NOT.8:4.3 - Segment and encode the needed relations

Choose recognizable units and a rule for joining them: separate events, intervals, phases, gestures or other parts appropriate to the subject. Mark a beginning, boundary or return to a cycle where losing it would change the reading.

Assign signs and their temporal or spatial arrangement to the selected distinctions. Make order, overlap and duration recoverable when the work needs them. Writing two signs successively does not express simultaneity unless a grouping or interpretation rule supplies it.

Provide a way to distinguish a specified absence from a missing observation. A rest within a known beat and a recording gap can both be silent, but only the former supplies the intended absence. Use a marker, an accompanying record or another recoverable convention where the difference affects the next operation.

Inspect discriminability under the intended conditions: speed, overlap, background sound, viewing direction or available sensors. A symbol family that is distinct on a page can become confusable when sounded or gestured. Change the encoding or access arrangement if the needed contrast disappears.

Choose detail for the receiving use. A movement score can constrain endpoints while leaving the route open; a different use can require the route, timing or body-part coordination. Keep an omitted choice with the performer or construction method that is to supply it, rather than silently giving the notation credit for it.