[Dixielandjazz] "Crotchets"

[Robert Smith]

Sorry, Bill
I forgot that the American and Canadian terms for the English term "crotchet" is a "quarter note".
My main point was that if you compose a tune with only 16 notes on the beat, then you have all those possibilities that I calclulated. There are no rhythmic variations. For every single rhythmic variation that is introduced, the total possible number of tunes has to be doubled.
I also forgot to mention that only 12 different notes are used, e.g. middle C, C#, D, D# ... B. If you allow, say, two octaves to be used then the number of possibilities are my original total squared!
If seven monkeys played seven saxophones for seven years then they might just begin to compose a microscopically small number of the possible tunes.
Of course the total number that I calculated includes an enormous number of combinations of notes that wouldn't be considered melodies, e.g. 16 F#'s on the beat, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that a John Cage had already written such a tune.

Cheers

Bob Smith