need a conversion

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 15 May 11 - 05:58 PM

Thanks for the conversion, which can now be found on the thread about Sir Sidney Smith's March.

Ta da!

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 15 May 11 - 05:07 AM

Re the Java thing, as far as I know, there is just the system MIDI but I perhaps didn't spend as long as I might have looking at it. When I did look though I did not manage to find a way to select a MIDI device rather than just use the systems first free devices. On my (Linux) system, I assume it is using alsa.

Still on my (Linux) system, with Java I do get the sound delivered to my keyboard which is what I want. The python one I had an even briefer look at seems bound to gstreamer and I've been unable to find out how to get that to use anything other than the timidity software synth...

But I'm easily confused with Linux sound. There just seem to be so many bits that may or may not be involved and so many possible configurations. I do find it a real maze.

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 15 May 11 - 04:00 AM

Jon, yes, I have been imprecise. I don't know how ABCExplorer makes its sounds either, and at the moment I have no time/incentive to find out. The main point is that it does not use the Windows MIDI system, which seems to be leeneia's concern.

I think javax.sound.midi gives the programmer a choice between OS and Java-built-in MIDI.

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 14 May 11 - 05:13 PM

abc2midi seems to use its own sound mixer, so the problem does not arise at all

abc2midi will just be handling the conversion. A program like ABCExplorer or EasyABC (or even my own folkplay which is not an abc editor but uses abc for internal storage of songs) thing... will call abc2midi to perform the conversion and write the midi file and then use some means (built in or external program) to play the midi.

EasyABC uses a python midi module for this. folkplay uses the javax.sound.midi package but I'm not sure what AbcExplorer does.

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,jon
Date: 14 May 11 - 04:22 PM

Yes I am that jon and I'm confident that the programs in abcmidi package would not alter sound settings as they are purely file conversion utilities but...

I'm no abc expert. We just offer songs in abc format and a converter that just I hope uses the best of the abc command line utilities that are freely available and use the efforts of Jef Moine (for abcm2ps), Seymour Shlien (for the abc2midi package) and Nils Liberg (for xml2abc). I just supply the "web glue".

While mentioning programs and mentioning Nils, he has recently released one that I think looks very promising called EasyAbc and I think is well worth a look. There are PC and Mac versions and the source code version will run on Linux.

Here is a link.

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 14 May 11 - 03:58 PM

Conversion was delivered as ordered.

If Jon is "the" Jon of folkinfo.org, he is a well-respected person in the ABC scene and not likely to recommend things that will be complained about lateron.

The Windows Media Player is notorious for sliding down MIDI output when finished with it. Microsoft declares this the way to do it, so some programmers follow, others don't. abc2midi seems to use its own sound mixer, so the problem does not arise at all.

I use that package for Windows, with ABCexplorer as a user interface (midi2abc replaced by MidiZyx2abc, which also works on its own without command line, producing no sound at all).

It is always a good idea not to be the first one to try out new or obscure software. If it is on the list kept by the inventor of ABC, it is not necessarily excellent, but you are likely to get some support by Jon or other experts.

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 May 11 - 11:37 AM

Isn't there an Elizabethan song on this topic?

Oh, no Jon, no Jon, no-o Jon, no!

Thanks for the suggesion, anyway.

(I have learned the hard way that some programs will change sound settings without asking.)

Subject: RE: need a conversion
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 14 May 11 - 10:55 AM

Try midi2abc in the abc2midi package. That just reads and writes files and has no option to play or change sound settings.

Subject: need a conversion to abc
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 14 May 11 - 10:48 AM

Recently I sent in a MIDI for a minor version of Sir Sidney Smith's March. It's now with that name.

Can someone convert it to abc notation?

I see that there is a free program to do that, but I'm afraid to download it. The settings which make my music program work are strange and deeply buried, and I don't want any of them changed.

It would be much appreciated.

Please post the abc to the other thread, the one called 'Sir Sidney Smith's March.'