Measure duration

• Oct 24, 2014 - 09:14

It has just occurred to me that in English Speaking countries the term Measure/bar duration in the Measure Properties dialogue is fairly cryptic - we would normally refer to it as Time Signature.

Should we change the nomenclature in this dialogue?


Comments

When you use the term "time sig" there's an implication of seeing a real numeric indicator, like at the beginning of a piece. But changing these values doesn't show any obvious difference in the score.

I think that "measure duration" is a fine description. Maybe something better can be found (measure beat count) but "time sig" doesn't seem right.

In reply to by schepers

Well I have been referring to it as Nominal Time Signature and Actual Time Signature in support posts all the time I have been active in the forums.

Googling Measure Duration results in one musically related hit on the MuseScore Handbook entry for Measure Operations.

Time Signature is the technical musical term for the information given here - see these of many links......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signature
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/common-music-time-signatures0.html
http://www.mymusictheory.com/for-students/grade-5/48-3-time-signatures
http://www.studybass.com/lessons/reading-music/time-signatures/

By not using the technical term for this information you may confuse many musicians.

In reply to by ChurchOrganist

'Measure duration' seems easily understood for exactly what it is; I cannot imagine it being misinterpreted. 'Time signature', on the other hand, has (to me) the strict connotation of the numerical designation (or the common or cut time designation) at the start of the piece. This point was already made, and I agree with it.

I think this is something that isn't broken and therefore doesn't need fixing.

In reply to by ChurchOrganist

Change the search term. Google '"bar duration' music" and see what hits. Seems common enough for me. The phrase "measure duration" has far too many non-musical meanings for Google, even if you add the term "music" to the search.

I have never been confused as to what "measure duration" means. This is a term that has been in MS since the earliest days. I don't recall a posting in recent years asking what is means so very few seem confused by it.

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