How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

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How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

1999-01-27 05:00 am

How do I represent Breve ?

The longest not available in NWC is SemiBreve (4 beat).
At present to emulate a Breve, I use two tied Semibreves.

But.. is there any direct way

thanks
- Sam

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #1 – 1999-01-27 05:00 am

This is not currently supported (version 1.55a is current release)

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #2 – 1999-01-27 05:00 am

Hi,

Thanks for your prompt reply.
Hope you would include this feature in future releases.

thanks
- Sam

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #3 – 1999-01-31 05:00 am

This is why I've always objected to the English system of naming durations (minim, crotchet, etc.). Not only does it use three different prefixes meaning "half" (hemi, demi, semi), it calls a double whole note "breve", which means "short" by etymology. ("Minim" is worse: it means "least".) Is this any way to run a language?

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #4 – 1999-02-01 05:00 am

Who ever said the English language was logical? Let's switch to Esperanto... oh... it's been tried? didn't work? Darn!

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #5 – 1999-02-01 05:00 am

But Grant! In the days that breve and minim inherited their names, they _were_ short and least! It wasn't until our culture sped up that we wrote faster music. ;-)
By next millenium, we'll be using nano-quavers.

A

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #6 – 1999-02-01 05:00 am

That will mean a complete rewrite of NWC to allow a time base of 10. Otherwise the nearest I can get is a quaver divided by two thirty times, which is an awful lot of tails.

P

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #7 – 1999-02-01 05:00 am

Hee, hee :-)

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #8 – 1999-02-14 05:00 am

Breves would be useful. They are sorely lacking for things like madrigals, for which NWC is a great learning aid.

By the way, if anyone wants to post Banchieri's FESTINA (20 numbers), including the deservedly famous Madrigal to a Nightingale, I'll send the files (if I can work out how).

Regards

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #9 – 2002-02-22 05:00 am

I'd call it a stuck note. :-P

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #10 – 2002-02-22 05:00 am

Do any of you know what a lot of tied semibreves are called-say about twelve beats-is there an actual name?
Cheers...

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #11 – 2002-02-26 05:00 am

This thread is becoming tediously facetious; let's take a brever!!

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #12 – 2002-02-26 05:00 am

Well, ok. But just for a minim.

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #13 – 2002-02-26 05:00 am

well, what about a long rest ?

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #14 – 2002-03-01 05:00 am

Since no one is saying something that matters, let me take this risk.
The names of the values remote to latin gregorian chants. They held notes for (believe me) REALLY long times, or no, of course.
the values used in nwc are:
Semibreve, Minima, Seminina, Colchea, Semicolchea, Fusa, Semifusa. Considering only Beethoven's work, it isn't hard to find the Breve and the Trifusa (check the Pathetique - introduction of the first mov.)
Breve was called this way because it was short, in portuguese breve means quick. The still had the Lunga (not of lungs -bad joke- but of longa - extense) and the Massima, used in real eraly music.

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #15 – 2004-01-03 05:53 pm

I'm disappointed to find that the breve and its rest is completely lacking. I have reverted to noteworthy from more fiddly programmes but it looks as if I will have to go back and struggle with them again - the breve is definitely needed for any street cred at all in the early music circuit.

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #16 – 2004-01-04 03:15 am

Never thought I'd see street cred and early music circuit in the same sentence...

Regarding the breve and its rest, they may be inserted as text items, while the tied whole notes (and the rests) can be made invisible.

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #17 – 2004-01-04 03:55 am

True, but if you are notating for use with NWP you don't get the note-chase. The text items just sit there in thier normal colors.

By the way, if we DO ever get breves I vote for both ovel and rectangular. In at least one place the rectangular breves seem to act like whole (semi-breve) rests, they fill up the measure.

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #18 – 2004-01-05 12:41 pm

IIRC, breves are already in boxmark2 beta 4 font.
See here for details.
I named it "double whole", car. "°" (0176 if you don't have it on your keyboard).

Considering the last text item hint: you could use instead a lyric line. Then the highlighting will be consistent.

Re: How do I represent Breve (an 8 beat note) ?

Reply #19 – 2004-01-05 02:03 pm

Hi Marsu,

Yes, I know about the boxmarks breve, although it is only the oval, and for some purposes I would really like to have the rectangular one, some thing like (pardon the ASCII-art):

-------
| |
-------

I'm not sure that I've seen both in the same publication, but in at least one (the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book) the rectangular breve is used, and seems to be of indeterminate duration, filling it's measure, whatever the time signature.

I've played with using lyrics for items which belong in the "note chase". See my attempts at tablature, I think there are one or two in the Scripto -- certainly the Murrada Fantasia. But the problem is vertical placement. If you want playback highlighting on items in n vertical position you require n visibility = never extra staves layered with the "real" staves, each with its lyric line adjusted one of the positions. This get's tiresome! In the tablature case, since I wanted a separate staff for each string (to allow strings to "ring") there wasn't any extra, but in the case of breves one might require six or eight extra staves, each with one or two entries. It does seem a bit much!

Perhaps what we (or I at least) should wish for it extra parameters on text items which would allow them to included in the note-chase. For example, "highlight this item when play reaches the next note or rest on the staff, and maintain the highlight for the equivalent of an x note". I leave it to the developers to define the means of specifying "x".