note value vs note duration
Hello everyone
It is my understanding that there is a difference between note duration (i.e. how many milliseconds the note lasts) and note value (i.e. whether it is a half note, quarter note, etc). However, in the MuseScore UI and in the Handbook, note value is often referred to as note "duration". Is this particular terminological impreciseness common in (US) English, or is this a MuseScore-specific oddity?
Thanks
Samuel
Comments
The actual duration in time units, like milliseconds, depends on a) The relative duration (quarter, eights, etc) and the (playback) tempo, in MuseScore measured in (quarter) beats per minute.
In reply to The actual duration in time… by Jojo-Schmitz
I think OP is aware of this - what he points out it the fact that MS often uses 'duration' when '(rhythmic) value' would probaby be more appropriate. I don't think this is a big problem now, since there is almost no place where MS exposes durations to the user, but at some point MS might want to do this (I really miss this feature myself) and then a clear distinction between the two seems to be needed.
In reply to I think OP is aware of this … by rmattes
Yes. I participate in the translation of MS, and that prompted my question, as we discovered that in most cases where MS says "duration" it appears that MS actually means "value", and I was just curious about the reason for this.
I see that Jojo uses the term "relative duration" instead of "value" in his post.
In reply to Yes. I participate in the… by ugcheleuce
Hmm, yes, looking at e.g. WikiPedia shows https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notenwert for German and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Note_value for English (and explains it to be "the relative duration of a note"), for what MuseScore's documentation (and code) calls Note Duration.
As a native (American) English speaker, I totally understand what you are saying about the potential ambiguity in the term "duration", however, I would also say that the term "value" is almost meaningless in this context. That is, while any English-speaker familiar with music would understand what "pitch" means for a note, I don't think people would necessarily know what "value" was meant to refer to even if it is a technically correct term to use. It's too generic a term, it's basically anything you can put a number on. "Duration" at least can only mean two things :-)