Re: would 'gn' for G-natural be useful in \language "english" ?

[Keith OHara]

Dear list,
In English, pronouncing the 'natural' in 'C-natural' is required if the note is 
out-of-key.  LilyPond does not consider the key when reading note-input, but 
could easily accept 'cn' as a name for the pitch C-natural.  There was a 
feature request on the bug-list, that LilyPond do so.

Among those responding to the proposal, the Americans were in favor, while the 
British Germans Dutch and Flemish opposed.

The worry is that if LilyPond accepts 'cn' without an error, this might imply 
that 'c' means something different than C-natural, causing someone accustomed 
to ABC or Amadeus input to type 'c' for the leading-tone in the key of D.


The current situation, however, is more difficult for a user accustomed to other 
English-centric note-entry systems.  LilyPond flags each 'cn' with "unrecognized 
string" and produces (usually) no engraved output.

This might remind him that 'c' always means C-natural, and thus by implication 
that he should check his uses of 'c' to see if he ever meant 'cs'.  But he must 
first change (most of) the 'cn's to 'c' to get any output, and then has no 
method better than %{comments%} to note which 'c's really meant C-natural.  I 
tried using 'c!' in these cases, but not all C-naturals need a printed natural.


If instead LilyPond accepts 'cn' as C-natural, and the documentation mentions that "in English 
'cn' is accepted as a synonym for 'c'"  (just after "in Dutch 'aes' is accepted as a 
synonym for 'as'") then LilyPond will give that hypothetical user engraved output.  If he has 
used 'c' when he meant C-sharp, he can see that LilyPond typeset a C-natural, and hear it in the 
MIDI.  This behavior form LilyPond would be at least kinder to the user.

That user would want to remember "give LilyPond pitches, not scale-steps."  
Being able to type the explicit pitch 'cn' (when it is distinct from the scale-step C) 
seems to help in that goal.


I have started using English note-entry with 'cn', etc., for naturals when I would say 
"natural" and I find it helpful.  If anyone else will use it, I'll push for it 
and put it in LilyPond.
__
\language "english"
\new Staff \transpose c c'' {
  \key c\minor \partial 2
  r16 g f g ef g d g |
  c g bn, g c g d g ef g g, g an, g bn, g |
  c g bn, g c g d g ef g d g c g bf, g |
  af, g bf, g c f af, f d f c f bf, f af, f |
  g, f af, f bf, ef g, ef c ef bf, ef af, ef g, ef |
  f, ef g, ef af, d f, d bn, d af, d g, d f, d |
  ef, d f, d g, c ef, c r2 }