Re: Musical conlangs (was: Poetique)

Costentin Cornomorus wrote:
> Of course, I'm not sure why Solresol is
> restricted to three note words either.
I know why I would restrict it to 3-note words
(plus 1-note and 2-note words).  Here's why:

First, 1-note plus 2-note plus 3-note words
total 7+49+343=399 words, which is enough
for general purposes (as in trade languages).

Second, using only such words lets Solresol be
played in 3/4 time, with each word occupying
one measure, like so: In a 1-note word, the note
would be held for 3 beats, and in a 2-note word,
the second note would be held for 2 beats, and
in a 3-note word, each note would last 1 beat.

The most common words would be the 1-note
and 2-note words, so they would occur so often
that the listener could easily keep track of where
each word starts (without any note being louder
than any other).

The reason I'd use 3/4 time instead of 4/4 time is
that brains can momentarily confuse 4/4 time with
2/4 time (but never confuses 3/4 time with either),
and momentarily confusing 4/4 time with 2/4 time
would make you think that a measure's 3rd beat
(instead its first beat) starts a word.

--Tommie

Reply