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authorNorbert Preining <norbert@preining.info>2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900
committerNorbert Preining <norbert@preining.info>2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900
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+
+This description of abc notation has been created for those who
+do not want to (or cannot) use the package ABC2MTeX but who wish
+to understand the notation. It has been generated semi-
+automatically from the ABC2MTeX userguide and so occasionally
+refers to other parts of the package. In particular, it mentions
+the document index.tex, a guide to using ABC2MTeX for archiving
+and indexing tunes, and to the example files English.abc,
+Strspys.abc and Reels.abc. It also refers to playabc, a separate
+package for playing abc tunes through the speaker of various
+machines. It is best read in conjunction with an introduction to
+abc notation available by anonymous ftp from
+
+ celtic.stanford.edu/pub/tunes/abc2mtex/INTRO.txt
+
+or, if you have WWW access,
+
+ http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/tunes/abc2mtex/INTRO.html
+
+Note that if you are intending to use the notation solely for
+transcribing tunes, you can ignore most of description of the
+information fields as all you really need are the T (title), M
+(meter), K (key), and possibly L (default note length) fields. I
+have included a full description however, for those who wish to
+understand tunes transcribed by users of the package.
+
+Finally, the notation can easily be expanded to include other
+musical symbols. Please mail me with any suggestions.
+
+ Chris Walshaw
+ C.Walshaw@gre.ac.uk
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ The abc Notation System
+ =======================
+
+Each tune consists of a header and a body. The header, which is
+composed of information fields, should start with an X (reference
+number) field followed by a T (title) field and finish with a K
+(key) field. The body of the tune in abc notation should follow
+immediately after. Tunes are separated by blank lines.
+
+ Information fields
+ ==================
+
+The information fields are used to notate things such as
+composer, meter, etc. in fact anything that isn't music. Most of
+the information fields are for use within a tune header but in
+addition some may be used in the tune body, or elsewhere in the
+tune file. Those which are allowed elsewhere can be used to set
+up a default for the whole or part of a file. For example, in
+exactly the same way that tunebooks are organised, a file might
+start with M:6/8 and R:Jigs, followed by some jigs, followed by
+M:4/4 and R:Reels, followed by some reels. Tunes within each
+section then inherit the M: and R: fields automatically, although
+they can be overridden inside a tune header. Finally note that
+any line beginning with a letter in the range A-Z and immediately
+followed by a : is interpreted as a field (so that line like E:|,
+which could be regarded as an E followed by a right repeat
+symbol, will cause an error).
+
+By far the best way to find out how to use the fields is to look
+at the example files (in particular English.abc) and try out some
+examples. Thus rather than describing them in detail, they are
+summarised in the following table. The second, third and fourth
+columns specify respectively how the field should be used in the
+header and whether it may used in tune body or elsewhere in the
+file. Certain fields do not affect the typeset music but are
+there for other reasons, and the fifth column reflects this;
+index fields only affect the index (see index.tex) while archive
+fields do not affect the output at all, but are just provided to
+put in information that one might find in, say, a conventional
+tunebook.
+
+Field name header tune elsewhere Used by Examples and notes
+========== ====== ==== ========= ======= ==================
+A:area yes A:Donegal, A:Bampton
+B:book yes yes archive B:O'Neills
+C:composer yes C:Trad.
+D:discography yes archive D:Chieftans IV
+E:elemskip yes yes see Line Breaking
+F:file name yes see index.tex
+G:group yes yes archive G:flute
+H:history yes yes archive H:This tune said to ...
+I:information yes yes playabc
+K:key last yes K:G, K:Dm, K:AMix
+L:default note length yes yes L:1/4, L:1/8
+M:meter yes yes yes M:3/4, M:4/4
+N:notes yes N:see also O'Neills - 234
+O:origin yes yes index O:I, O:Irish, O:English
+P:parts yes yes P:ABAC, P:A, P:B
+Q:tempo yes yes Q:200, Q:C2=200
+R:rhythm yes yes index R:R, R:reel
+S:source yes S:collected in Brittany
+T:title second yes T:Paddy O'Rafferty
+W:words yes W:Hey, the dusty miller
+X:reference number first X:1, X:2
+Z:transcription note yes Z:from photocopy
+
+Some additional notes on certain of the fields:-
+
+T - tune title. Some tunes have more than one title and so this
+field can be used more than once per tune - the first time will
+generate the title whilst subsequent usage will generate the
+alternatives in small print. The T: field can also be used
+within a tune to name parts of a tune - in this case it should
+come before any key or meter changes.
