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Author Topic: ABC notation  (Read 3824 times)

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xgx

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ABC notation
« on: August 02, 2010, 10:31:16 AM »

Is there a simple way to transpose a tune in ABC in C up to G please?
 (I need a quick fix 'cos by the time I learn how to draft ABC I'll have forgotten what I was going to do with it ;D)

I'm also looking for an easy (simple silver surfer :-*) music writer program... preferably free... ::)

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Graham

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ladydetemps

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2010, 10:35:07 AM »

try this its easy
http://www.8ung.at/abctransposer/
past ABC 'go up or down a key then copy and paste the result

Howard Jones

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2010, 12:42:05 PM »

If your wanting to write simple one-line melodies then I find ABC simpler to use than most of the music writing programs where you drag notes or type them directly onto a music stave.  There are several free ABC programs which will allow you type in the ABC text and see it displayed as notation.  You can also play it back and transpose it, and of course print it.  My current favourite is ABC Explorer http://abc.stalikez.info/abcex.php, and ABC Navigator http://abcnavigator.free.fr/abcnvgt.php?lang=eng is also popular.

ABC is actually very straightforward once you get to grips with it - look at http://abcnotation.com/, written by Chris Walshaw who devised ABC.  I find Steve Mansfield's tutorial http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm a useful guide and reference.

One advantage of ABC is that it has become the standard for exchanging folk tunes on the internet, so there are lots of tunes (and tools for searching for them) out there in ABC format.  Not just folk tunes either.

ABC is technically capable of writing multi-part tunes and I'll happily use it for arrangements of folk tunes and songs.  If you want to write full orchestral scores then that's probably easier in a "proper" music program (although it has been done in ABC). Sorry I can't offer any recommendations for those.

Pete Dunk

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2010, 01:07:24 PM »

I use the transposer at O'Regan's. Paste the abc into the window and click 'Update' Beneath the resulting music is a section that lets you tranpose to any key.
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xgx

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2010, 01:40:29 PM »

Thanks folks!!

Melnet coming up trumps again ;)
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Graham

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mikesamwild

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #5 on: August 02, 2010, 01:47:22 PM »

Thanks to all!
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Mike in Sheffield

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #6 on: August 02, 2010, 03:39:51 PM »

if you want to transpose off-web download ABCMus2.0,  it has numerous nag screens wanting you to purchase it but copying and pasting an abc in, transposing it and copying it out to a freeware program like ABC Explorer works fine for me the odd times I need to re key

Richard
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Pete Dunk

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #7 on: February 20, 2011, 07:50:58 PM »

Rather than start a new thread to ask one question about abc I've revived a long finished one to see if anyone can help me. I've been compiling a tune book in abc and thought it would be rather nice to have a lead sheet but I've no idea how it's done. I know it can be done with abc but I can find no documentation on the subject. Does anyone have idea how it's done?
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Bill the Farmer

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2011, 01:30:16 PM »

If you mean an index, I've done it, but it was horribly technical, using abc2ps, which has an index option, and then scripts to put the index into the postscript before printing it. abc2ps also has various options for putting text into the output. Probably not very useful if you are using anything else.

Just remembered, here's an example of how I did it: The Sussex Tune Book, follow the link in my post.

Code: [Select]
----- Writing text between the music -----

This can be done using pseudocomments in three ways. First:

%%text This is a line of text.

writes one line into the output. Second,

%%center This is another line of text.

again writes one line, but centers it. Finally,

%%begintext
%%First line of text
%%Second line
%%And yet another line.
%%endtext

will write a block of several lines. To avoid conflict with other
programs, the text lines themselves are (optionally) prefaced with %%.

Statement "%%begintext" can be  given a parameter to determine
how the output is done, namely:

%%begintext obeylines      keeps lines as they are (default)
%%begintext ragged         puts in own linebreaks to fill the line
%%begintext align          puts in own breaks and aligns right margin
%%begintext skip           skips the whole block, no output.

For "ragged" and "align", the program has to estimate the number of
lines needed in the current font, since the typesetting is done
using the PostScript "widthshow" operator by the printer.
The estimate should be reasonably reliable for Times-Roman, but might
be more dodgy for some other fonts. Also, note that the Ghostview fonts
can be quite different than the fonts used by the printer.
Strangely, a 13pt font can be smaller than a 12pt font.

An empty line in a block ends a paragraph (see parskipfac below).
In any case, \\ can be used in a line of text to add line breaks.
Thus, two centered lines results from this:
%%center First line\\second line

As with the other pseudocomments (described below), the text is
associated with a specific tune if it is within that tune's block.
In that case, it will only be printed if that tune is selected.
If the text is outside all tune blocks, it will always be printed.
The exception is if -E is used to to make a separate EPS file for
each tune. In this case all text outside the blocks is ignored.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2011, 01:41:19 PM by Bill the Farmer »
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Bill of Old Shoreham Town

Stiamh

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2011, 05:16:19 PM »

Pete, do you mean a lead sheet that contains a few bars of the each tune in standard notation?

I'd love to know how to do that, too, and I'm not sure that Bill's code is all about that.

I maintain a book of about 160 tunes for our ceili band and wrote a small programme to produce an index with one line for each tune consisting of the X: number, the title, and the first two bars of abc. I include comments in the abc file to mark the start and end of headed sections (e.g., Jigs, Waltzes) and the program recognises these and inserts them into the index.

It's instantaneous and almost foolproof. If you'd like me to run your book through the program or send you the code (it's in FoxPro, the only language I am at all proficient in), let me know.

But if anyone can come up with an automated way to produce an index with two bars in notation rather than abc, I'd be delighted.

Bill the Farmer

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #10 on: February 21, 2011, 05:58:56 PM »

I hadn't thought of that, I know a man who knows how to do it, but I think he uses Noteworthy, not abc.

On second thoughts, that's a load of old cobblers, but I know I've seen it done somewhere.  :|bl
« Last Edit: February 21, 2011, 08:18:42 PM by Bill the Farmer »
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Bill of Old Shoreham Town

strad

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2011, 07:51:14 PM »

I also use the Montreal site (http://music.gordfisch.net/oregans/index.php.) It gives small size pdf files as well. So I can save and then download these pdf's into my Kindle and I have a quick easy library when I'm out and about.

Nigel
 
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Pete Dunk

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2011, 08:34:24 PM »

Thanks for the explanation Bill but Steve is right in that I want something that gives you the first few bars from each tune in a collection. I presume abc can do this as the Sheffield Ceilidh Society website lets you build a collection from their abc files which is then exported as a PDF complete with a lead sheet at the front.


I might have to drop them a line and ask how it's done ...

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Steve_freereeder

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2011, 12:49:31 AM »

Thanks for the explanation Bill but Steve is right in that I want something that gives you the first few bars from each tune in a collection. I presume abc can do this as the Sheffield Ceilidh Society website lets you build a collection from their abc files which is then exported as a PDF complete with a lead sheet at the front.
Pete,
If you have a Mac computer or access to one, then the Mac ABC software 'Barfly' has a really nifty function to create an "Incipit Index" from a Barfly ABC document which contains multiple tunes.

For Barfly users:
Open your ABC document in Barfly; under 'Utility' in the dropdown menu, choose 'make Incipit Index'.

And it does it. It's as simple as that. It creates an index with the first 2 bars of each tune, which you can then print out or save as a PDF document. I've attached an example from my own ABC file of Lizzie Dripping tunes.
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Pete Dunk

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Re: ABC notation
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2011, 12:33:25 PM »

Thanks Steve, I've sent you an email.  (:)
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Squeezing on the Isle of Oxney, UK
Primo (Serenellini) D/G
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