preliminary proposal: New Unicode characters for Arabic music half-flat and half-sharp

[Michael Everson]

Johnny,

I’m interested in working with you and Sami on this. 

These two characters are often referred to as quarter sharp and quarter flat as well. The symbols are also widely used outside Arabic music. The western classical tradition from the 20th century on is full of them. They're not obscure symbols really. Musicians with even a moderate interest in contemporary music are aware of them. 

I’m travelling in Sweden working on Blissymbols at the moment, but when I get back home on Friday and can consult some of my reference works I’ll get in touch with you. It shouldn’t take long to put something together. 

Michael Everson

On 29 Mar 2015, at 05:21, Johnny Farraj <johnnyfarraj at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Dear unicode list members, 
> 
> I wish to get feedback about a new character submission proposal.
> 
> Currently the Miscellaneous Symbols table (2600-26FF) includes the following characters:
> 
> 266D ♭ MUSIC FLAT SIGN
> 266F ♯ MUSIC SHARP SIGN
> 
> while the Musical Symbols table (1D100 - 1D1FF) includes the following characters:
> 
> 1D12A �� MUSICAL SYMBOL DOUBLE SHARP
> 1D12B �� MUSICAL SYMBOL DOUBLE FLAT
> 1D12C �� MUSICAL SYMBOL FLAT UP
> 1D12D �� MUSICAL SYMBOL FLAT DOWN
> 1D130 �� MUSICAL SYMBOL SHARP UP
> 1D131 �� MUSICAL SYMBOL SHARP DOWN
> 1D132 �� MUSICAL SYMBOL QUARTER TONE SHARP
> 1D133 �� MUSICAL SYMBOL QUARTER TONE FLAT
>  
> I am proposing the addition of 2 new characters to the Musical Symbols table:
> 
> - the half-flat sign (lower note by a quarter tone) 
> - the half-sharp sign (raise note by a quarter tone)
> 
> <half-flat sign.png>
> <half-sharp sign.png>
> 
>   
> These are widely used in Arabic music notation, and they express intervals that are multiples of quarter tones.
> 
> I am the primary sponsor of this proposal. As far as my credentials, I am the owner of http://maqamworld.com, the most widely used online resource on Arabic music theory, in English.
> I can also enlist the support of many academics in the ethnomusicology field, who specialize in Arabic music.
> 
> I welcome any feedback on this proposal.
> 
> thanks
> 
> Johnny Farraj
> johnnyfarraj at yahoo.com