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  • Terminology: Flatted vs. Flattened?

    From Michael Crutcher@21:1/5 to All on Mon Sep 16 19:22:26 2019
    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?

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  • From J. Van Thuyne@21:1/5 to Michael Crutcher on Tue Sep 17 18:08:10 2019
    On Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:22:26 -0700 (PDT), Michael Crutcher <funkmeistermike@gmail.com> wrote:

    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?

    Yeah, Merriam-Webster defines "to flat; flatted; flatting" as a verb for lowering a pitch, and "to sharp; sharped; sharping" for raising a pitch. It doesn't assign that meaning to "to flatten" or "to sharpen".

    --
    J.

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  • From stevewhims@gmail.com@21:1/5 to J. Van Thuyne on Tue Sep 17 13:34:26 2019
    On Tuesday, September 17, 2019 at 9:08:13 AM UTC-7, J. Van Thuyne wrote:
    On Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:22:26 -0700 (PDT), Michael Crutcher <funkmeistermike@gmail.com> wrote:

    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?

    Yeah, Merriam-Webster defines "to flat; flatted; flatting" as a verb for lowering a pitch, and "to sharp; sharped; sharping" for raising a pitch. It doesn't assign that meaning to "to flatten" or "to sharpen".

    --
    J.

    +1

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  • From Joey Goldstein@21:1/5 to Michael Crutcher on Wed Sep 18 10:53:54 2019
    On 2019-09-16 10:22 p.m., Michael Crutcher wrote:
    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?


    Who cares?

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  • From Michael Crutcher@21:1/5 to ttw...@att.net on Wed Sep 18 21:50:13 2019
    On Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 12:26:41 AM UTC-4, ttw...@att.net wrote:
    On Monday, September 16, 2019 at 9:22:28 PM UTC-5, Michael Crutcher wrote:
    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?

    I have seen both the "ened" and the "ed" forms. Both are easy to understand so no problem.

    I've seen people say "should of" a lot, too. I know what they mean, but it doesn't mean that they're not ignorant.

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  • From Michael Crutcher@21:1/5 to Joey Goldstein on Wed Sep 18 21:46:12 2019
    On Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 10:53:56 AM UTC-4, Joey Goldstein wrote:
    On 2019-09-16 10:22 p.m., Michael Crutcher wrote:
    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?


    Who cares?

    I just think it sounds stupid when someone refers to a "sharpened" note. It's not a friggin' pencil, it's a note.

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  • From ttw6687@att.net@21:1/5 to Michael Crutcher on Wed Sep 18 21:26:40 2019
    On Monday, September 16, 2019 at 9:22:28 PM UTC-5, Michael Crutcher wrote:
    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?

    I have seen both the "ened" and the "ed" forms. Both are easy to understand so no problem.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Joey Goldstein@21:1/5 to Michael Crutcher on Thu Sep 19 10:39:07 2019
    On 2019-09-19 12:50 a.m., Michael Crutcher wrote:
    On Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 12:26:41 AM UTC-4, ttw...@att.net wrote:
    On Monday, September 16, 2019 at 9:22:28 PM UTC-5, Michael Crutcher wrote: >>> So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?

    I have seen both the "ened" and the "ed" forms. Both are easy to understand so no problem.

    I've seen people say "should of" a lot, too. I know what they mean, but it doesn't mean that they're not ignorant.


    FWIW
    Most of the time I just say "flat" or "Sharp".
    E.g. "It's a b9."
    "It's a #5."
    "Flat that fifth."
    "Curiously, for sharps, I'd usually say "It's a raised fifth" or "Raise
    that fifth" rather than "Sharp that fifth" or "Sharpen that fifth."
    Etc.

    What really matters is that the other musicians you're talking to
    understand what you're saying.

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  • From stevewhims@gmail.com@21:1/5 to Michael Crutcher on Thu Sep 19 13:42:34 2019
    On Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 9:50:14 PM UTC-7, Michael Crutcher wrote:
    On Thursday, September 19, 2019 at 12:26:41 AM UTC-4, ttw...@att.net wrote:
    On Monday, September 16, 2019 at 9:22:28 PM UTC-5, Michael Crutcher wrote:
    So, I keep coming across internet discussions about music that make reference to notes being "flattened" or "sharpened." Is it me, or is this the wrong nomenclature? Shouldn't this be "flatted" or "sharped"?

    I have seen both the "ened" and the "ed" forms. Both are easy to understand so no problem.

    I've seen people say "should of" a lot, too. I know what they mean, but it doesn't mean that they're not ignorant.

    Totally agree. When everyone knows what's correct, it's a luxury, and it makes communication very pleasant. I'm surprised at some of the responses here that don't seem interested in correctness.

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  • From Michael Crutcher@21:1/5 to All on Thu Sep 19 14:50:39 2019
    Well, it's why we have language. If we used the same word for every subject, e.g., "I drove my pick down to the pick so that I could buy some picks to bring back to my pick, and then my family could sit down to eat pick", you'd probably be able to figure
    out what I meant, but it's a helluva lot more mental energy to translate. Yes, it's confusing to use the word "flat" to mean lowered in pitch as well as smooth and even without marked lumps or indentations but although they are same word, they should not
    be iterated the same way. A note is not squashed down to a different shape; it is lowered innpitc, therefore flatted.

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  • From ttw6687@att.net@21:1/5 to All on Thu Sep 19 17:29:12 2019
    Color terms do funny things with the "en" ending. Things get whitened, reddened, blackened, but not bluened or yellowened. (Some linguists suggest that the en forms are older.)

    After some perusing things, I find that using "flat" and "sharp" as adjectives is also done. This allows for a dominant chord with a flattened fifth, a flatted fifth, or a flat fifth.

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