I’ve decided to come out of Lurk Mode (for the time being) to request some light be shed on this topic.
I’ll say that I am no stranger to sheet music, but I really don’t understand abc format at all. I’ve looked at several different websites that supposedly explain it, but I’m just even more confused.
Is anyone fluent enough with it to be able to explain it?
it’s fairly easy but maybe you shouldn’t try reading it but rather use it to print [or create on screen] standard notations using the software that suits you best [ABC2WIN is Ok if not flawless, it has a good help screen that will enable you to create your own notations without too much effort].
Sure. ABC is basically like a text file, except that some of the characters command actions that translate to a musical staff and music elements. Fields are established at the top of the file, which give the name, key signature, time-signature and other details. Then the actual music notes begin.
The same musical notes, represented by letters of the alphabet, are given as though you were reading a tune by note-names out loud. To get around octave differences, the shift key (Capital letters) is used. You have already established key in the field area, so you only have to use flats and sharps as accidentals, not in the regular names. Keeps it very simple that way.
Durations are notated by a numeric system which mathematically multiplies or divides the note values, which were established by the field.
ABC is great for single-line melodies, like Irish music and other folk music forms. You can also add chords, very easily with abc. I am less familiar with adding lyrics and haven’t been successful with it.
ABC is great for onscreen viewing. But when it comes time to print out legible good looking music, you have to go through the steps of rendering the file into a Postcript description file. There are several software programs that will make that transition for you, then you can use Acrobat distiller to make a nice looking pdf that you can print and/or share with friends via email.
There are different sets of software depending on your platform, Mac or PC. I use a Mac, so I use Barfly to build and modify existing abc files. Then I drag the file over to ABCforMac to make a postscript, distill with Acrobat then print. If ABCforMac doesn’t work, I use YAPS for the same thing, but its an extremely primitive program.
Hope this helps. If you plan to play a lot of Irish tunes and are not prejudiced against sheet music, ABC is a fantastic way to share and find tunes, AS WELL AS alternate versions of tunes.
And it has reached a point that you can find virtually any tune, except copyrighted ones, on the Internet. Most of the great tunebooks are available now online. Saves money and resources, though it no doubt hurts the publishing companies.
Although the Barfly program will actually play the tune out via MIDI, its not that good of a way to hear a tune. There are problems with triplets and dotted notes, so they don’t always sound exactly right plus the overall problem of correct phrasing. I never use the MIDI feature except when I am transcribing something I heard on a record and I am double checking an accidental , etc.
For swapping tunes, ABC is great. When you ask it to do more, it gets complicated to the point that you want to switch over to a real notation program like Finale.
Hope this helps.
One of the best ways to explain is by example. Here is my song, Ribbons of Light, a short slow tune dedicated to my grandmother.
X:1
T: Ribbons of Light
R: Slow aire
C: Bill
A: melody
M:5/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=100
K:D
| F F F F2 | E D E F2 |
| F F F G2 | F E/ D/ E D2 |
| A G F E2 | A G F E2 |
| G F/ E/ G2 D | E F D3 |
There is the header section to set up parameters, such as the name, the type of song, the time signature, default duration the key The notes start with
| F F F F2 | E D E F2 |
| F F F G2 | F E/ D/ E D2 |
On the whistle is it easy enough to remember the acronym BAGFED. B is one hole covered, A two holes, down to D with all six covered. Upper register is lower case letters. The 2 indicates a half note. 1/2 or just / would be an eighth note based on the default duration of 1/4.
You can cut and past the section starting with X:1 to the end into this site.
http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html
Concertina produces sheet music and MIDI output. One temperamental thing is that it seems to need a carriage return at the end of the input.
Here is another ABC by Chiff folks. It has more complexity, but the basic basics are the same.
Martin Milner, Chiff
X:1
T:Yesterday’s Stroll
R:Aire
C:Mark, Simon, Jack, Martin
A:Created within the Fiddle Forum
M:6/8
L:1/8
Q:3/8=54
K:G
|:(DG)d (DG)d|c2 ((3d/c/B/) cBA|(DF)A (c{Bc}BA)|B2 {c}(B/A/) BAG|
B>A G/F/ GAB|cGE EGc|BAG DAF|1 G3 GFE :|2 G3 GAB|!
|:c E~E EGc|B D((3D/E/G/) DGB| DGB dGB| A3 def|
g2d dgd| efg e2(d/c/)|Bd2 def|1 g3 f2e :|2 g6|!
Did you check out Steve Mansfields comprehensive intro to ABC at
“http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm” ?
This explains ABC notation pretty clearly.
Colin
click
Thanks Bill, your example certainly helped in a ton of ways. The website is useful as well. Thank you.
I am puzzled about the abbreviations at the beginning of the piece, though.
