Limits of Sheet Music

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When composing with microtones, it can be very difficult to find a way to notate one’s music since there is no unified notation system for non 12tet music. Software like Musescore has some degree of notating beyond the chromatic notes, but those are often limited or not easily available. Even then, if one were to forgo digital composition and do it the old fashioned way, there is no obvious choice on how to notate such a composition.

The closest thing I have found to a modern, robust microtonal notation system is Sagital notation, but even then very few understand it deeply and use it. Depending on the way one might use microtonal music, they could adopt Classical notation but add quarter and three-quarter notes, expanding the range of frequencies one could play. Or one could treat flats and sharps as completely different notes. Still, both of these options impress limits onto microtonal notation; audio seems like the only widely accepted way to faithfully enumerate microtonal music.

Les ponts de Paris (Passy), Albert Gleizes

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