Jacques, Thanks… happy to advise. I would call \ff a dynamic. “Dynamics” is an interesting word, described as “plural in form, singular or plural in construction” in Merriam-Webster. The plural construct usually refers to the entire range of variation of loud to soft within a piece. So you might say, “The dynamics in this etude are exquisite!” (Plural in construction.) But a conductor or music teacher might caution, “Now, watch the dynamics here!” (Singular in construction, admonishing caution in the _application_ of dynamic expression in this particularly difficult passage.) The \ff is a specific mark denoting a dynamic level to be applied at the point of usage. Note that “dynamic” is both an adjective and a noun. The mark in the score is referred to as a dynamic (noun). It denotes a dynamic (adjective) level to be expressed. I hope this helps.
BoG From: Jacques Menu<mailto:imj-muz...@bluewin.ch> Sent: Friday, June 18, 2021 1:00 AM To: Robert Gaebler<mailto:bob.gaeb...@outlook.com> Cc: Jacques Menu<mailto:imj-muz...@bluewin.ch>; lilypond-user@gnu.org<mailto:lilypond-user@gnu.org> Subject: Re: Terminology question Hello Robert, 'figured bass signature’ is also a temptating choice, analog to ’time signature’… BTW, another question came to me: in the LP notation manual, ‘dynamic’ is sometimes a noun as in ‘dynamics’ and sometimes an adjective as in ’dynamic mark’. So, is \ff a dynamic or a dynamics? These questions of mine are to stick to strict naming in my code, where both figured bass and dynamics occur in the singular and plural forms. JM Le 17 juin 2021 à 18:26, Robert Gaebler <bob.gaeb...@outlook.com<mailto:bob.gaeb...@outlook.com>> a écrit : Jacques Menu <imj-muz...@bluewin.ch<mailto:imj-muz...@bluewin.ch>> writes: > Hello folks, > > What would be the plural of ‘figured bass’, if that applies, to denote several > occurrences of the figures in a score, the same way has there can be several > harmonies? Maybe ‘figured bass figures’? > > In the example below, there 5 such occurrences: > > > Thanks for. your help! As many others have pointed out, there is no standard term, for what you have in mind, in English. I think the phrase "bass figure" works, and would be reasonably well understood from context. Nevertheless, ad hoc neologisms abound in English usage, and you would not be out of place introducing your own term. Just try to make it intuitive or recognizable from similar usage. Borrowing from the German, as mentioned by Lukas, let me mention that the word "signature" has fairly common English usage within technology, to refer to a collection of properties or characteristics that identify a particular instance of an object or event. So in a discussion of some specific figured bass examples, you might mention "these five figured bass signatures from measures 10, 12, 14, 22, and 23...". I think most people would figure it out from the context. Maybe it would even catch on and become our English term for an instance of a figured bass symbol. ----- Bob Gaebler
