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Re: Attempted spec for low-C bass clarinet diagrams


From: Wim van Dommelen
Subject: Re: Attempted spec for low-C bass clarinet diagrams
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2013 21:03:30 +0100


On 8 Feb 2013, at 18:31 , Joseph Rushton Wakeling wrote:

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".
True.

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.
I agree it needs an explanatory diagram at hand and it also calls for a possibility to have a numeric entry for specifying which key(s) to use for which note. But through the years I've learned that coming back with these kind of global things later will cause you headaches, because then there will be even more legacy around. Having a top-level entry into the graphs and procedures gives the possibility to fill it in later, redesigning is a problem.

Regards,
Wim.




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