Sub-grouping Header (Classical and Non-Classical Music)

[karbock]

Sub-grouping Header for Classical and Non-Classical Music

Table of Contents (1) Summary (2) Other related threads (3) Typical results (4) Tagging conventions (5) Solution with 7 virtual tags (6) Explanation of the virtual tags (7) Colour codes and symbols

(1) Summary

In the Album and Album and Tracks views of the main panel, you can specify a sub-grouping header. In my collection, it is a virtual tag that works for both non-classical and classical music.

For non-classical music, it takes into account Disc# and Grouping.

For classical music, it relies on Grouping, Composer and Work, showing zero, one or more of these fields according to the album content:

• Grouping (if present)
• Composer (if only a part of the album is concerned)
• Work (if only a part of the album is concerned)

Adding Disc# to the sub-grouping header would fuzzy up the display without adding significant information to classical music albums.


(2) Other related threads

• Managing (levels of) classical music works using MusicBee and MusicBrainz Picard, by hiccup.
  An excellent, all-in-one solution for tagging and displaying relying on the Picard plugin.
  Requires some setup work and virtual tags.
• How to use the sub-grouping header, presentation and exchange initiated by Bee-liever.
  Other display choices, including the possible use of other tags (Set Subtitle, Conductor, and Sort tags to name only a few). Requires of course virtual tags, too.

(3) Typical results

Below, a few clickable screenshots showing what the subgrouping header can look like, with:

• a light theme (Faded) + 4 possible colours (one for each element type)
• a dark theme (Oblivion) + 2 colours, always the same (symbol vs. text)

Combination	Light theme + 4 possible colours	Dark theme + 2 colours (always the same)
Composer + Work
Disc + Grouping
Grouping + Work
Composer
Work
Work OR Grouping

(4) Classical music tagging conventions

The few conventions that are needed for the virtual tags to work are presented hereafter.

Tag	Content Conventions	Example
Composer	Format = Surname, GivenNames. The other contributing composers, if any, are semicolon-separated.	TCHAIKOVSKY, Piotr
Work	Populated if the work is split up into several movements. Empty otherwise.	Swan Lake, Op. 20
Grouping	Optional. Album section (e.g.: Secular works, Sacred works), or work section (e.g.: Act 1, Act 2, …).	Act 1
Genre	The keywords must include Classical.	Classical; Romanticism; Instrumental; Orchestra; Ballet

The convention on AlbumArtist has been removed. Multi-composer albums (classical music) are now identified by using the $Count function (see below).


(5) Solution with 7 virtual tags

v.SubGrouping.Header is the main virtual tag used as sub-grouping header for the main panel (views 'Album', 'Album and Tracks').

NOTE:
After each encoding phase, [Save] before moving to the next virtual tags.

Encoding phase	Virtual tag	Formula
1	v.Str.Album.Composer	<Album><Composer>
1	v.Str.Album.Work	<Album><Work>
1	v.Composer.Short	$IsNull(<Composer>,,$RxReplace($If($IsMatch($First(<Composer>),"^(BACH, (?!Johann Sebastian)|CASALS,|CHARPENTIER, (?!Marc-Antoine)|COLLINS,|CONTI,|CORNET,|COUPERIN,|HAYDN, (?!Joseph)|JARRE,|LAST,|MARCELLO,|MENDELSSOHN, (?!Felix)|MILLER,|MOZART, (?!W)|PACHELBEL,|PRAETORIUS,|ROBERT,|SCARLATTI,|SCHUBERT, (?!Franz)|SCHUMANN, (?!Robert)|STRAUSS,|TURNER,)"),$First(<Composer>),$RxReplace($First(<Composer>),"([^,]*)[,].*","$1")),"(DA|DE|VAN|VON|CASSANÉA DE) (BEETHOVEN|LASSUS|PALESTRINA|WEBER|MONDONVILLE)","$2"))
1	v.chk.Disc	$IsNull(<Disc Count>,,$If($Or(<Disc Count>=1,<Disc#>=0),,$If($IsMatch(<Genre>,"Classical"),,D)))
2	v.chk.Composer	$IsNull(<Composer>,,$If($And($Not($Count(<v.Str.Album.Composer>)=$Count(<Album>)),$IsMatch(<Genre>,"Classical")),C,))
2	v.chk.Work	$IsNull(<Work>,,$If($Count(<v.Str.Album.Work>)=$Count(<Album>),,W))
3	v.SubGrouping.Header	$IsNull(<v.chk.Disc>,,{color: 40,140,90}💿 <Disc#>" ")$IsNull(<Grouping>,,{color: 125,105,0}¶ <Grouping>" ")$IsNull(<v.chk.Composer>,,{color: 175,25,25}✍ <v.Composer.Short>" ")$IsNull(<v.chk.Work>,,{color: 0,105,155}♫ <Work>)

