I've found this thread interesting and informative, but a glossary
to a manual is meant to provide simple definitions and/or
translations of technical terms for novices or users unaccustomed to
the language in which the manual is written. It is not meant to be
an encylopaedia. So, for me, these definitions provided by Peter
look much closer to what is required in the Music Glossary for
LilyPond. But we must wait to hear Kurt's view.
Trevor
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Chubb" <lily.u...@chubb.wattle.id.au>
To: "Graham Percival" <gra...@percival-music.ca>
Cc: <lilypond-devel@gnu.org>; "Carl D. Sorensen"
<c_soren...@byu.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 7:18 AM
Subject: Re: Concert Pitch (a second try)
I reckon it'd be better to split the whole thing into three
entries.
Whether an instrument transposes or not has nothing to do with
concert pitch.
Here's my rough try at the three entries:
Concert Pitch:
Notes like a, b, c etc., describe a relationship between
themselves,
not an absolute pitch. The nature of the relationship is the
so-called temperament (q.v.). To be in tune, a group instruments
must agree
on the relationship between pitches *and* the absolute pitch of
one of
the notes. In recent times that pitch, `concert pitch' has been
defined as 440Hz for the A above middle C, with other notes
arranged
according to the temperament being used.
Temperament: the relationship between different pitches in a
scale.
In the simplest case, an *equal-tempered* system has notes whose
frequencies are in the ratio of the twelfth root of two. Such a
system always sounds out-of-tune, because thirds, fourths and
fifths
are not exact ratios. However it is widely used because all notes
are
equally spaced, regardless of the starting note of a scale.
Transposing Instrument: If an instrument is usually notated at a
pitch other than its sounding pitch (whether out of tradition, or
for
the convenience of the player) it is said to be a *transposing
instrument.* Bes and A Clarinets, many brass instruments, and
some saxophones
are transposing instruments.
--
Dr Peter Chubb http://www.gelato.unsw.edu.au peterc AT
gelato.unsw.edu.au
http://www.ertos.nicta.com.au ERTOS within National ICT
Australia
A university is a non-profit organisation only in the sense that
it
spends everything it gets ... Luca Turin.
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