Effect of Notation process on engraving rules

[Anders Hedelin]

This might just be a part of a bigger picture: the democratization of values. Buy a music program and be your own "composer" and "engraver".

"My taste is as good as yours". And perhaps it is, really. It's very difficult to argue against such notions. Who would argue against democracy?

This is not something entirely new, of course. John Cage once entered one of Arnold Schoenberg's harmony classes in LA. After some time Schoenberg bluntly told Cage that he didn't seem to have a sense for harmony. Cage replied: "Well, I guess harmony's not my thing then". What could Schoenberg say to that?

In present politics there's a wave of 'ultra-democracy', aka 'populism', where 'the establishment' and the traditional values that its institutions uphold, are put under fire. 'Traditional values', also such as the right for art to be innovative, and disturbing even.

[John Ruggero]

The wondrous power of the computer and the internet has tended to swell heads. Hopefully, humility will reenter at some point.

[hautbois baryton]

"My taste is as good as yours".

More realistically, what I'm seeing in effect is "My ignorance is as good as your knowledge."

Some of the engraving I've seen makes me seriously wonder if the user has ever played music before.

[Anders Hedelin]

Some of the engraving I've seen makes me seriously wonder if the user has ever played music before.

And perhaps they haven't. The thing is, that also the more knowledgable users are dependent on that less knowledgeable such are purchasing whatever program it may be. Otherwise it wouldn't have the financial means to exist - and develop. Fortunately there are oases like this one in 'the desert of populism'.

[Anders Hedelin]

To close in on the original topic: One thing that has improved with digital notation is writing cues in orchestral parts. In hand writing it was more important to turn the cue stems the opposite way, because the difference in size between regular and cue notes wasn't clear enough. Now you may treat that with more flexibility.

Another possiblility is to differentiate the look of slurs from that of ties, not only by the slope, but also by making the ties slightly thinner, which would be pointless in hand writing.

There might be other advantages with digital notation too, of course...