WYSIWYP Simplified Notation - WYSIWYP-TN transition

WYSIWYP Simplified Notation- Traditional Notation transition tools

Students who have learned to play using WYSIWYP may decide they want to learn to read Traditional Notation (TN). Having acquired some playing skills, the student can then more easily focus on learning all the complexities of TN. To help the student in this challenge, SNapp would implement some User Preferences that would serve as learning tools.

The learning process consists of three steps:

Learn the TN note duration symbols.
Learn the TN staff lines.
Learn how to use key signatures.

Each of these is a significant learning task and it is recommended to feel comfortable with each step before proceeding to the next.

The following sheet music snippet in WYSIWYP Simplified Notation will serve as an example starting point in this description.

Step 1: TN note duration symbols

This step is the same as the previously described enhancement here. It is being kept separate from this description because it could be implemented first on its own. Use that description to understand the following hybrid WYSIWYP notation modified to display TN symbols for tone and duration:

Step 2: TN staff lines

Leaving the note symbols unchaged from the previous step, the TN staff lines replace WYSIWYP's. Ideally, the associated User Preference would provide a slider with WYSIWYP at one extreme end and TN at the other. The user could then move the slider from one extreme to the other to quickly switch back and forth between the two. In addition, moving the slider to intermediate positions would show both sets of lines in a gradient fashion. This would allow the user to clearly see the spatial relationships between lines and staves of the two notations.

Included in the staves are the TN treble and bass clefs. And, because there are no beat tic marks in TN, the Time Signature would now be displayed next to them. The student must learn how to read them and apply them mentally to the measures. This involves reading the notes' durations and analyzing how they align with the beat within every measure.

Step 3: Learning how to use Key Signatures

In this last step, the highlighting of sharps and flats is removed and the Key Signature is inserted in the treble and base staves after the clefs. The student must learn how to remember for which degree classes (A, B, ... G) note playing must be modified up or down one semitone (for sharp and flat respectively). This includes remembering that staff lines aligned with the Key Signature symbols are not the only lines, because they also to apply to corresponding degrees in other octaves above and below the Key Signature.

The student must also recognize and play accidentals that override the Key Signature definitions. And the student must also learn all the somewhat complicated rules for playing notes that follow the accidental on the same line or space within the same measure.

Added to this, there are 15 different Key Signatures. And in more advanced scores, the Key Signature can change one or more times.

Keep in mind that this is intended only as a learning tool and not a full-blown implementation of all the nuances of Traditional Notation in each step. Therefore, it is recommended that one start with rather simple scores. These tools are just a starting point for readers of WYSIWYP Simplified Notation to get a head start in the learning process of reading TN.