From cbmvax!uunet!cuvmb.bitnet!LOJBAN Thu Aug 6 18:56:14 1992 Return-Path: Date: Thu Aug 6 18:56:14 1992 Message-Id: <9208061745.AA04903@relay1.UU.NET> Reply-To: "Mark E. Shoulson" Sender: Lojban list From: "Mark E. Shoulson" Subject: The Kalevala etc X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: John Cowan In-Reply-To: CJ FINE's message of Wed, 5 Aug 1992 16:58:10 BST Status: RO >Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1992 16:58:10 BST >From: CJ FINE { quoting music... } >A pretty general solution (though I'm sure not maximal) would be to >encode MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), which could be done >with the existing PA grammar. I'll say it's not maximal! That sounds like a fine way to confuse the living daylights out of yourself. It'd work though. But more practically speaking, I think we'll have a lot of trouble trying to come up with a totally general, yet practicable, method of indicating music, since music can come in so many forms. For simple melodies in the standard Western scales, using the "do re mi" scale (which is eminently universal among countries which use Western musical conventions) in lo'u/le'u quotes, with other conventions to indicate length and rests would probably suffice. That could, perhaps, be repeated for other voices to get harmony, but the listener would probably do best to write the information down as it came in, to keep track. Other scales should develop their own conventions; I don't know any well enough to suggest. ~mark