ES Slanted notes
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Mark Gould
Apr 12, 2021, 8:46:15 PM4/12/21
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Hi John
I'm posting this on discussions of ES slanted notes to create a new conversation
Yes, you spotted the problem with the slanted notes for # and b, as I did when trying ES and then later when thinking about how you'd indicate an Eb rather than a D#, because the slanted notes spell out one of the whole tone scales.
I did try writing with the slopes the left and it was 'easier' but then it looked like the notes were on the wrong side of the stem all the time.
Also, I noticed that I was frequently getting the notes in the wrong order. This is because of the symmetry of the notation and the keyboard; for one of the lines the sequence is black white (C to C#) and then above the line it's white black (Eb to E), both of which are to my mind 'in a space', rather than 'on a line'. For the other line, the reverse colouring is true, so moving from F# to G and A to Bb. All these semitone shifts (and other corresponding intervals) moving in 'opposite' colour directions kept tripping me up. I'm guessing it is because I am used to 6-6 notations which don't exchange colour schemes to keep all the notes of C major in one colour or all on lines or spaces as 7-5 systems do.
There's only two options for a semitone, as there are for all intervals in any 6-6 notation, whereas in ES, graphically there is a movement from note-shape to note shape (slanted to not-slanted) for some semitone rises, and sometimes this is colour reversed, and there are movements from small not to small note which also a semitone. This, I found (because I don't picture a keyboard in my head, I see the intervals on the page and respond in my mind aurally to those) quite confusing. I found the same problem 'reading' ES music.
I hope this answers your questions about my response to ES, which is my own, and by no means is a criticism, just my own experience.
Mark
On 12 Apr 2021, at 04:57, John Keller <jko...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:
[I've included a small edit for clarity in square brackets, as this is pasted in from a private email]
Hi Mark
Regarding sloping the ‘bigs’ both ways [for indicating # as being different from b], this only works for KLH not IJ.
**Did you try handwriting ES with reversed slants, being left handed?**
(This was your initial critique of ES.)
I'm posting this on discussions of ES slanted notes to create a new conversation
Yes, you spotted the problem with the slanted notes for # and b, as I did when trying ES and then later when thinking about how you'd indicate an Eb rather than a D#, because the slanted notes spell out one of the whole tone scales.
I did try writing with the slopes the left and it was 'easier' but then it looked like the notes were on the wrong side of the stem all the time.
Also, I noticed that I was frequently getting the notes in the wrong order. This is because of the symmetry of the notation and the keyboard; for one of the lines the sequence is black white (C to C#) and then above the line it's white black (Eb to E), both of which are to my mind 'in a space', rather than 'on a line'. For the other line, the reverse colouring is true, so moving from F# to G and A to Bb. All these semitone shifts (and other corresponding intervals) moving in 'opposite' colour directions kept tripping me up. I'm guessing it is because I am used to 6-6 notations which don't exchange colour schemes to keep all the notes of C major in one colour or all on lines or spaces as 7-5 systems do.
There's only two options for a semitone, as there are for all intervals in any 6-6 notation, whereas in ES, graphically there is a movement from note-shape to note shape (slanted to not-slanted) for some semitone rises, and sometimes this is colour reversed, and there are movements from small not to small note which also a semitone. This, I found (because I don't picture a keyboard in my head, I see the intervals on the page and respond in my mind aurally to those) quite confusing. I found the same problem 'reading' ES music.
I hope this answers your questions about my response to ES, which is my own, and by no means is a criticism, just my own experience.
Mark
On 12 Apr 2021, at 04:57, John Keller <jko...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:
[I've included a small edit for clarity in square brackets, as this is pasted in from a private email]
Hi Mark
Regarding sloping the ‘bigs’ both ways [for indicating # as being different from b], this only works for KLH not IJ.
**Did you try handwriting ES with reversed slants, being left handed?**
(This was your initial critique of ES.)
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