Author Topic: The proper use of "Cadence"  (Read 4155 times)

Offline SLC

  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 127
  • London, UK
  • Liked: 122
  • Likes Given: 2302
The proper use of "Cadence"
« on: 05/19/2018 07:57 pm »
Iridium Announces Date for Fifth IridiumŪ NEXT Launch

First Iridium launch of 2018 set to begin rapid launch cadence targeting completion by mid-year
<snip>
and begin a rapid-cadence launch schedule targeting completion of the Iridium manifest by mid-2018
<snip>
... ahem (clears throat)... well, I've just read the above press release from Iridium and I can't contain myself any longer, so here goes:

<teacher-mode>

Please, please, could all of us space enthusiasts stop writing "launch cadence" when we clearly mean "launch tempo"?  Cadences are the risings and fallings of the voice when reciting, originally and especially a final fall (cadere, to fall or decline, as in decadence and decay).  "Launch cadences" would mean "launch rises and  falls", and the singular "launch cadence" would be "launch fade to silence". 

On the other hand "launch tempo" is exactly right, and even more apt than the alternatives "launch rate" and "launch frequency", since "rate" and "frequency" have so many other engineering uses.

We should be as careful with words here as we are with calculations.  We only started misusing "cadence" a year or two ago; please can we all go back to "tempo" now?

</teacher-mode>

Now you can throw things.  Yes, I know that logically I should have sent this to the Iridium press office, but they aren't the only offenders...  and it'll give us something to talk about as we wait for the launch.

Mods:  please feel free to exile this post to the Twilight Thread, where the lost souls gnash their teeth and wail  "... but mT means milli-Tesla... just write tonnes... tonnes... tonnes... ".  I suspect I'd feel quite at home there.
« Last Edit: 05/19/2018 11:30 pm by gongora »

Offline dorkmo

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 710
  • Liked: 338
  • Likes Given: 848
does cadence work if theyre refering to the final launches at the end of the constilation launch campaign?

Offline swampcat

  • Member
  • Posts: 59
  • Tidewater Virginia
  • Liked: 29
  • Likes Given: 2500
Not if you can't spell constellation correctly  ;D
Sent from my desktop using my fingers.

Offline rsnellenberger

  • Amateur wood butcher
  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 839
  • Harbor Springs, Michigan
  • Liked: 371
  • Likes Given: 55
Cadence (Merriam-Webster Online):

1. a : a rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language the grand cadence of his poetry
b : the beat, time, or measure of rhythmical motion or activity The drill sergeant counted cadence. the steady cadence of the drums

2 a : a falling inflection of the voice
b : a concluding and usually falling strain; specifically : a musical chord sequence moving to a harmonic close or point of rest and giving the sense of harmonic completion

Add: (Once the son of an English teacher, always the son of an English teacher...)
« Last Edit: 05/19/2018 10:55 pm by rsnellenberger »

Online Comga

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6466
  • Liked: 4572
  • Likes Given: 5136
Cadence
Define Cadence at Dictionary.com
rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words: ... the flow or rhythm of events, especially the pattern in which something is experienced: the frenetic cadence of modern life. 5. a slight falling in pitch of the voice in speaking or reading, as at the end of a declarative sentence.

However, I appreciate SLC’s attention to vocabulary and meaning
Edit:  On the gripping hand, we are wandering away from the topic of the Iridium and GRACE launch
« Last Edit: 05/19/2018 11:08 pm by Comga »
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline launchwatcher

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 756
  • Liked: 726
  • Likes Given: 988
Iridium Announces Date for Fifth IridiumŪ NEXT Launch

First Iridium launch of 2018 set to begin rapid launch cadence targeting completion by mid-year
<snip>
and begin a rapid-cadence launch schedule targeting completion of the Iridium manifest by mid-2018
<snip>
... ahem (clears throat)... well, I've just read the above press release from Iridium and I can't contain myself any longer, so here goes:

<teacher-mode>

Please, please, could all of us space enthusiasts stop writing "launch cadence" when we clearly mean "launch tempo"?  Cadences are the risings and fallings of the voice when reciting, originally and especially a final fall (cadere, to fall or decline, as in decadence and decay).  "Launch cadences" would mean "launch rises and  falls", and the singular "launch cadence" would be "launch fade to silence". 

