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

[Johnny Farraj via Unicode]

Dear Unicode list members,

I wish to get feedback about a new symbol 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

None of these matches what's used in Arabic music notation.

I am proposing the addition of 2 new characters to the Musical Symbols
table:

- the half-flat sign (lowers a note by a quarter tone)
- the half-sharp sign (raises a note by a quarter tone)

[image: Inline image]
[image: Inline image]


These are the correct symbols for Arabic music notation, and they express
intervals that are multiples of quarter tones. it would be really nice to
be able to include them directly in an HTML page or rich text document
using a native code rather than an image.

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.

My co-sponsor is Sami Abu Shumays, author of http://maqamlessons.com,
another important online reference for Arabic music theory.

Together, we are in the process of publishing a book on Arabic music theory
and performance with Oxford University Press, coming out late 2018.

I can also enlist the support of many academics in the music theory field
who specialize in Arabic music.

I welcome any feedback on this proposal.

thanks

Johnny Farraj
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