+
+K - key; the key signature should be specified with a capital
+letter which may be followed by a # or b for sharp or flat
+respectively. In addition, different scales or modes can be
+specified and, for example, K:F lydian, K:C, K:C major, K:C
+ionian, K:G mixolydian, K:D dorian, K:A minor, K:Am, K:A aeolian,
+K:E phrygian and K:B locrian would all produce a staff with no
+sharps or flats. The spaces can be left out, capitalisation is
+ignored for the modes and in fact only the first three letters of
+each mode are parsed so that, for example, K:F# mixolydian is the
+same as K:F#Mix or even K:F#MIX. There are two additional keys
+specifically for notating highland bagpipe tunes; K:HP doesn't
+put a key signature on the music, as is common with many tune
+books of this music, while K:Hp marks the stave with F sharp, C
+sharp and G natural. Both force all the beams and staffs to go
+downwards.
+
+Finally, global accidentals can also be set in this field so
+that, for example, K:D =c would write the key signature as two
+sharps (key of D) but then mark every c as natural (which is
+conceptually the same as D mixolydian). Note that the there can
+be several global accidentals, separated by spaces and each
+specified with an accidental, __, _, =, ^ or ^^, (see below)
+followed by a letter in lower case. Global accidentals are
+overridden by accidentals attached to notes within the body of
+the abc tune and are reset by each change of signature.
+
+L - default note length; i.e. L:1/4 - quarter note, L:1/8 -
+eighth note, L:1/16 - sixteenth, L:1/32 - thirty-second. The
+default note length is also set automatically by the meter field
+M: (see below).
+
+M - meter; apart from the normal meters, e.g. M:6/8 or M:4/4,
+the symbols M:C and M:C| give common time and cut time
+respectively.
+
+P - parts; can be used in the header to state the order in which
+the tune parts are played, i.e. P:ABABCDCD, and then inside the
+tune to mark each part, i.e. P:A or P:B.
+
+Q - tempo; can be used to specify the notes per minute, e.g. if
+the default note length is an eighth note then Q:120 or Q:C=120
+is 120 eighth notes per minute. Similarly Q:C3=40 would be 40
+dotted quarter notes per minute. An absolute tempo may also be
+set, e.g. Q:1/8=120 is also 120 eighth notes per minute,
+irrespective of the default note length.
+
+G - group; to group together tunes for indexing purposes.
+
+H - history; can be used for multi-line stories/anecdotes, all of
+which will be ignored until the next field occurs.
+
+
+ abc tune notation
+ =================
+
+The following letters are used to represent notes:-
+
+
+ d'
+ -c'- ----
+ b
+ -a- --- ---- ----
+ g
+ ------------------------------------f-------------------
+ e
+ --------------------------------d-----------------------
+ c
+ ----------------------------B---------------------------
+ A
+ ------------------------G-------------------------------
+ F
+ --------------------E-----------------------------------
+ D
+ ---- ---- ---- -C-
+ B,
+ ---- -A,-
+ G,
+
+and by extension, the notes C, D, E, F, a' and b' are available.
+Notes can be modified in length (see below).
+
+ Rests
+ =====
+
+Rests are generated with a z and can be modified in length in
+exactly the same way as notes can.
+
+ Note lengths
+ ============
+
+NB Throughout this document note lengths are referred as
+sixteenth, eighth, etc. The commonly used equivalents are
+sixteenth note = semi-quaver, eighth = quaver, quarter = crotchet
+and half = minim.
+
+Each meter automatically sets a default note length and a single
+letter in the range A-G, a-g will generate a note of this length.
+For example, in 3/4 the default note length is an eighth note and
+so the input DEF represents 3 eighth notes. The default note
+length can be calculated by computing the meter as a decimal; if
+it is less than 0.75 the default is a sixteenth note, otherwise
+it is an eighth note. For example, 2/4 = 0.5, so the default note
+length is a sixteenth note, while 4/4 = 1.0 or 6/8 = 0.75, so the
+default is an eighth note. Common time and cut time (M:C and
+M:C|) have an eighth note as default.
