Simplified Music Notation

• Nov 18, 2022 - 02:00

Hello, I'm not sure if this feature has already been added because I'm new to MuseScore. I'm interested in using 'Simplified Music Notation' as a shorthand notation while composing, to get away from key signatures & accidentals. There was a plugin for Sibelius but that is not now available.

It seems someone has added a downloadable font for this notation...

Line 183 of:

https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/blob/master/fonts/bravura/FONTLO…

...but noteheads would have to be substituted automatically as I play or type them in, rather than doing it manually, which would defeat the object.

https://www.scribd.com/document/303450067/Simplified-Music-Notation

https://youtu.be/zGnxqm-zE58

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simplified_music_notation

Personally, I'm not too interested in being able to write the key signatures in. For me, the notes simply represent keyboard keys and that'd be enough for my purposes. It's not for presentation, so the ability to get a fully featured printed score or .PDF is not the objective. Obviously, It would probably be nice for other users to be able to convert scores to this notation, so that double sharps & flats are simply written in as the key on the piano, for instance, with 'history symbols' and with key signatures at the beginning for theoretical purposes.

Thanks in advance.

Joe


P.S. I'm fully aware of the arguments for & against alternative notation, so I'm just really asking about the feature itself. Tablatures for fretted & keyboard instruments exist/ed and I see it as a sort of modern keyboard tablature that purely refers to keys on the instrument rather than theoretical concepts of key & function, etc.

Attachment Size
images.jpeg 11.53 KB

Comments

Incidentally, if MuseScore creators ever wanted to develop a hybrid between a piano-roll system & a notation system for MIDI editing, something like this pitch notation might be ideal. It would enable composers/songwriters & amateurs to learn or practice staff (pitch) notation and compose with theoretical concepts (identifying notes & chords on the staff)
while not being distracted by the problems of rhythmic notation or durations, or key signatures & accidentals. Just a suggestion.

In reply to by AltNotation

I find it fascinating that rhythm and key signatures are a distraction. Are there similar shortcuts to learning a foreign language? When I look at your image, I don't see anything easier, just different. I'm not trying to be negative. But I just need a little help.

In reply to by bobjp

I don't think it'd be feasible to create a hybrid with traditional noteheads with sharps & flats (and double sharps & flats). Music has a key signature because the notation system is diatonic based so each key is a distortion of C Major or its modes. Any music you write is generally considered to be based on one of 12 (or 15) diatonic scales which are alterations of 'white keyboard notes' (themselves not immune to alt spellings) and then have to be distorted by accidentals unless the music sticks to the diatonic scale determined by the key signature. I use the Simplified system for shorthand (hand-written). The noteheads can therefore be considered to instead refer to keys on the keyboard, like a tablature. No need to remember accidentals (or think about key signatures that might not even underlie the music particularly well). Similarly, rhythms can be restricted by the difficulty in writing them down and by tempo changes. Probably one reason early western music did not develop rhythmically to the same level of sophistication as harmony is the relative difficulty in writing rhythms down. It encouraged simplicity or uniformity, in my view. I think a free graphical rhythmic notation would compliment pitch notation, for some musicians.

With regard to the specific noteheads, you don't need to hold key signatures in mind and then think what's been altered. The notehead shape tells you the keyboard key in one symbol. Shape-note notation is not a new thing, actually, this method just applies alt noteheads to 'black-key' notes.

In reply to by bobjp

Okay. It's not really another system. It's the standard staff. The sharps are simply > noteheads, the flats are / noteheads, the naturals are standard round noteheads. That's pretty much it. If you use standard notation, it takes less than 10 minutes to get reading this 'shorthand' fluently.

https://youtu.be/zGnxqm-zE58

In any case, I'm not really trying to sell this or convert the world. I don't think it should replace standard notation but just compliment it for those who like it.

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.