<marching band hat on>

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_cadence.

"Cadence" has multiple meanings.   You are correct that, in the context of western classical music theory it refers to an ending or conclusion of a section of music.

However, an entirely different sense of the term is used in marching bands (at least in the US), where it refers to a repetitive pattern played by the drummers while the rest of the band is in between pieces.

In the marching band contexts I've run into a drum cadence is simply referred to as a "cadence", and I suspect that followed a path from military marching to the air force to spaceflight.





Re: The proper use of "Cadence"
« Reply #6 on: 05/20/2018 12:09 am »
Italian here: since, as many other musical terms (such as 'tempo' coincidentally, which outside the musical vocabulary means time in italian), you borrowed 'cadence' from our language, I think I have a say in here. We say 'cadenza', etymologically it comes from cado, latin for 'to fall', or 'cadere' in italian.
It undoubtedly has a rhythmical connotation: aside from music, we use 'cadenza' in other contexts like poetry and spoken language when talking about the rhythm and where the accents fall.
It can be used to talk about frequency.

Furthermore, the use of 'cadere', 'to fall' in the semantic field of the calendar and to specify when an event occurs is widespread across many languages including Italian and English. You say 'Easter falls on April 1st this year', we say 'la Pasqua cade l'1 Aprile'.  In fact, cado was used with the acceptation of 'to occur' in latin too, 2000 years ago.

'Cadenza', cadence can refer to the rhythm at which something 'falls' in something else: the beats in a tune, the accents in a poem, some events (such as launches) in the calendar.

Using the term 'launch cadence' is not only right, but etymologically respectful of a tradition that dates back to at least the Roman era.

Quote
Cadences are the risings and fallings of the voice when reciting, originally and especially a final fall (cadere, to fall or decline, as in decadence and decay).  "Launch cadences" would mean "launch rises and  falls", and the singular "launch cadence" would be "launch fade to silence".

This isn't true. You are talking about a single acceptation of 'cadence' and 'cadere' among many others.
The 'final fall', 'decline' meaning is better expressed by 'decadence', 'decay', 'decadere' in italian or 'decido' in latin, which derives from de+cado in latin, or literally 'to fall from above'.
« Last Edit: 05/20/2018 12:25 pm by AbuSimbel »
Failure is not only an option, it's the only way to learn.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the custody of fire" - Gustav Mahler

Offline Cheapchips

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1030
  • UK
  • Liked: 861
  • Likes Given: 1931
Re: The proper use of "Cadence"
« Reply #7 on: 05/20/2018 12:00 pm »
As a cyclist, cadence means the rpm of your cranks, if another appropriation is in anyway helpful to this discussion...  :)
« Last Edit: 05/20/2018 12:02 pm by Cheapchips »

Online Chris Bergin

Re: The proper use of "Cadence"
« Reply #8 on: 05/20/2018 12:43 pm »
I've been guilty of using it a few times, but my excuse is because Gerst used it and I was quoting him. It stuck since. I'm going to make an effort to use tempo next time.
Support NSF via L2 -- Help improve NSF -- Site Rules/Feedback/Updates
**Not a L2 member? Whitelist this forum in your adblocker to support the site and ensure full functionality.**

Offline Cherokee43v6

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1176
  • Garner, NC
  • Liked: 935
  • Likes Given: 236
Re: The proper use of "Cadence"
« Reply #9 on: 05/20/2018 01:48 pm »
Part of what makes a language a 'living language' (ie English) versus a 'dead language' (ie Latin) is that meanings and definitions of words do change over time, expanding, and sometimes contracting to encompass new areas or release outdated ones.

Clearly, per the above posted dictionary references, one of the accepted definitions of 'cadence' is the rhythmic rising and falling of events.  This definitely applies to any sequence of events that can show such a pattern, not just music. 

Thus, 'launch cadence' does fit that accepted definition in multiple ways.  First, as the cycle of preparation plays out, as in the cadence of the launch.  Second, we are moving into an era that sees a much more rapid performance of launches, as in SpaceX launch cadence, referring to an ongoing cycle of launches at regular intervals.

As to 'tempo', well it would be correct to say that SpaceX is actively attempting to increase the tempo of their launch cadence.
"I didn't open the can of worms...
        ...I just pointed at it and laughed a little too loudly."

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0