+
+Notes of differing lengths can be obtained by simply putting a
+multiplier after the letter. Thus in 2/4, A or A1 is a sixteenth
+note, A2 an eighth note, A3 a dotted eighth note, A4 a quarter
+note, A6 a dotted quarter note, A7 a double dotted quarter note,
+A8 a half note, A12 a dotted half note, A14 a double dotted half
+note, A15 a triple dotted half note and so on, whilst in 3/4, A
+is an eighth note, A2 a quarter note, A3 a dotted quarter note,
+A4 a half note, ...
+
+To get shorter notes, either divide them - e.g. in 3/4, A/2 is a
+sixteenth note, A/4 is a thirty-second note - or change the
+default note length with the L: field. Alternatively, if the
+music has a broken rhythm, e.g. dotted eighth note/sixteenth note
+pairs, use broken rhythm markers (see below). Note that A/ is
+shorthand for A/2.
+
+ Broken rhythms
+ ==============
+
+A common occurrence in traditional music is the use of a dotted
+or broken rhythm. For example, hornpipes, strathspeys and certain
+morris jigs all have dotted eighth notes followed by sixteenth
+notes as well as vice-versa in the case of strathspeys. To
+support this abc notation uses a > to mean `the previous note is
+dotted, the next note halved' and < to mean `the previous note is
+halved, the next dotted'. Thus the following lines all mean the
+same thing (the third version is recommended):
+
+ L:1/16
+ a3b cd3 a2b2c2d2
+
+ L:1/8
+ a3/2b/2 c/2d3/2 abcd
+
+ L:1/8
+ a>b c<d abcd
+
+As a logical extension, >> means that the first note is double
+dotted and the second quartered and >>> means that the first note
+is triple dotted and the length of the second divided by eight.
+Similarly for << and <<<.
+
+ Duplets, triplets, quadruplets, etc.
+ ====================================
+
+These can be simply coded with the notation (2ab for a duplet,
+(3abc for a triplet or (4abcd for a quadruplet, etc., up to (9.
+The musical meanings are:
+
+
+ (2 2 notes in the time of 3
+ (3 3 notes in the time of 2
+ (4 4 notes in the time of 3
+ (5 5 notes in the time of n
+ (6 6 notes in the time of 2
+ (7 7 notes in the time of n
+ (8 8 notes in the time of 3
+ (9 9 notes in the time of n
+
+If the time signature is compound (3/8, 6/8, 9/8, 3/4, etc.) then
+n is three, otherwise n is two.
+
+More general tuplets can be specified using the syntax (p:q:r
+which means `put p notes into the time of q for the next r
+notes'. If q is not given, it defaults as above. If r is not
+given, it defaults to p. For example, (3:2:2 is equivalent to
+(3::2 and (3:2:3 is equivalent to (3:2 , (3 or even (3:: . This
+can be useful to include notes of different lengths within a
+tuplet, for example (3:2:2G4c2 or (3:2:4G2A2Bc and also describes
+more precisely how the simple syntax works in cases like (3D2E2F2
+or even (3D3EF2. The number written over the tuplet is p.
+
+ Beams
+ =====
+
+To group notes together under one beam they should be grouped
+together without spaces. Thus in 2/4, A2BC will produce an eighth
+note followed by two sixteenth notes under one beam whilst A2 B C
+will produce the same notes separated. The beam slopes and the
+choice of upper or lower staffs are generated automatically.
+
+ Repeat/bar symbols
+ ==================
+
+Bar line symbols are generated as follows:
+
+
+ | bar line
+ |] thin-thick double bar line
+ || thin-thin double bar line
+ [| thick-thin double bar line
+ :| left repeat
+ |: right repeat
+ :: left-right repeat
+
+
+
+ First and second repeats
+ ========================
+
+First and second repeats can be generated with the symbols [1 and
+[2, e.g. faf gfe|[1 dfe dBA:|[2 d2e dcB|]. When adjacent to bar
+lines, these can be shortened to |1 and :|2, but with regard to
+spaces | [1 is legal, | 1 is not.
+
+ Accidentals
+ ===========
+
+The symbols ^ = and _ are used (before a note) to generate
+respectively a sharp, natural or flat. Double sharps and flats
+are available with ^^ and __ respectively.
+
+ Changing key, meter, and default note length mid-tune
+ =====================================================
+
+To change key, meter, or default note length, simply put in a new
+line with a K: M: or L: field, e.g.
