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In the case of sheet music it's more about adapting yourself to the standard, so that when you write down music and some random guy in Russia writes down music
by Fliko 15y ago
In the case of sheet music it's more about adapting yourself to the standard, so that when you write down music and some random guy in Russia writes down music you can both understand what you wrote without difficulty. (Unless you're that classical asshole who does C sharp sharp).
Most jazz musicians I have talked to and taken clinics from really don't like sheet music though, as it is an ineffective and inconcise way to represent a tune's structure and melody, hence why they prefer charts. Charts really are worlds ahead of sheet music in my opinion.
- colanderman 15y agoDouble-sharps are actually a great example of syntax for experts being inappropriate for novices. The double-sharp on a note indicates that that particular note is part of an upward motion. Writing the same note as the equivalent natural would instead indicate downward motion (assuming a sharp key). Knowing the intended motion of a note can influence phrasing and help a reader predict the next note of the melody without looking ahead. Of course when you start out reading notes, double-sharps are confusing as heck.
- Fliko 15y agoHaha, yeah I shouldn't of been so harsh with my mentioning of double-sharps. I do still think that in the end people are just conforming to the standard to make life much much more easier, and that it isn't so much that certain things are better for the expert then the novice, but that experts are more used to the standards than a novice is. I feel it's more of a matter of personal style than a programming language x being more efficient when you become an expert when compared to language y. Some people really fly with Perl, whereas other people are more of a Python kind of person.
- sk5t 15y agoCan you provide an example of what you mean re. the difference between sheet music and a jazz chart? I have played classical and jazz winds for years and consider them almost synonymous. (You probably won't find "changes" in the kind of sheet music other than that musicians call a "chart.") I don't feel that any written music can or could adequately convey the feel, shape, or nature of the music--you've got to work through it with the group, or hear someone who already understands the piece.
- Fliko 15y agoMost jazz charts I have used just have the chord structure and the melody all on one page, whereas most classical charts I have seen (and the very very few I have used) have a lot of very intense information, and I understand that they have that much information because that is the style of classical music, but I personally very much prefer concise jazz charts.
- loup-vaillant 15y agoWait a minute: the amount of information in a typical Jazz chart is vastly inferior compared to the information typically found in a score for a classical piece. This is because in Jazz, much more is left to the discretion of the musicians. So, it is quite difficult to correctly compare the two, since they don't have the same uses. About the double sharp, it often has to do with tonality. Classical music is typically more tonal than jazz. The sharp is needed when you temporarily change tonality, and some tonalities just need double sharps then and there –Gsharp dur for instance. If you wrote the natural note instead, it would not convey the intended tonality.
- Fliko 15y agoThat's exactly my point; programming languages aren't about x is better then y, but they are about personal style (and what they are built for). Other people really take off with x language but not y, and vice-versa. I was also unnecessarily harsh towards double-sharps as well, when I was learning piano I would sight read a lot of easier pop/rock sheet music, and there were a few pieces I encountered with an unnecessary double-sharp that would catch me off guard because it was uncommon for the style.