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> It feels like the current system is the Imperial system and somewhere ought to be the SI metric system. Any reason for that beyond “feeling?” And are you ver

> It feels like the current system is the Imperial system and somewhere ought to be the SI metric system. Any reason for that beyond “feeling?” And are you very deeply familiar with how the current system resolves differences between the single chromatic and 12 diatonic scales? Full disclosure here: I’m a pianist who can generally sight read nearly anything (that’s well-edited) put in front of me, to the point of having music directed opera and theater for a living for a while, rather than using my CS and math degrees immediately after earning them from UNC. I’ve also created an app, BeatScratch (https://beatscratch.io https://beatscratch.io) that, among other things, attempts to resolve some of the challenges of editing (which I’d argue, again, really involves understanding how musical notation maps chromatic and diatonic scales between each other - ie “picking the best sequence of flats and sharps automatically to maximize readability”). To me, a lot of these “musical notation is outdated” arguments seem the same as “there will soon be no need for programmers; AI can write all our code,” or those arguments insisting some “visual programming” paradigm should replace languages like Rust and Python. That is to say… they’re arguments made by people who don’t really understand why the existing systems work the way they do and have done so successfully for decades (or centuries).

riiii 2y ago
My comment was much more of a philosophical question than a hard criticism on the current system. Yes I know why it is the way it is. But if you read your comment and your credentials you'll get the gist of what I'm thinking.
mkoubaa 2y ago
Do you think that your understanding of the current notation has influenced the way you think about music subconsciously? I assumed you learned the two together rather than in sequence.
dhosek 2y ago
It also seems to me that in practical terms, the amount of changing of synthesis parameters in the midst of a song is generally not that great and it’s not like we haven’t had the similar issue of notating pipe organ stops for a few centuries. For that matter, it’s not like there aren’t centuries of alternative notation systems, whether it’s tablature, figured bass, or neume notation.
- pclmulqdq 2y ago
  Usually, those are notated just with text placed either above the staff or between the staff lines (for a single organ stop). The normal stops only take a few characters to notate. More modern music for more complex organs will include a small amount of text indicating when to change between stop configurations or sets of manuals that are preset. I can't imagine it would be that hard to notate such things for electronic music. Good old text sitting next to your good old staff works wonders. The bigger issue for electronic music, IMO, is the notation of sounds that don't fit on a staff well. Modern classical composers (who use sheet music extensively in the creative process) have various notations for these sorts of things.
deleted 2y ago
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riiii 2y ago

My comment was much more of a philosophical question than a hard criticism on the current system. Yes I know why it is the way it is. But if you read your comment and your credentials you'll get the gist of what I'm thinking.

mkoubaa 2y ago

Do you think that your understanding of the current notation has influenced the way you think about music subconsciously? I assumed you learned the two together rather than in sequence.

dhosek 2y ago

It also seems to me that in practical terms, the amount of changing of synthesis parameters in the midst of a song is generally not that great and it’s not like we haven’t had the similar issue of notating pipe organ stops for a few centuries. For that matter, it’s not like there aren’t centuries of alternative notation systems, whether it’s tablature, figured bass, or neume notation.

pclmulqdq 2y ago
Usually, those are notated just with text placed either above the staff or between the staff lines (for a single organ stop). The normal stops only take a few characters to notate. More modern music for more complex organs will include a small amount of text indicating when to change between stop configurations or sets of manuals that are preset. I can't imagine it would be that hard to notate such things for electronic music. Good old text sitting next to your good old staff works wonders. The bigger issue for electronic music, IMO, is the notation of sounds that don't fit on a staff well. Modern classical composers (who use sheet music extensively in the creative process) have various notations for these sorts of things.

deleted 2y ago

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