h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

abc notation (music, computers and very little grief) - A12379980

Hey, just checking in on this lovely little gem of an entry.

You know, if you're happy with it as it stands, you're not obliged to listen to the ignorant advice of knuckleheads like me - it really is in fine shape.

Thanks Pailaway. I don't think I can face doing any more with it. If you think it might float, how about tossing it up to the subs? I have more to do here right now than I really want.

And you are NOT a knucklehead. Unless you are a paid-up member of the H2G2 Guild of course.

Tell you what, I have re-read the entry with great care (for a knucklehead ) and I have a purely editorial suggestion that involves only the rearrangement of text in the first two paragraphs. I think it'll improve the flow - but see what you think.

Here's what you currently have for the first two paragraphs:

Music is a universal language. Unfortunately it is better at expressing emotions than ideas, so it probably won't help you settle that dispute about who has the right of way at that junction no matter how much you blow your hornThat probably also has something to do with the reason why drivers of a certain type of sports coupé don't seem to be able to go anywhere unless the windows (or ragtop) are down and the stereo is playing at full blast..

Perhaps the musicians themselves are to blame; after all, in the west until perhaps the 8th century it was customary to learn a tune by listening to somebody else play it. The whole problem of writing down the notes played by various instruments has taken a lot longer to solve than that of writing down ideas in the form of wordsWhich is probably because most people are more preoccupied with problems like sorting out who really has the right of way at that junction than trying to convey the feeling of the lump that rises to your throat and the way that your heart throbs every time you see her. It might also have something to do
with the priorities of musicians, which usually work out along the lines of (1) Sex. (2) Beer. (3) Music. so it is hardly surprising that when the boffins designed the first computers they were more concerned with number crunching, and later word processing, than the possibility of using computers as a means of sharing sheets of music in a readable form.


Here's what you might try instead:

Music is a universal language. Unfortunately it is better at expressing emotions than ideasso it probably won't help you settle that dispute about who has the right of way at that junction no matter how much you blow your horn, so it is hardly surprising that when the boffins designed the first computers they were more concerned with number crunching, and later word processing, than the possibility of using computers as a means of sharing sheets of music in a readable form.


Perhaps the musicians themselves are to blame; after all, in the west until perhaps the 8th century it was customary to learn a tune by listening to somebody else play it. The whole problem of writing down the notes played by various instruments has taken a lot longer to solve than that of writing down ideas in the form of wordsWhich is probably because most people are more preoccupied with problems like sorting out who really has the right of way at that junction than trying to convey the feeling of the lump that rises to your throat and the way that your heart throbs every time you see her. It might also have something to do
with the priorities of musicians, which usually work out along the lines of (1) Sex. (2) Beer. (3) Music.


Naturally, I think it's the most wonderful suggestion in the world, but that doesn't matter - it's more important what you think as it's your entry.

that's great, pailaway

This is a fabulous entry mellow-dee and it won't be long before it's selected, I'm sure (we Scouts can only recommend entries to the Editors, it's them who do the selecting)

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Congratulations! .......

Well deserved

Congratulations Mellow-Dee!

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to everyone for your suggestions , improvements, support and help in getting the article this far.

all round (or liquid bread for those who prefer it). Gnomon, OK for you?

It is a tad misleading to say that the naming of octaves by capitals, lower case, and letters with primes dates from 1991. To say the least

Guido D'Arrezzo distinguihed the different octaves by capitals, lower case letters, and double and triple lower case letters (aaa, bbb etc: hence the word "treble") in the eleventh century AD.

The present convention, by which C is the bottom note on a cello, then c (following B) is the lowest note on a viola, then c' (following b) is Middle C, dates from 1862, when it was published by Hermann Helmholtz. The letters and primes had been in use in England for over a century before his time, but the English systems were one octave higher, and have now been universally superseded by the Helmholtz system.

Hello Mellow-Dee - I've finished subbing this Entry, the on-its-way-into-the-EG version of which can be found here:

A13482470

And having just read Recumbentman's last posting, I've now tinkered with it a bit further. Would one or other or both of you please have a look?

That looks fine to me; just one thing, the footnote (number 4) needs to be moved to before the fullstop in "to represent conventional musical notation."

That footnote should have gone, in fact - I worked it into the text. Something weird going on?

Ah -- I was looking at the old, pre-edited entry. The new one now has all my stuff about Guido, which does seem excessive if not entirely out of place. Besides, the new ASCII convention doesn't actually follow Helmholtz so it's positively misleading.

Perhaps all we need now is to delete this bit: "The present convention, by which C is the bottom note on a cello, then c (following B) is the lowest note on a viola, then c' (following b) is Middle C, dates from 1862, when it was published by Hermann Helmholtz. The letters and primes had been in use in England for over a century before his time, but the English systems were one octave higher, and have now been universally superseded by the Helmholtz system."

I apologise for going into excessive detail. Cut whatever you want, the original was fine, really!

That being the case, I've turned Guido into a footnote.

(Spot the non-muso )

That is perfect now. Couldn't have done it better.