[linux-audio-dev] XAP: a polemic

David Olofson david at olofson.net
Mon Dec 16 21:45:02 UTC 2002


On Tuesday 17 December 2002 03.11, Tim Goetze wrote:
> David Olofson wrote:
> >On Monday 16 December 2002 23.08, Tim Goetze wrote:
> >> Paul Davis wrote:
> >> >>i'd be happy to hear a good example proving this wrong. but
> >> >>take note that i don't accept 1/2, 1/3 and relatives as
> >> >>qualifying because they can better be (and usually are)
> >> >>expressed using integer numbers.
> >>
> >> [long reasonings elided]
> >>
> >> alright, have your way then if you need all the complication
> >> for so little to gain, and if your scheme gets the votes.
> >
> >Can you expand on that?
>
> thanks for asking.
>
> 1) it is simply not the way counting time as a musician works.
> if your measure said 3.5 / 2, you'd count 7 quarters.

In that case yes - but with longer bars, I'd try to find a reference 
in between my notes. Let's take Paul's nice example. To play the 9 
1/2 part, I'd really rather not count to 19, but to 9 - and then I'd 
expect the next bar to start *in between* my 9 and 10; on the "and", 
that is.


> actually and mathematically proving this unfortunately is
> beyond me, you have to try it yourself.

Well, why don't we ask someone who actually plays this kind of music 
seriously? I can only tell you how *I* count when dealing with 
complex rhythms - and I don't do it all that often. (I've done 5 + 4 
beats per bar and that sort of stuff, and it's basically the same 
thing; you need to "lock" on more relations that 1:1, or there's no 
way you can both "drift" and not at the same time.)


> 2) the first time somebody uses 1/3 and 1/4 at the same time,
> accumulating beat algorithms don't give the same result
> reliably where they should.

Why not?


//David Olofson - Programmer, Composer, Open Source Advocate

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