About 'system'

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About 'system'

2004-01-09 12:17 am

In NWC the word 'system' is often used such as 'Force system break'.
I can guess what it is by its function.
But I can't find this meaning in the English dictionary or English-Japanese dictionary I have.
Is it commonly used in sheet music or other general documents?
Is there any difference between 'row'?

Sorry having few to do with NWC.

Thanks

Re: About 'system'

Reply #1 – 2004-01-09 12:28 am

I first encountered "system" via NWC, myself. But not being a professional musician, I do not know the proper terms for many things.

You might use Internet search with keywords such as: music dictionary, system, musicology,...

My ordinary dictionary (Webster's new Collegiate, 1981) gives a numer of definitions for "system," none of which is specific to music. But the most general definition is: "a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole." That seems to describe the situation nicely.

In NWC, and perhaps generally in music, a "system" refers to a portion of the music that is read from left to right on the page. Thus, it is like a line of printed text. A "system breadk," whether automatically inserted or manually defined, is like a carriage return / new line.

However, since there may be more than one staff of music, "system" refers to all of the staves (plural of staff) that are played together. That is why, in NWC, the "force system break" is only applied to one staff (the top staff), since it necessarily applies to all other staves, if any, that are played simultaneously.

Re: About 'system'

Reply #2 – 2004-01-10 12:12 am

Thank you Robert.
That does help.
I was surprised to hear that even you first encountered it via NWC.

Re: About 'system'

Reply #3 – 2004-01-10 05:10 am

I too first encountered it with NWC, but another notation program uses the expression as well.

Re: About 'system'

Reply #4 – 2004-01-11 02:32 am

It's a term that has been around forever, but I didn't learn it until I got to college. Most of my professors used it as though we've all heard it all our lives. The first time I asked what it meant, half the class looked like they thought I was a moron, and the other half looked relieved that someone else asked so they wouldn't have to...

Re: About 'system'

Reply #5 – 2004-01-11 07:07 pm

When I was growing up, we learned you can't fight "the system"

I intended to convey that I hadn't encountered it in a musical context prior to fiddling around with notation programs.

Re: About 'system'

Reply #6 – 2004-01-12 04:18 am

Well, now that we know what it (a system) is, how 'bout tellin' us dummies its purpose, why we should use a "force system break" command, and/or how we may profit by its use.

Thanks,

debo

Re: About 'system'

Reply #7 – 2004-01-12 04:40 am

Force System Break is invaluable when you are concerned with the printed look of the piece. You can use it to distribute the bars so that you don't end the piece with just one bar, or to distribute them neatly so that the ending bar is vertically in line with the others on the right hand side of the page. I use FSB all the time to ensure that instrumental page turns are where there are rests, or at least somewhere that gives the player time to flip the page over.

Re: About 'system'

Reply #8 – 2004-01-13 12:06 am

Thanks everyone.
All your experiences about the system sounded me very interesting.
And yes, I always use FSB to make it easy to turn the page over as Ann mentioned.

Re: About 'system'

Reply #9 – 2004-01-13 02:41 am

I use system breaks to make nice page turns, like Ann and Kaz. I also try to make the turn at the end of several bars (measures) rest.

I also try to make the page "look nice", especially the last system.

The third thing I try to do with system breaks, if it fits with the other two goals, is to try to have key signature changes happen at the end of a system. I put a double bar line, the new key, then an invisible bar line with a forced system break. It just makes it slightly easier to quickly work out the key when you're practising or rehearsing and have to start at a bar (measure) near the right hand edge of the page, especially when the music isn't your typical harmony.

I also try to have time signature and clef changes happen at the end of a system, for similar reasons, but these are usually a little easier to work out quickly.

Last of all, if everything else works, I try to put system breaks at the end of four-bar/four-measure (or whatever length) phrases - but never so the music is too spread out or too squashed.

Re: About 'system'

Reply #10 – 2004-01-13 06:14 pm

The "system" term, or more exactly "système", was one of the first technical words I learned about written polyphonic music.
I suppose this is a French term which was written as is in English... The last definition of Robert in reply 1 is good.
It's the set of written music from left to right which is played together, so one or many staves is always a system. However, we shouldn't use the word "system" for only one staff, but this is a current "abus de langage".