10
$\begingroup$

This is what happened to Jack and Dave.

enter image description here

If you were Jack and Dave, what would you do?

$\endgroup$
5
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ If I were Jack and Dave, and Jack and Dave were sharing a music stand, and that stand had a pencil, that pencil would write "- 3 -" above the group of last three black notes $\endgroup$
    – humn
    Feb 24, 2016 at 4:27
  • $\begingroup$ Disclaimer: I used an online notation writer to get this score. $\endgroup$
    – LN6595
    Feb 24, 2016 at 17:03
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Thank you for a tantalizing puzzle, I'll stop trying to decode the frequencies. Almost had something going with abRAcaDAbRa too. $\endgroup$
    – humn
    Feb 29, 2016 at 15:52
  • $\begingroup$ What was the intended answer, if you're OK revealing it now that one has been selected? $\endgroup$ Mar 1, 2016 at 17:33
  • $\begingroup$ @question_asker I was thinking of mchoy25's answer, but hmmn's was even better. $\endgroup$
    – LN6595
    Mar 1, 2016 at 21:22

3 Answers 3

5
$\begingroup$

I would

run the other way for a(a) bee(b), they see(c) a(a) bee(b) see(c) a(a) beeeeeeeeee(b)

$\endgroup$
15
$\begingroup$

Just to show what can happen when important ciphers get into the wrong hands, a partial decryption suggests that if Jack and Dave were me, what they would do is look for a lawyer.

What were Jack and Dave thinking!, entering dance bars with A minor. Time to face the music. Apologies to anyone unfamiliar, or too familiar, with music theory, and to the original intent of a yet-undeciphered interesting puzzle.

$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ THIS IS AMAZING. $\endgroup$ Feb 29, 2016 at 15:38
  • $\begingroup$ I had a comment here once, but I had noticed all these things but hadn't managed to put them into this kind of narrative. Whether or not it's the intended answer, I love it. $\endgroup$ Feb 29, 2016 at 16:05
  • $\begingroup$ Totally not what I had in mind... But I'm accepting it now. This answer beats my intended one hands down. Good work. $\endgroup$
    – LN6595
    Feb 29, 2016 at 23:33
  • $\begingroup$ @LN6595 Please post your intended answer too. $\endgroup$
    – manshu
    Mar 2, 2016 at 17:54
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @manshu mchoy25 already got my intended answer. But this one is fantastic. $\endgroup$
    – LN6595
    Mar 2, 2016 at 20:33
5
$\begingroup$

If we look at the notes, they are

abca bcab

We note that

The second bar has 5 beats, contradicting the common time (4 4) in the first bar. I therefore assume that the bar separates words

This leads me to think that

This is a cryptogram for "seas ease"

And if I were Jack and/or Dave I might

Up anchor and sail away. Or something nautical like that.

$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Presumably the minim in the second bar is significant. $\endgroup$
    – somebody
    Feb 23, 2016 at 0:12

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.