Re: Chords in LilyPond

[Ivan Kuznetsov]

Kieren MacMillan <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> How is it "wrong" for the chord <c e g a> to [additionally] include the
> information 'root = a'?

In some instances the root could be C and the A would be a passing tone.
In other instances, calling any of those four tones a root would
have no meaning.  It would depend on the context.

As I read through this thread though, the sense I get is that
"chord semantics" are to be additional information optional
added by the user, so that my fear of lilypond doing ad-hoc
amateur musical analysis will not be happening (I hope not).

> > Ultimately, giving a chord a name is "analysis" of music, it is not a part 
> > of
> > music notation.
>
> Again, I must disagree: I included chord names in much of the score and piano
> part of my most recent full-length concert drama [...], and both the conductor
> and pianist were deeply appreciative of their presence in the places I chose
> to include them.

Yes, but that was your choice to _include_ chord information in _your_notation_.
You felt that the conveying this information, would help the performers perform
this music.  You did not engage in analysis.  But if a person or a
program were to assign chord/harmony information to your score after you
composed it, they would be engaging in analysis.

> Even if you are correct, why should Lilypond be artificially limited to 
> pre-hoc
> notation only? Why shouldn't we expand Lilypond's power to support and
> encourage musical analysis?

I would hate to see parts of lilypond break because of the addition
 of musical analysis.


> > What you are suggesting is "naive" musical analysis which should not be a
> > part of such a powerful notation program as lilypond.
>
> So having additional power in the form of expanded analysis functions would
> somehow make Lilypond *less* powerful as a notation program? I'm not sure I 
> see
> how that follows…

If the analysis is going to be brute force added by the listener, I
don't see a problem, except for adding a complexity to the program
that does not have to do with notation.

However, if the idea is for lilypond to do popular/amateur music
analysis (calling every "a e g a" chord an a minor 7 chord
regardless of contexts) that task/goal is going to have
little meaning for most music.