[MEI-L] Encoding Square Notation

[Andrew Hankinson, Mr]

Thanks, Perry.

RE: The Episemas
Would it be possible to do both a full element and an attribute, similar to the "dots" attribute on the note and the "<dot />" element if more information is needed?

For the attribute, I think "episemae" (pl?) are only attached to the notes in a ligature - not to the note itself. I would propose an "episema" attribute that can take the values "both", "horizontal" or "vertical".

For the element, we could define an "<episema>" element with a type attribute with the values "horizontal" or "vertical". This could then be extended later with xml:id attributes, etc.

To use the "Sunday at Vespers" chant example, it might be encoded something like this:

<syllable>
   <syl>DE_</syl>
   <uneume xml:id="d1e1" name="punctum">
      <note pname="c" oct="4"/>
   </uneume>
</syllable>
<syllable>
   <syl>us</syl>
      <uneume xml:id="d2e1" name="punctum">
         <note pname="c" oct="4" episema="both" />
                 **OR**
         <note pname="c" oct="4">
            <episema type="horizontal" />
            <episema type="vertical" />
         </note>
      </uneume>
</syllable>

RE: The Divisions
Upon further reflection, I would be wary of "overloading" the barline to function as a division. They look visually similar, but function quite different - it may be like calling a "punctum" the same as a "crochet" just because they are solid shapes! :) The divisions act more like "musical punctuation," and in that way operate more like a fermata or a rest than they do a barline.

Would it be possible to add a <division> element to the neumes module to explicitly encode them?

Finally,
I think doing extensions on the RelaxNG schema is an excellent idea. I'm new to the MEI community, so I'm not sure of the best way to proceed. I would suggest that we can add a "branch" in the Subversion repository and make our proposed changes there, which can then be reviewed and incorporated back into the "trunk" for the next release. That will keep the mainline release versions and any "experimental" versions separate.

Otherwise, I'm very open to alternative suggestions.

Cheers,
-Andrew


On 2010-06-16, at 1:47 PM, Roland, Perry (pdr4h) wrote:

> Hi, Andrew,
> 
> For the episema, I think it would be most appropriate to add an attribute to the ineume and uneume elements for episema (which are a species of articulation, no?) and an episema/artic subelement within ineume and uneme.  This is similar to how note articulations are handled in CMN -- the attribute supports simple, hand-entered data, while the element is mostly for those situations where one might want to record more specific info about the articulation symbol, as you probably do in OMR. :)
> 
> One question might be, however, whether we want to draw attention to the fact that episema are a kind of articulation (and therefore use the name "artic" for the element and attribute) or use the terminology appropriate for the neume repertoire and add an "episema" element and attribute.  
> 
> "Bar lines" raise similar issues.  The <barline> element is already permitted within and between <syllable> elements, so one approach might be to just call these lines of division "barlines".  While they're not barlines in the modern sense, i.e., they don't mark off measures, they look like barlines and they function somewhat like barlines, i.e., they mark off something.  If this path is taken, the small division "barline" can use the taktplace attribute to mark the position of the line, the major division is a single barline, the final division is a double barline, but the minor division's visual rendition would need extra values in barrend or taktplace or perhaps some new attributes to describe them.  Adding new attributes might end up being best because they could in fact be applied to any barline.
> 
> But .....
> 
> Since we're about to announce the 2010-05 release of MEI, I don't think it's a good time to add new features.  Instead, I suggest that we think about temporary additions in the form of extensions to the relaxNG schema.  This would give us some "breathing room" to try out the extensions and add them to the official schema later.  (This is how the neumes module was developed.)  After the NEH/DFG report is done at the end of July, I'd be happy to work with you on these extensions.
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> --
> p.
> 
> __________________________
> Perry Roland
> Digital Curation Services
> University of Virginia Library
> P. O. Box 400155
> Charlottesville, VA 22904-4155
> 434-982-2702 (w)
> pdr4h at virginia.edu
> ________________________________________
> From: mei-l-bounces at lists.uni-paderborn.de [mei-l-bounces at lists.uni-paderborn.de] On Behalf Of Andrew Hankinson, Mr [andrew.hankinson at mail.mcgill.ca]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 11:33 AM
> To: Music Encoding Initiative
> Subject: [MEI-L] Encoding Square Notation
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> We had a couple questions about how to encode some features of square note notation. See [1] (below) for an example from a chant in the Liber Usualis that shows some of the material we're working with.
> 
> Is there a way to encode the horizontal and vertical episema in MEI? They're the lines on, e.g. the second neueme in the "Sunday at Vespers" chant that I've attached below.
> 
> As far as I can tell, these are articulation marks added by the monks at Solemnes in the 19th C., so they're not strictly "traditional" square note notation. They serve to guide the rhythmic interpretation of the note. I've attached a couple PDF pages [2] from the introduction to the Liber that explain how they are to be interpreted.
> 
> The second feature that we're looking at encoding are the divisiones - the "bar lines" of a type, featured in this chant. They're used, more or less, as breathing marks. Is there currently an accepted way to encode these? I've also attached a PDF [3] from the Liber with a few pages explaining how they are used and interpreted.
> 
> Many thanks for any assistance,
> 
> Andrew Hankinson
> 
> [1] http://coltrane.music.mcgill.ca/square_notation/sunday_vespers.png
> [2] http://coltrane.music.mcgill.ca/square_notation/episema_interpretation.pdf
> [3] http://coltrane.music.mcgill.ca/square_notation/divisiones_interpretation.pdf
> 
> 
> 
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