Nomenclature?

[harvey]

I agree with Newt and others who suggest the SAT method. I think this
should become "The Standard" note-naming schema, much like A-440hz was
officially sanctioned. 

People use various descriptors, not always meaningful, and always unrelated
to each other. Examples: relative note names: "B two octaves above middle
C"; mechanical terms: "the note right next to that heavy metal bar"; and
sometimes musical terms, such as the following note from one of my teacher
clients...

"Jim. I wonder if you have any appointments in this area in the near
future. The "A"
key (on the first ledger line directly above the treble clef) is sooo bad,
and I really don't want to test the waters by doing it myself.  I probably
would break a string and then would be in real trouble.  Please advise!"

I advised (a) avoid playing that note; (b) side-cutters. Seriously, even
though I can relate to the ledger line description above, I still must
mentally go through the conversion. With the SAT schema, I can "see" the
note on a particular piano from a hundred miles away. Sidebar: this last
example is fine for those who know musical notation, but some of the finest
tuners I've ever known could not play OR read music.

I have started taking the three minutes required to explain the SAT schema
(and the client above has just become a candidate)... A0-A#0-B0 are
"throw-aways for counting purposes, unless there's a problem with one of
them. The actual counting starts at C1. 

Without fail, a light clicks on and the "student" becomes grin-faced at the
simplicity of the method. Everyone, even the most die-hard players,
immediately understands this method and instantly adopts the procedure.

-3-

At 06:07 PM 2/26/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Use the SAT designations, they are well understood.  You can also use
>the 1-88 count but most of use have to stop and count in our heads to
>make sure we are understanding.  That can be time consuming.
>
>Musicians use a different designation that is different still but they
>do translate well into SAT nomenclature.
>
>		Newton


Jim Harvey, RPT
Greenwood, SC
harvey@greenwood.net