Re: why Kieren is a \relative evangelist [was “Re: Nested transposition"]

[Michael Gerdau]

> > 3. The *single* serious argument against absolute music — that it requires 
> > extra typing [of apostrophes and commas] — is essentially eliminated by 
> > using an IDE like Frescobaldi: using MIDI input means I avoid typing note 
> > code (including octavation symbols) almost entirely, and the transposition 
> > functions let me instantaneously re-octavate large sections of code if 
> > that’s ever required (which it basically never is). I believe we should be 
> > encouraging users to use tools like Frescobaldi — because I believe their 
> > coding lives would be made easier in *so* many ways — and the “crutch” of 
> > \relative means there’s less incentive to do so in the early stages of the 
> > learning curve (which is exactly when habits, good or bad, tend to be 
> > formed).
> 
> Using variables for pieces longer than two bars is probably more
> crucial than teaching beginners the intricacies of using \transpose
> inline.
> 
> I’ve been using MIDI for years and still use \relative. I mostly work
> with vocal music and find it easier to read, and to me, propagating an
> octave error to the end of the piece is a feature rather than a bug.
> Frescobaldi happily processes \relative music as easily as it does
> \absolute music.
> 
> If I sent a score to Kieran, the first thing he would spend 20 seconds
> converting it to \absolute in Frescobaldi :-)

I'd like to add my +1 to this.

I don't have any of the show stopper Kieren is so evangelistic about and very 
clearly find \relative easier to enter via a normal keyboard by a long shot. 
Entering all those "'" (requires SHIFT on a german keyboard) and "," is not at 
all fluent.

I also find reading \relative much easier but that my be depending on what 
you're used to.

I seldom use transpose and I know of no case where I have nested transpose. 
With unnested transpose I have not yet had a problem. And frescobaldi does very 
easily transform from \relative to \absolute, should I ever need it.

Therefor my conclusion is:
Kieren surely has good reason to prefer \absolute, but deriving that \relative 
is inferior and should be avoided is overdoing it IMO.

Kind regards,
Michael

PS: When I get a LP file with all \absolute, the first thing I do is spend 20 
seconds to convert it all to \relative in frscobaldi :D
-- 
Michael Gerdau email: mgd@qata.de
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