Sagittal notation: Difference between revisions

'''Sagittal notation''' is a [[musical notation]] system capable of notating almost any conceivable tuning. It was developed by [[Dave Keenan]] and [[George Secor]] with significant contributions from numerous others.  

Sagittal notation comes in two mutually compatible ''flavors''.

The '''Evo''' flavor (short for "evolutionary", previously called "mixed") uses only single-shaft Sagittal symbols, e.g. {{sagittal| /| }} {{sagittal| \! }} {{sagittal| |) }} {{sagittal| !) }}, alone or in combination with conventional sharps and flats and their doubles. Only the large variant of the double sharp {{sagittal| x }} (U+E47D) is considered to be stylistically-compatible with Sagittal symbols. Evo is much easier to learn, but it results in a greater number of symbols on the sheet, which can give it a more cluttered appearance, particularly with chords, and it may be confusing when two symbols alter the same note in opposite directions.

<span id="Evo-SZ"></span> A sub-flavor of Evo is '''Evo-SZ''' (Evo with Stein-Zimmermann). This is where the arrow-like [[33/32|11M]] up and down symbols {{sagittal| /|\ }} {{sagittal| \!/ }} are replaced by the Stein-Zimmermann semisharp {{sagittal| > }} and narrow reversed flat {{sagittal| < }}. This should only be done when the 11M symbols notate exactly half the alteration of a sharp or flat. Similarly, the combinations {{sagittal| /|\ }}{{sagittal| # }} and {{sagittal| \!/ }}{{sagittal| b }} are replaced by {{sagittal| ># }} and {{sagittal| <b }}. The narrow variants of the fractional flats {{sagittal| < }} (U+E284) and {{sagittal| <b }} (U+E285) are preferred because they preserve the Sagittal principle that the visual size of a symbol should indicate the relative size of its alteration.

The '''Revo''' flavor (short for "revolutionary", previously called "pure") only requires one accidental per note. Revo therefore takes up less space on the sheet and presents a cleaner appearance, and it clearly indicates the direction of the overall alteration. It discards the conventional sharps and flats and their doubles and replaces them with these multi-shaft arrow-like symbols: {{sagittal| /||\ }} {{sagittal| \!!/ }} {{sagittal| /X\ }} {{sagittal| \Y/ }}. Adding a sharp or flat to a Sagittal is achieved by adding two more shafts, e.g. {{sagittal| /| }}{{sagittal| # }} becomes {{sagittal| /||| }} and {{sagittal| !) }}{{sagittal| b }} becomes {{sagittal| !!!) }}. When the Sagittal part alters in the opposite direction to the sharp or flat part, the rules are not so simple, e.g. {{sagittal| \! }}{{sagittal| # }} becomes {{sagittal| ||\ }} and {{sagittal| |) }}{{sagittal| b }} becomes {{sagittal| !!) }}; one must simply learn these ''[[2187/2048#Notation|apotome]] complements''.

== Scores in Sagittal notation ==

* [[The Sagittal Songbook]]

** [http://oneforall.ytmnd.com One for All]

== Gallery ==

=== Spartan single-shaft ===

File:Sagittal nai.png|5:7 kleisma up

File:Sagittal nao.png|5:7 kleisma down

=== Spartan multi-shaft ===

File:Sagittal sharp phao.png|Sharp 25S-down

File:Sagittal flat phai.png|Flat 25S-up

=== Athenian extension single-shaft ===

File:Sagittal ranai.png|7:11 kleisma up

File:Sagittal ranao.png|7:11 kleisma down

=== Athenian extension multi-shaft ===

File:Sagittal sharp janao.png|Sharp 5:11S-down

File:Sagittal flat janai.png|Flat 5:11S-up

[[Category:Notation]]