X:1
T: Ribbons of Light
R: Slow aire
C: Bill
A: melody
M:5/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=100
K:D
Some are a bit self-explanatory, Title, Rhythm, Composer, Key.
But what is the significance of the others, and how many of them are necessary to have that website translate a tune to recognizable musical notation?
For the others, the tune is in 5/4 time (five beats per measure) with a quarter note (1/4) being the basic unit (if you see “F”, then it’s a quarter note with the tone F; if you see “F2”, then it’s a half note with the tone F. On the other hand, if you saw L:1/8, then the eighth note is the basic unit and if you saw “F” you would play an eighth note in the tone of F).
“100” is the tempo.
The time meter is the only one you need for notation because you determine the tempo.
That’s unless you use it in something like BarFly (on the Mac) to play it, in which case you can adjust the tempo something that you can play along with. Of course, you have to be careful with this, because jigs are generally noted as all eighth notes, and that’s how ABC software will play it, but the first of each three-note group steals some time from the second. There may be a similar problem with hornpipes, but I’m not sure. (In Bluegrass, we tend to play hornpipes as reels–and don’t play jigs at all.)
Same deal with the concertina site. Songwriters or transcribers can set the tempo to where he/she thinks the piece belongs. Musicians can adjust the tempo to a speed that is comfortable to play along with when learning.
Line by line look at my header:
X:1 // I don’t know
T: Ribbons of Light // title
R: Slow aire // rhythm
C: Bill // copyright, e.g. Copyright 2004 William Chin all rights reserved
A: melody // author or more notes, e.g. Bill Chin, Chiff & Fipple
M:5/4 // meter
L:1/4 // default note, in my case F means quarter note F2 half note
Q:1/4=100 // tempo, length in hundredths of a second for interval
K:D // key of D, need to click on disable smilies or 
is a big happy face
I’m not sure of how much of the header the concertina site needs to play the text. I tried it with no header, and the site was not happy, so I put it all back in.
Well, I guess with everything comes some trial and error. At least the concertina site recognizes what I have notated below, so it’s viewable by someone else other than just myself…and that was indeed the goal I was aiming for. I wasn’t able to hear the midi of it though, so I’m not absolutely sure if I did everything right. At least it looks right.
X:1
T:The Journey
R:Aire
C:Elizabeth, March 2004
M:5/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=100
K:D
|D E F A2 |B A F3|
|D E F A2 |B A E3|
|D E F A2 |F A B (B2| B4)|
|D E F2 F |E F A3 | B A F3 | D4 |
There are more verses (a slightly different variation on each one), lyrics, as well as a story behind this little tune, but I will probably start on a different thread to share it all.
The X: line is the start-of-tune marker, and the number after it indicates which number tune in a multi-tune file it is. So the first tune would start with X: 1, then next with X: 2, etc.
I was able to hear “The Journey,” by processing the ABC text at the site:
http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html
Then opening a new window for the MIDI, and pasting the URL into open URL in Windows Media player. I did get an an error message trying to open the MIDI, but by pasting the temporary URL directly into media player (open URL command under File menu), I got sound.
At “1/4=100” it sounds a bit on the slow side, bumping it up to 130 sounds better to my ears. This is where the songwriter can express her/his wishes as to tempo as it is different tune with a different feel at different speeds.
I look forward to the lyrics and the story. Amazing, another person that writes whistle tunes with lyrics.
Again this ABC stuff borders on magic to me. I remember how much more work can be involved in sharing music with people that do not have any music software. With ABC and concertina, people can print out sheet music and listen to a MIDI rendition with the songwriter only having to type out a text file. I compare this to recording, converting to MP3 and uploading, or transcribing by hand and then having to make, shrink and upload JPGs.
Strange, I tried putting the URL in open on Windows Media player, and it encountered an “unknown error”.
You didn’t change the URL at all, did you? Just copied and pasted?
I process the text and see the JPEG of sheet music plus these options:
[MIDI music file] [PDF Sheet Music] [ABC source]
I right click on MIDI music file and open in a new window, and it gives me a temporary URL such as:
http://www.concertina.net/tunes-temp/40ae9e8cb2dd8.mid
I get “Cannot find server” error message on Internet Explorer. However, I can cut and paste the error producing URL into Windows Media Player using the “Open URL” command.
I can also right click on MIDI music file and select “save target as” to save the MIDI file. Once saved, I can open that file with Media player or other MIDI software.
Hope that helps. It is confusing, and some exact details may depend on how your browser is configured.
Try this web site. It has an excellent Tutorial and FAQ.
http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/
Hi MM
Can I recommend a shareware prog called “Melody Assistant”
http://www.myriad-online.com/en/products/melody.htm
The fee is only 15$ and it’s a great little prog that will import, print and export almost every musical file format including ABC. I find it easy to use and the printing results are excellent.
John S