method for the (then) newly-introduced Boehm clarinet -- but it's 
not really very satisfactory, as it's difficult to understand without reference 
to an explanatory diagram.