+ ed|cecA B2ed|cAcA E2ed|cecA B2ed|c2A2 A2:|
+ K:G
+ AB|cdec BcdB|ABAF GFE2|cdec BcdB|c2A2 A2:|
+
+To do this without generating a new line of music, put a \ at the
+end of the first line, i.e.
+ E2E EFE|E2E EFG|\
+ M:9/8
+ A2G F2E D2|]
+
+ Ties and slurs
+ ==============
+
+You can tie two notes together either across or within a bar with
+a - symbol, e.g. abc-|cba or abc-cba. More general slurs can be
+put in with () symbols. Thus (DEFG) puts a slur over the four
+notes. Spaces within a slur are OK, e.g. (D E F G), but the open
+bracket should come immediately before a note (and its
+accents/accidentals, etc.) and the close bracket should come
+immediately after a note (and its octave marker or length). Thus
+(=b c'2) is OK but ( =b c'2 ) is not.
+
+ Gracings
+ ========
+
+Grace notes can be written by enclosing them in curly braces,
+{}. For example, a taorluath on the Highland pipes would be
+written {GdGe}. The tune `Athol Brose' (in the file Strspys.abc)
+has an example of complex Highland pipe gracing in all its glory.
+Grace notes have no time value and so expressions such as {a2}
+or {a>b} are not legal.
+
+Alternatively, the tilde symbol ~ represents the general gracing
+of a note which, in the context of traditional music, can mean
+different things for different instruments, for example a roll,
+cran or staccato triplet
+
+ Accents
+ =======
+
+Staccato marks (a small dot above or below the note head) can be
+generated by a dot before the note, i.e. a staccato triplet is
+written as (3.a.b.c
+
+For fiddlers, the letters u and v can be used to denote up-bow
+and down-bow, e.g. vAuBvA
+
+ Chords and unisons
+ ==================
+
+Chords (i.e. more than one note head on a single stem) can be
+coded with [] symbols around the notes, e.g. [CEGc] produces the
+chord of C major. They can be grouped in beams, e.g.
+[d2f2][ce][df] but there should be no spaces within a chord. See
+the tune `Kitchen Girl' in the file Reels.abc for a simple
+example.
+
+If the chord contains two notes both of the same length and
+pitch, such as [DD], then it is a unison (e.g. a note played on
+two strings of a violin simultaneously) and is shown as note-head
+with both upward and downward stems.
+
+ Guitar chords
+ =============
+
+Guitar chords can be put in under the melody line by enclosing
+the chord in inverted commas, e.g. "Am7"A2D2 . See the tune
+`William and Nancy' in English.abc for an example.
+
+ Order of symbols
+ ================
+
+The order of symbols for one note is <guitar chords>, <accents>
+(e.g. roll, staccato marker or up/downbow), <accidental>, <note>,
+<octave>, <note length>, i.e. ~^c'3 or even "Gm7"v.=G,2
+
+Tie symbols, -, should come immediately after a note group but
+may be followed by a space, i.e. =G,2- . Open and close chord
+symbols, [], should enclose entire note sequences (except for
+guitar chords), i.e. "C"[CEGc] or "Gm7"[.=G,^c'] and open and
+close slur symbols, (), should do likewise, i.e.
+"Gm7"(v.=G,2~^c'2)
+
+
+ Comments
+ ========
+
+A % symbol will cause the remainder of any input line to be
+ignored. The file English.abc contains plenty of examples.
+
+ New notation
+ ============
+
+The letters H-Z can be used to define your own new notation
+within a tune. Currently the way they are implemented (if at all)
+is extremely package dependent and so users are advised not to
+rely too heavily on them to include new features. Instead, if
+there is a feature or symbol that you need and which is not
+available it is better to press for it to be included as a part
+of the language.
+
+ Line breaking and justification
+ ===============================
+
+Generally one line of abc notation will produce one line of
+music, although if the music is too long it will overflow onto
+the next line. This can look very effective, but it can also
+completely ruin ties across bar lines, for example. You can
+counteract this by changing either the note spacing with the E:
+field (although currently this is package dependent) or break the
+line of abc notation. If, however, you wish to use two lines of
+input to generate one line of music (see, for example, the
+`Untitled Reel' in Reels.abc) then simply put a \ at the end of
+the first line. This is also useful for changing meter or key in
+the middle of a line of music.
+
+With most packages lines of music are right-justified. However,
+where this is not the case (e.g. when using MusicTeX), a * at the
+end of each line of abc notation will force a right-justified
+line-break.
+