(6) Explanation of the virtual tags

v.Str.Album.Composer
Concatenation of Album and Composer, used to count the number of different composers (populated OR null) within the same album.
Necessary since:

• $Count(<Album><Composer>) is not accepted
• $Count(<Composer>,<Album>) doesn't take null <Composer> values into account

v.Str.Album.Work
Concatenation of Album and Work, used to count the number of different works (populated OR null) within the same album.
Necessary since:

• $Count(<Album><Work>) is not accepted
• $Count(<Work>,<Album>) doesn't take null <Work> values into account

v.Composer.Short
If several composers have contributed to the musical piece (semicolon-separated), only the first is shown.
The given names are generally removed, but:

• For some families comprising several composers, the given names are always kept:
  CASALS, COUPERIN, MARCELLO, PACHELBEL, SCARLATTI, ...
• For some other families, the given names are kept, except for these figureheads:
  BACH, Johann Sebastian; CHARPENTIER, Marc-Antoine; HAYDN, Joseph; MENDELSSOHN, Felix; MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus; SCHUBERT, Franz; SCHUMANN, Robert
• The first word of the surname (DA, DE, VAN, VON) is omitted when customary:
  DA PALESTRINA, DE LASSUS, VAN BEETHOVEN, VON WEBER

v.chk.Disc
The disc number is shown, if:

• <Disc#> is not null
• AND <Disc Count> is not 1
• AND <Genre> doesn't contain "Classical"

v.chk.Composer
The composer's name is shown for a multi-composer classical album, i.e. if:

• <Composer> is not null
• AND <Genre> contains "Classical"
• AND the track count for the combination <Album>+<Composer> differs from the track count for <Album>

v.chk.Work
The work is shown if:

• <Work> is not null
• AND the track count for the combination <Album>+<Work> differs from the track count for <Album>

v.SubGrouping.Header
Sub-grouping header for the main panel (views 'Album', 'Album and Tracks').
Colour codes used: 4 different colours.


(7) Colour codes and symbols

In the formula of v.SubGrouping.Header, just adapt the colour codes to your taste and the skin(s) you use. The four-colour scheme has been tested with several light and dark skins.

4-colour set
One colour for each component type: disc / grouping / composer / work.

Header part	Colour code
Disc	{color: 40,140,90}
Grouping	{color: 125,105,0}
Composer	{color: 175,25,25}
Work	{color: 0,105,155}

2-colour set
One colour for any symbol, one for any text.

Symbol vs. text	Colour code
Symbol	{color: 150,130,60}
Text	{color: 40,140,90}

Symbols + alternative version

Header part	font: default	font: Segoe MDL2 Assets
Disc	💿	{font: Segoe MDL2 Assets; Regular; 12}{font: default}
Grouping	¶	{font: Segoe MDL2 Assets; Regular; 12}{font: default}
Composer	✍	{font: Segoe MDL2 Assets; Regular; 12}{font: default}
Work	♫	{font: Segoe MDL2 Assets; Regular; 12}{font: default}

[karbock]

Added:
    • Reference to related threads
    • Screenshot for disc + grouping (non-classical music)
Improved:
    • Screenshots side-by-side

[karbock]

Changes:
    • Removed v.Str.Default, v.Chk.Grouping
    • Simplified v.SubGrouping.Header
    • Reduced the number of virtual tags
    • Added Pachelbel to v.Composer.Short

[karbock]

Improved:

• Work name:
  The work is shown IF it is present AND the track count for the combination <Album>+<Work> differs from the track count for <Album>.
• Composer name:
  The given names are generally removed. Exceptions:
  
  • Couperin, Marcello, Pachelbel, Scarlatti: given names kept
  • Bach: given names removed only for Johann Sebastian
  • Haydn: given name removed only for Joseph
  • Mendelssohn: given name removed only for Felix
  • Mozart: given names removed only for Wolfgang Amadeus

[hiccup]

From my library:

Pau Casals
Enric Casals

Franz Schubert
Heinz  Schubert

[karbock]

From my library:
Pau Casals / Enric Casals
Franz Schubert / Heinz  Schubert

Thanks for your contribution! I'll add them to the next update (coming soon...)

[karbock]

Improved:
* No more condition on AlbumArtist
* $Count used to identify multiple-composer albums instead

Split up:
* the solution with 7 virtual tags (but easy to maintain)
* the solution with 3 virtual tags (but difficult to maintain), with aggregated formulas

Updated:
* list of composer names in v.Composer.Short

[karbock]

New screenshots (clickable) comparing the display, with:

• a light theme + 4 possible colours (one for each element type)
• a dark theme + 2 colours, always the same (symbol vs. text)

[karbock]

Added:

• v.Composer.Short:
  The first word of the surname (DA, DE, VAN, VON) is omitted when customary:
  
  • DA PALESTRINA, DE LASSUS, VAN BEETHOVEN, VON WEBER
• List of symbols + alternative version

[karbock]

Updated:
* list of composer names in v.Composer.Short