Dvorak Cello Concerto publication

[John Ruggero]

"to take a hit" means to be badly affected by something, and is often applied to someone's reputation as in NeeraWM's post.

https://plainenglish.com/expressions/take-a-hit/ has a good explanation.

I am noticing that standard expressions are often misunderstood these days. One that "gets our goat" is: "that begs the question", which is thrown around wildly without any notion of what it means. Then there are "iconic" and "amazing", which have lost all meaning and signal to me that the person knows only two adjectives with which to praise anything.

Then there is "voice" as applied by music software programs to mean anything stemmed together. That one really gets my goat.

[Anders Hedelin]

Then there is "voice" as applied by music software programs to mean anything stemmed together. That one really gets my goat.

Stemmed voices - sounds like tacet? Well, not sounds, perhaps.

[John Ruggero]

I didn't quite understand your comment, Anders. Sorry.

In any case, I was referring to Dorico (and I think maybe Sibelius also) using the term "voice" to mean what is called a "layer" in Finale. Anything that is stemmed together is considered a "voice". So Voice 1 might be a set of chords as well as single notes. And Finale makes the same error with its multiple "voices" within layers. Knut and I commented on this misuse of standard musical terminology when Dorico first came out. It really bothers me because it is so difficult to get students to think of individual melodic voices creating harmony without this new confusion in terminology.

I think that "layer" is perfect for defining what is really a graphical rather than musical concept, the term "voice" having been defined as a musical term for several centuries.

[JJP]

Knut and I commented on this misuse of standard musical terminology when Dorico first came out. It really bothers me because it is so difficult to get students to think of individual melodic voices creating harmony without this new confusion in terminology.

I think that "layer" is perfect for defining what is really a graphical rather than musical concept, the term "voice" having been defined as a musical term for several centuries.

I could not agree more. This terminology issue gets taken to even more troubling extremes with instrumental sample libraries that so many media composers use. I'm seeing more and more young composers who have learned terminology based on how sample developers have chosen to label their samples. Terms like "articulation" and "legato" have been confused in several situations. I've heard composers refer to a "spiccato" articulation on woodwinds thinking that it was a shorter version of staccato.

Part of the problem I find with sample libraries is that the developers are often more skilled in engineering and technology than they are in music, leading to poor choices in labelling software elements.

[John Ruggero]

Part of the problem I find with sample libraries is that the developers are often more skilled in engineering and technology than they are in music, leading to poor choices in labelling software elements.

That thought has also crossed my mind concerning many aspects of computer music.

[NeeraWM]

Just to clarify, you mean your respect for Henle editing took a hit in the negative sense?

Sorry for not replying earlier, somehow I didn't see the notification.
Yes, the overall quality of Henle editing seems to be declining in recent editions.
I am no native English speaker so I have no idea what "take another hit" could have meant in another way. Sorry about that.

[John Ruggero]

Dan might have been referring to "taking a hit" of a drug. Not sure if that expression is still current though.

[Dan Kreider]

Dan might have been referring to "taking a hit" of a drug. Not sure if that expression is still current though.

If a person or organization "takes a hit," it means their reputation or status suffers. Sorry for the confusing idiom!