NOT.8:4.1 - Select what is expressed and what the reader should do

Identify the subject relation and the needed operation. The work may be to recognize an order, reproduce a rhythm, compare two movements, locate a missing event or construct instructions for another performer. Choose the distinctions that operation consumes.

Say whether the expression describes an observed occurrence, proposes a future performance or presents a construction for analysis. The same cue sequence can serve these different uses, but a plan does not establish that its events happened.

Separate the sign’s physical properties from the represented properties. A sustained tone might represent duration by its length, or merely identify an event kind. A hand position might be an action being performed, a sign for another movement, or a reference against which a different action is timed. Use the convention that supports the selected work.

State the reader’s available perception and operations. Distinguishing two timbres, maintaining a pulse, recognizing a body part and following a formal event code are different prerequisites. A computational reader needs a suitable input representation and interpretation, not an assumed human sensory skill.