Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Music

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Manual of Style

	This page falls within the scope of the Wikipedia:Manual of Style, a collaborative effort focused on enhancing clarity, consistency, and cohesiveness across the Manual of Style (MoS) guidelines by addressing inconsistencies, refining language, and integrating guidance effectively.Manual of StyleWikipedia:WikiProject Manual of StyleTemplate:WikiProject Manual of StyleManual of Style
	This page falls under the contentious topics procedure and is given additional attention, as it closely associated to the English Wikipedia Manual of Style, and the article titles policy. Both areas are subjects of debate. Contributors are urged to review the awareness criteria carefully and exercise caution when editing.
	For information on Wikipedia's approach to the establishment of new policies and guidelines, refer to WP:PROPOSAL. Additionally, guidance on how to contribute to the development and revision of Wikipedia policies of Wikipedia's policy and guideline documents is available, offering valuable insights and recommendations.

THEBAND rule - reasoning?

The current rule mandates e.g. "it was the Beatles' first album" rather than "it was The Beatles' first album". This goes against the common writing style I've read in newspapers, books, etc. for many years. (I pay attention to these things, have studied some linguistics, and read Fowler's grammar etc.) How was this wiki rule chosen? 2A00:23C5:FE1C:3701:A5E9:B57F:509D:732E (talk) 13:32, 30 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It was decided following an epic debate in 2012. It was even covered by the Wall Street Journal. If anyone is interested in my own nerdy thoughts on the subject, here they are. Popcornfud (talk) 13:48, 30 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Agree, see lowercase more often than not in books, although new Steven Hyden Springsteen book uses "The" style. Caro7200 (talk) 13:56, 30 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed, the IP above is wrong that the upper-case style is more common. In my library of Beatles books, I'd say the mid-sentence lower-case style is more common by a ten-to-one ratio, at least. Tkbrett (✉) 14:22, 30 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Upgrading MOS:ALBUM to an official style guideline

I dropped this notice at the main WikiProject Music talk as well, but thought some eyes here might be different and appreciate the notice. At Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Albums/Album_article_style_advice#Upgrade_MOS:ALBUM_to_an_official_guideline, I have proposed making MOS:ALBUM an official style guideline, as currently it is only an essay. Feedback is welcome!--3family6 (Talk to me | See what I have done) 22:04, 15 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

RfC on guidance for bonus and alternative track listings

I've started an RfC about what guidance, if any, there should be for bonus and alternative tracks in album articles: Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Albums#RfC_on_bonus_and_alternate_track_listings. Thanks.--3family6 (Talk to me|See what I have done) 11:53, 16 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Dropping dimdeg and degree symbol guidance

I'm not sure why Template:Music has both {{music|dim}} and {{music|dimdeg}}. For typographic consistency, it seems like there should only be one. {{music|dim}} seems to be what is overwhelmingly used in practice. It is also more typographically consistent with {{music|halfdim}} uses a superscript lowercase slashed letter "ø"? Would anyone object if I convert all "dimdeg" instances into "dim" and dropped support and documentation for "dimdeg"?

I also see that Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Music#Chords, progressions, and figured bass recommends using either the degree symbol or a superscript letter "o". Would anyone object to dropping the degree symbol from this guidance for similar reasons? -- Beland (talk) 01:46, 18 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]