03-16-2023, 11:39 AM
If you want to stick with the set up you have now ('song' is default, 'piece' is an option) then could the setting not just say "use the term 'piece' instead of 'song'"? I don't know whether you have a particular style for the questions the app asks on first installation nor how the question is phrased now but I imagine you would go with something like "MS uses the word 'song' by default - would you rather use the term 'piece' instead of 'song'?"
To a chunk of your potential market it might look a bit amateurish to call the word 'piece' the classical equivalent of the word 'song', as might using the word 'song' to describe music that isn't intended to be sung. Some number of people will cringe a bit when they see that. They may or may not be wrong to do that but they also may be less likely to use or buy the app.
Given that you're aiming at all users of sheet music, I think I would've gone with 'piece' as the default with no option offered. I realise that calling a pop song a 'piece' is a little weird but it's considerably less weird than calling a piece for percussion ensemble a 'song'. Yesterday by the Beatles is a great piece of music but Schubert's String Quintet in C major is not a song. The other option that comes to mind is 'sheet'. It's a bit grammatically weird but works well with the name of the app. I don't know how well 'sheet' would translate to other languages though, whereas I think 'piece' has an equivalent in other languages. 'Number' might be another option - great musical connotations but no idea how it translates.
I had a quick look at some other sheet music apps. A bunch of them go with 'score'. At least one uses 'song' but it says that it works best with text files of chords and lyrics. At least one uses 'sheet music'. I wouldn't be surprised if none of them offer options. 'Score' suggests not chords/lyrics. 'Song' suggests not instrumental/not staves etc. 'Sheet music' is unwieldy (it's an uncountable noun - you don't usually refer to 'a sheet music' or 'two sheet musics'). I think 'score' and 'sheet music' both sound a bit more serious or formal than 'song' which possibly helps those apps come across as a bit more reliable. I think 'piece' would work that way a bit too.
Anyway, I imagine 'song' might be your preferred term so by all means stick with that as the default if you want. It's your baby after all. But for the sake of marketability please consider avoiding suggesting that 'piece' is the classical equivalent of 'song' and avoid calling instrumental pieces 'songs'. And please be aware that no offence is intended - I'm a big fan of your work and I advocate for the app every chance I get.
To a chunk of your potential market it might look a bit amateurish to call the word 'piece' the classical equivalent of the word 'song', as might using the word 'song' to describe music that isn't intended to be sung. Some number of people will cringe a bit when they see that. They may or may not be wrong to do that but they also may be less likely to use or buy the app.
Given that you're aiming at all users of sheet music, I think I would've gone with 'piece' as the default with no option offered. I realise that calling a pop song a 'piece' is a little weird but it's considerably less weird than calling a piece for percussion ensemble a 'song'. Yesterday by the Beatles is a great piece of music but Schubert's String Quintet in C major is not a song. The other option that comes to mind is 'sheet'. It's a bit grammatically weird but works well with the name of the app. I don't know how well 'sheet' would translate to other languages though, whereas I think 'piece' has an equivalent in other languages. 'Number' might be another option - great musical connotations but no idea how it translates.
I had a quick look at some other sheet music apps. A bunch of them go with 'score'. At least one uses 'song' but it says that it works best with text files of chords and lyrics. At least one uses 'sheet music'. I wouldn't be surprised if none of them offer options. 'Score' suggests not chords/lyrics. 'Song' suggests not instrumental/not staves etc. 'Sheet music' is unwieldy (it's an uncountable noun - you don't usually refer to 'a sheet music' or 'two sheet musics'). I think 'score' and 'sheet music' both sound a bit more serious or formal than 'song' which possibly helps those apps come across as a bit more reliable. I think 'piece' would work that way a bit too.
Anyway, I imagine 'song' might be your preferred term so by all means stick with that as the default if you want. It's your baby after all. But for the sake of marketability please consider avoiding suggesting that 'piece' is the classical equivalent of 'song' and avoid calling instrumental pieces 'songs'. And please be aware that no offence is intended - I'm a big fan of your work and I advocate for the app every chance I get.