Re: SMuFL Quarter Rest Design
Posted: 30 Jul 2025, 17:18
It's curious that you use the 5-line staff with pitches as well. I would have thought either one or the other would be enough.
Multiple signals can be useful. The shape of musical lines is useful. Plus, you have 4 shapes representing 7 notes. I've not studied the reasoning behind the various decisions, some which goes back to the 1700s, I believe. The shapes seem to help in sight-reading, too.
This 1965 essay by Richard C. Hamrick on The Curious History of Shape-Notes might be of interest, if you're curious about some of the history.