Re: [Lilypond-auto] Issue 2713 in lilypond: \compoundMeter cannot handle irrational or fractional meters

[lilypond]

Comment #6 on issue 2713 by address@hidden: \compoundMeter cannot  
handle irrational or fractional meters
http://code.google.com/p/lilypond/issues/detail?id=2713

Re the fractional example and comment 4: very good point.  I'm not bothered  
about the precise syntax, although for what it's worth I think with this  
kind of fractional time signature à la Boulez, one can expect the fraction  
to be in lowest form.  As you say, it's a significant enhancement.   
Something like ((4 4) (2 12)) is an acceptable alternative for a new  
composition [actually you'd probably write something like 7/6 or ((4 4) (1  
6)) ], and probably better reflects standard modern practice -- but the  
fractional approach is used in various extremely well known contemporary  
works, so worth supporting in the long run.

BUT don't confuse the fractional time signature -- something akin to  
(2/3)/4 -- with the "irrational" one (a musicians' irrational, not  
mathematicians' ...) of, say, 1/6 or 2/12.  The latter two are not intended  
to be Scheme fractions but time signatures of respectively one sixth-note  
(i.e. triplet quarter) and two twelfth-notes (i.e. triplet eighth).   
Lilypond already handles these as stand-alone time signatures, but if I  
understand you correctly, having them as part of a compound time signature  
confuses the _spacing_ (not beaming) calculation.  I'm therefore not  
certain that your suggestion in comment 3 is so wrong per se.

However, if I _do_ remove the 1 from the call to make-moment, then I get a  
further error message:
out/share/lilypond/current/scm/lily-library.scm:213:5: In procedure  
ly:book-process in expression (process-procedure book paper ...):
out/share/lilypond/current/scm/lily-library.scm:213:5: Wrong type  
(expecting exact integer): 15/4