How to handle pentoles (five notes per unit) ?

1996-12-09 05:00 am

How to handle pentoles (five notes per unit) like trioles (three notes per unit) or in NWC called triplets ?

I know the answer from NoteWorthy- support, but I am not happy about that. What kind of Composer' s help does not support more than triplets ? (like in Beethoven's 5th concert for piano, first movement!)

Re: How to handle pentoles (five notes per unit) ?

Reply #1 – 1996-12-09 05:00 am

As you indicate, NWC does not currently support note groupings beyond triplets. Your question seems to indicate that you are aware of this limitation. Are you asking something else as well?

I hope this helps.

Eric,

support@noteworthysoftware.com

Re: How to handle pentoles (five notes per unit) ?

Reply #2 – 1996-12-17 05:00 am

Dear Mr. Peters,

If you send me your email address I will send you a short example of the technique I describe in the previous note. I know it's ugly, but it does seem to work.

cnalberga@aol.com

Re: How to handle pentoles (five notes per unit) ?

Reply #3 – 1996-12-17 05:00 am

Hi, this may be a case of the blind leading the blind, I'm a rank beginner, myself.

You may have noted my comment about scores for printing and scores for playing. The apparently have to be different. In some cases at least it should be possible to get the sound of a pentole (and a septole, if there is such a word), although the score will look like a mess. It all depends on the fact that notes are based on a binary number system.

Assume you are writting in 4/4 time, with a tempo of 1/2 = 100. When you reach the measure which is to include a pentole you change to 5/4 time and set the tempo to 1/2 = 125. Now, any 1/4 note in the measure must be written as 1/4 + 1/16, any 1/8 as 1/8 + 1/32, etc. As you can see, the smallest note you can have is a 1/16. These will sound for the correct duration, due to the change in tempo. The pentole is written with "ordinary" notes. Five 1/8 notes will play in the duration of 4 in the rest of the score, etc.

If you switch to 7/4 time, tempo 1/2 = 175, then use double-dotted notes in place of there un-dotted equivalent, you can produce septoles.

The relationships between the different notes allows you to retain the same bar structure (and hence accents in play-back) only if the time signature is 2/x, 4/x, etc. If you are in 3/8, 6/4, or anything else things get messy. I havn't figured those out, and I can't think of any way to keep the bar structure, unless you could have fractional time signature, you know, like 2.5/8, but that seem a bit much to ask. (More than true support of pentoles etc.)

I must warn you that this is all theoretical. I've done the math, but I haven't tried it out.

Yours, Cyril N. Alberga