SW3: Remove pythagorean enharmonic config

[frostburn]

Just default to a sharp following the MIDI standard. Power users know how to say Eb4 = mtof(_) = 1/1.

[000masa000]

I wonder if the default Pythagoreans ought to be A Bb B C C# D Eb E F F# G G# .... these are "closest ratios" from D = 1/1 (centred in the notation system)

[frostburn]

MIDI is a not a great standard, but it is a standard nonetheless. It's what SW3 already uses for the labels of the empty scale that defaults to 12TET.

Bad defaults also incentivize people to learn the language and be explicit about root pitch declaration. E4^5 = mtof(_) can be a valid choice in some situations and there's no way to fit all imaginable extended FJS alternatives into a dropdown menu.

[000masa000]

True. The "sharp" approach is "simpler", in a way. The eight original notes, ranging historically in Western theory from Bb to B, were Pythagorean. My only counter-argument here might be that using "sharp" defaults (as the composer Xenakis did) reinforces the very strongly ingrained sense that sharps and flats are somehow enharmonic equivalents (rather than being 12 fifths apart, and spanning a comma, as we generally prefer it). Would it be an acceptable alternative to have a choice of b / # enharmonics on the black notes only? That would be convenient and elegant.

[000masa000]

As awareness of tuning possibilities grows, I like the idea of keeping some useful links to existing practice, and opening up the concepts therefrom. If someone is beginning with the idea of a reference pitch, the most relevant ones will be the Pythagorean diatonics F C G D A E, which each have examples in the literature. Tuning E4 down a comma is a useful tonic for a scale, but as you say this will be something that is for "power users" who familiarise themselves with syntax.

[frostburn]

True. The "sharp" approach is "simpler", in a way. The eight original notes, ranging historically in Western theory from Bb to B, were Pythagorean. My only counter-argument here might be that using "sharp" defaults (as the composer Xenakis did) reinforces the very strongly ingrained sense that sharps and flats are somehow enharmonic equivalents (rather than being 12 fifths apart, and spanning a comma, as we generally prefer it). Would it be an acceptable alternative to have a choice of b / # enharmonics on the black notes only? That would be convenient and elegant.

I'd really want to get rid of the enharmonic dropdown. It takes up needless space. The best I can offer is a warning for black notes: "Base MIDI note 63 defaults to D#4. Use an explicit D#4 = mtof(_) or Eb4 = mtof(_) to get rid of this warning."

[000masa000]

OK, sounds good!