Tech: Best current ABC tutor

Subject: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 05:21 AM

I have waded through the forum and got dazed and confused. Which and where is the best ABC notation tutor?

Cheers

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 05:23 AM

here maybe?

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 05:32 AM

Thanks Ms/Mr Ed that looks brilliant

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: treewind
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 06:34 AM

Nothing like getting it from the source, is there?

Steve Mansfield's Tutorial is worth a look too.

I've said this before, but if you use abcm2ps or any of the programs that use it as a backend (I think that includes ABC Explorer and ABC Navigator), the next step is to visit the ABC Plus Project and download the latest version of Guido Gonzato's "Making Music with ABC Plus", a PDF book to download, print, bind and cherish.

The extra features of ABC Plus are especially useful if you want to go beyond single line melodies on one stave in treble clef. Chords, multiple parts (on one or more staves) and various typographical enhancements are all documented and illustrated in the book.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: sian, west wales
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 06:37 AM

Thanks for asking that question, Les. I posted two tunes a few weeks ago, knowing that they'd have problems as I'm a newbie to abc. Seemed to generate more debate over 'correct' notation than over the tunes themselves.

I have used the one at the link above, but others as well. I would very much like to know which of them are the most comprehensive, but also easy to follow.

sian

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 07:23 AM

Sian,

Unfortunately there isn't (and probably never will be) a 'comprehensive reference' As with much Open Source software, slightly different standards develop, and not every ABC program supports them all. Many Mac users will argue in favour of Barfly's implementation of the standard. PC users for different programs. I don't know Linux, but I imagine similar differences.

Don't get me wrong, every ABC program will implement the vast majority of the standard, just not all of it. The link that treewind gives is for a new standard (ABC2) which further complicates things....

I don't know what tunes you posted, but at a guess the arguments were probably over the best way to show repeats or some such. Given the size of text(ABC) files compared to current computer/connectivity size, such things are a total non-issue.

Don't get discouraged, and post more tunes!

Ed

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 09:46 AM

One problem that has popped up already is that I am such a beginner that very little of the above makes a lot of sense.

However, ABC is such a simple entry level system that it will almost certainly do what I want which is to send tunes to other people who come to The Beech in Chorlton so that we can play the same versions of these great little tunes.

I have tried to create some dots in Noteworthy then bring them into ABC as a midi but it seems to bring so much baggage that ABC doesn't like it.

The reasons I have tried this is we have a tune book of 52 tunes already in Noteworthy. Any advice on how to facilitate this move?

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Jack Campin
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 10:10 AM

Gonzato's "new standard" has fundamentally misinterpreted what ABC is for. ABC started out as a notation for music. Instead, ABC Plus views it as a notation for representing notation. Many of the constructs it adds are impossible for any player program to interpret, all they do is generate squiggles on paper.

Better to stick with a much older version, or at least check whether newer constructs you write are widely supported (i.e. not just by abcm2ps).

Bryan Creer had a converter program to get ABC into Noteworthy and vice versa - everyone I've heard of who's used it has liked it. That has to be better than detouring via MIDI.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: SteveMansfield
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 10:45 AM

Bryan Creer had a converter program to get ABC into Noteworthy and vice versa - everyone I've heard of who's used it has liked it. That has to be better than detouring via MIDI.

Abc2Nwc is available here and yes indeed, it's very good.

It doesn't work with newer v2.0 NoteWorthy files though; so if you want to move a tune from NWC 2.0 to abc, you have to open the file in NWC 2.0 and export it as an NWC 1.75 version file first.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 10:51 AM

Thanks folks, we move along ............

"It doesn't work with newer v2.0 NoteWorthy files though; so if you want to move a tune from NWC 2.0 to abc, you have to open the file in NWC 2.0 and export it as an NWC 1.75 version file first. "

I guess somebody will resolve this?

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: pavane
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 11:02 AM

My program HARMONY (on PC) reads/writes abc, displays score and writes MIDI - also handles multiple voices and many other advanced features (e.g. transpose, add chords, aligned lyrics).

It can also import MIDI

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: SteveMansfield
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 01:04 PM

pavane, does your program handle Noteworthy files?

Les, "It doesn't work with newer v2.0 NoteWorthy files though; so if you want to move a tune from NWC 2.0 to abc, you have to open the file in NWC 2.0 and export it as an NWC 1.75 version file first. "

I guess somebody will resolve this?

Well IIRC I believe Bryan was approached a good while ago to open source Abc2Nwc, declined to do so (as is entirely his right and prerogative so to do), but as yet neither a version of his program that natively handles NWC 2 format files, nor a competitor application, has appeared.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: treewind
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 01:08 PM

“ABC started out as a notation for music. Instead, ABC Plus views it as a notation for representing notation.”
That's OK with me - I like musical notation.
Besides, much of what ABC2/ABC Plus adds to the ABC specification is polyphony, which is a lot more than just extra squiqqles, and is something that playback software like abcmidi should be able to use.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Tootler
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 05:41 PM

Bryan's abc generator for Noteworthy is available as a user tool for Noteworthy v2 from the Noteworthy Scriptorium here. The link also contains instructions for installing Noteworthy user tool scripts.

It works fine, but you have to highlight the output and copy it using Ctrl-C and paste into a text editor and add the tune name and other info as needed. However that is straightforward and much better than exporting to midi then creating an abc.

Here is an abc of Soldiers Joy I produced just now using it as an example

X:1
T:Soldier's Joy
M:AllaBreve
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
K:D
FG|AFDF AFDF|A2d2d2cB|AFDF AFDF|G2E2E2FG|AFDF AFDF|A2d2d2g2|fafd egec|d2d2d2:||:
de|f2f2fagf|e2e2egfe|f2f2fagf|edcB A2de|f2f2fagf|e2e2egfe|fafd egec|d2d2d2:|

As far as abc editors for Linux, I have been using 5 line Skink which is a Java app and platform independant, but I have found that ABC Navigator installs and works fine using Wine.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Tootler
Date: 21 Sep 10 - 05:45 PM

BTW, producing the abc of Soldier's Joy took me about 5 minutes and that included finding, downloading and installing the Script of Bryan's converter as I have just bought a new computer and hadn't got round to adding it in.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: pavane
Date: 22 Sep 10 - 04:32 AM

HARMONY does not handle Noteworthy files (YET!).
I am sure it could be done, given time. If there is a demand, I will look into it.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 23 Sep 10 - 02:40 PM

Can ABC Explorer indicate where the play back is within the code or the dots of music. In Noteworthy notes go red when they are being played. Does ABC have any equivalent?

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Jack Campin
Date: 23 Sep 10 - 05:41 PM

ABC is a notation, it doesn't have a standardized playback environment.

BarFly (for the Mac) highlights ABC source note-for-note on playback, for monophonic playing only. I use that feature a lot. I don't know of an ABC player for any platform that does the sort of thing Sibelius does.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Phil Edwards
Date: 24 Sep 10 - 04:25 AM

we have a tune book of 52 tunes already in Noteworthy

And also in ABC - I converted it back in April. I'll mail you a copy.

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 24 Sep 10 - 06:10 AM

Thanks Phil,

I have it somewhere but cannot find it. I blame a confusing external hard disc.

See you Saturday

Les

Subject: RE: Tech: Best current ABC tutor
From: pavane
Date: 24 Sep 10 - 06:19 AM

In HARMONY, you can have note-by-note playback, with the current note highlighed on the score. The abc can be shown as an alternative to the lyric, i.e. under each note.

Press N for next note (or P for Previous, i.e. you can play backwards too). You can also play each chord in a similar way.