How to submit tunes?

Subject: How to submit tunes?
From:
Date: 08 Apr 98 - 07:19 AM

I was going to address this to Dick as a personal message, but perhaps there is need for discussion. Dick said, in some other thread that lyrics are likely to get into the database faster if they are accompanied with a tune.

At the moment, thanks to Alan's programs, users of all platforms can listen to a posted tune. The Windows people can use his ascii encoded midi and the rest of us can use the abc file that is produced. All platforms have the facilities available to hear the midi files in the database.

Unfortunately, us users of platforms other than windows cannot submit a midi file when they submit lyrics. I would like to put up some possibilities for discussion. In what follows when I say "Dick" I mean "Dick and anyone he can find to help him ;^)

1. We can submit abc files. Then Dick would have to convert them to midi. There is free software to do this for all platforms.
2. We can use one of the standard ascii encodings of the midi file. Then Dick would have to have a "metapost" program that will decode them into binary files again. There are free versions of these too. The one I have even figures out the encoding and decodes it.
3. We can put the midi file in our personal web pages and instruct Dick to download them from there.
4. I am all wet and it is no problem.
5. This is a problem but it will no longer be in the next version of mudcat that Max has in mind.
6. We can all switch to windows 98.

In the case of the first alternative, a person using a midi keyboard would have to convert to an abc file. There is free software for doing this and the information lost is not too bad for a tune. I wouldn't want to do it with a lot of harmony. The rest of us would just slog away with a text editor and an instrument figuring out the tune and writing it by hand.

The second is an extension of what is done with Alan's program. UNIX has free software for decoding most of the encodings used by other platforms. I don't know if this is the case with DOS/Windows and Mac. It might be bundled with mail readers.

The third assumes we all have a personal web page. Well I have one somewhere, but I don't remember the URL myself.

I hope the fourth alternative is the case.

If not I hope the fifth is.

As to the last one--feh!

Any opinions?

Murray

Subject: RE: How to submit tunes?
From: Jon W.
Date: 08 Apr 98 - 11:44 AM

Supposedly Alan has sent his MIDIText source code to someone's son who is porting it to MacIntosh (to use the computerese) so it will be available to Mac users sometime Real Soon Now.

Subject: RE: How to submit tunes?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 08 Apr 98 - 02:33 PM

MIDI's OK. ABC's OK. SongWright's OK. QBASIC's OK. GIF's are OK. I'm easy.