Re: Musical conlangs (was: Poetique)

--- Ray Brown <ray.brown@...> wrote:

> *For those interested, the 5 methods of writing
> are:
> The 13 methods of communications actually
> contain several variants of
> the same thing.  They are:
Actually, these are pretty interesting. I don't
know how easy it would be to apply those
particular symbols (the circle et al) to a manual
communication for the deaf. Wouldn't the circle
and half circle be difficult to differentiate?
Certainly 7 mnemonic handsigns could be borrowed
from either the manual alphabet or some actual
sign language to replace those particular written
symbols.

> 4. You use your right to touch various points
> on your left hand for
> each note (I can't show this in a email).
This is a very clever one! Though I don't see why
one can't do this in a lefterly fashion.

> 3. You trace the shorthand signs in the air
> with your hand (this is called
> "la language [sic] Universelle muette ou
> mimique").
> 7. You can communicate with a deaf person by
> taking her/his hand and
> "lui press alternativement les doigts, comme
> pour la Langue Universelle
> muette". [This seems to refer to (3), above. So
> quite how that works, I
> don't know. It would seem to me better to have
> used (4), by pointing out
> the places on the other person's hand]
Agreed. As I understand it, communication with
blind-deaf-mutes can be achieved by allowing them
to manually feel the shape and form of the manual
alphabet, pressed into their hands. I suspect
that what he's getting at is tracing the seven
symbols in the hand of the blind-deaf-mute, so
that he can feel what a normal deaf person could
see.

> 11. At night at sea one could fire colored
> flares according the colors given in (10).
That's a load o flares!

> 12. Also at sea, one could play the notes "sur
> un instrument de musique assez
> puissant pour être entendu a la distance
> déterminée". [The mind boggles; as
> the professor rightly observes: "on peut
> s'entendre parfaitement la nuit
> comme la jour."
A steam ship ought to be able to produce enough
pressure to power a loud and piercing caliope.
Just add six notes to the foghorn already
installed and Bob's you uncle!

Add a few more notes, and the ships organist
could strike up a merry tune!

> 13. Finally, at sea, can beat a drum, strike a
> bell, blow a whistle, blow
> a hunting horn (cor de chasse [on a boat??]),
Not ideal, as a cor de chasse does not have easy
access to a diatonic scale! It also has the
disadvantage of being human powered - short toots
with the ships foghorn (using the tap method)
would be better. Gongs, whistles, etc all have
similar limitations to the cor. At a resonably
close range and with low winds, such methods
could work, though.

> The thought of two ships communicating by
> firing off cannons in bursts of
> one to
> seven rounds at time for each syllable as they
> 'speak' to each other is
> quite something!
Just hope the other ship doesn't think you're
trying to sink him!

All of this has wonderful overtones for the
traditional fantasist: imagine a fleet of
warships steaming to action, piping out (encoded)
messages upon great caliopes and foghorns with
multicoloured flares flying! This will have to
implemented in the World, somewhere!

Padraic.


=====
la cieurgeourea provoer mal trasfu ast meiyoer ke 'l andrext ben trasfu.


--

Ill Bethisad --
<http://www.geocities.com/elemtilas/ill_bethisad>


Come visit The World! --
<http://www.geocities.com/hawessos/>







.

Reply