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Re: slurs and bars in vocal music


From: Anthony W. Youngman
Subject: Re: slurs and bars in vocal music
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:36:21 +0100
User-agent: Turnpike/6.07-M (<89b6T170PTyvm1mvL+f+2e43H0>)

In message <address@hidden>, Kieren MacMillan <address@hidden> writes
Hi,

Sorry, no chance - "this is common practice since Bach,
and I as a seasoned choir leader" yadda yadda...

Wow... a closed-minded, backwards-thinking choral director. There's a first time for everything, I guess! ;)

He's very much convinced that his "standard" is much easier to read

All evidence — written and anectodal — that I have encountered, as well as my own experience (as composer, conductor, singer, and performer), strongly disputes that old wives' tale.

Don't forget the "familiarity" principle. If he's only ever sung, in old-fashioned choirs that used that standard, then he'll have no trouble with it.

Me - I play the trombone as you know. I switch between treble, tenor and bass clef as required. But nowadays I mostly read bass clef ONLY (in a concert/military band the trombone can read either). The only time I ever read treble from choice, is when I'm playing in a brass band where it's all treble.

The point is, which standard it is is irrelevant, It's when you chop and change that makes life difficult (if I get a treble part at concert band I'll often try and play it in bass clef :-).

For the record, does he also want you to use the old Novello "backwards eighth-note rest" for quarter rests? I mean, that was also the "common practice since Bach" — but people [wisely] decided that a *real* quarter rest is less confusing to read.

Is that a Novello thing? I still meet it quite a lot in old parts, especially marches. It's probably a B&H thing as well. It's not THAT hard, once the shock of hitting the things has worn off :-)

Cheers,
Wol
--
Anthony W. Youngman - address@hidden





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