How to upload a tune - to ask about it

Subject: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: GUEST,CBJames
Date: 10 Sep 04 - 11:22 PM

Here's a new one. Since I started playing the whistle again, I have discovered all manner of melodies resurfacing through various layers of grey matter (grayer and grayer said my wife disparaging).

Neverthess, I seem to have the wit to commit the tunes to midi files.

And so my question here!

How do i load up my favourite so-far un-named jig that I have always thought of as "just a hornpipe" so that mud-catters can can easily play it and say "oh you silly old fool, don'y you know anything? That's _______ ! "

How do I post a midi file and get someone to listen to it?

As ever
Thanks in advance

CBJames

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 12:15 AM

One way would be to upload it to your webpage, if you have one, or to one, one of us might have, then put a link in the thread so that they can go listen to it. Some of us have shared audio files via email and/or through our own accounts at www.mydocsonline.com.

OR:

Since it's in midi form, you can convert it, I think, through an online program to abc format and post that here and folks would probably be able to suss it out. If you put "abc" in the search function, you'll find threads which tell what it is and/or have links to online places where you would convert it.

Someone who knows more about it will come in here and help you, I am sure.:-)

kat

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 12:42 AM

After looking around a bit, I see John in Brisbane wrote a program for this. There are a slew of threads about abc! if you unfamiliar with it, this is one recommended site: All about abc.

kat

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 01:49 AM

Hi, James - ABC is one way. It isn't hard to learn, and it's the easiest way to post music here. You can learn it on the PermaThread called Mudcat ABC Tune Guide.

We also have a Mudcat MIDIs section for tunes to lyrics in the Digital Tradition and that have been posted in the forum. We don't mind including occasional other tunes - just e-mail the MIDI to me and I'll make sure it gets posted. I say that with some trepidation because I can only process two or three tunes a day, so I don't want to get flooded.

-Joe Offer-
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 07:52 AM

If you have a friend on Yahoo Messenger - you can send each other direct files (limit about 1Mb).

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 12:40 PM

I have only recently started to play with the ABC format for tunes, but can confirm that it is relatively simple to get to grips with. It is not too difficult to write a conversion from "the dots".
That said - you might not use "dots", so there are other options. Mudcatter Pavane maintains a programme called Harmony, which will (amongst other things) import a MIDI file and output ABC format. You can then post the ABC text by cut&paste into a Mudcat thread.
If you want an online conversion from ABC to MIDI or "dots" there is a useful website http://www.concertina.net/tunes.html. Go to this page and find the clicky to the "ABC Convert-A-Matic", which has a box you paste the ABC into. It then converts it to a MIDI you can listen to and also printable sheet music..

ALTERNATIVELY
Another website - http://tunedb.woodenflute.com/tunedb/ tune_search_ABC_logic.html. This one allows you to search a large database of trad tunes by entering a few notes, either as note names or as Up-UP-Down from the start note. It is a pretty effective system, so might be a better first call rather than asking here.
Best of luck with your tune names.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 12:44 PM

Oh - I forgot the link for Harmony so... One of many Mudcat threads!.
Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: IvanB
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 06:39 PM

Conversely, you can download Alan Foster's program, MIDItxt, and convert the tune yourself. The program is VERY easy to use.

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: GUEST,CBJames
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 09:13 PM

Well that ABC notation does not seem too difficult. Thanks for drawing my attention to it.

I did not bother trying to use one of the "machine translators" since the peice is so short. Let's see if I have transcribed it properly.
I did not find out how to show a rest so that's what the Rs are in the 1st, 9th & 10th measures.

X:
T:Unknown - hornpipe?
K:C
| R2 R c/2B/2 | c C C G/2F/2 | E/2G/2c/2B/2 C    d/2c/2 |
| d D D d/2c/2 | B G G A/2B/2 | c/2B/2A/2G/2 A/2G/2F/2E/2 |
| F/2E/2D/2C/2 D/2C/2B,/2A,/2 | G, C D/2E/2F/2D/2 | E C C R|
| R2 R G/2F/2 | E/2G/2C/2G/2 E/2G/2C/2G/2 | A F F A/2G/2 |
| ^F/2A/2d/2A/2 ^F/2A/2d/2A/2 | B G G A/2B/2 | c/2B/2A/2G/2 A/2G/2F/2E/2 |
| F/2E/2D/2C/2 D/2C/2B,/2A,/2 | G, C D/2E/2F/2D/2 | E C C R|]

Joe I will send you the .midi file just incase my transcription erred somehow. If the above doesnot sound like the midi you better let me know - otherwise we can go with this.

I didn't try out Harmony yet Geoff but I will. That tunedb website looks pretty useful too. Quack back!

---

To play or display ABC tunes, try concertina.net

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 09:26 PM

There are three of us who think it is Sailor's Hornpipe.

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: GUEST,CB James
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 09:44 PM

Kat -

Well that was quick and there ya go! But if that is its name where does it come from. Can we correctly attribute it to Trad (the famous tunesmith)?

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: katlaughing
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 09:50 PM

You might like to take a look at this thread, as it may have some answers. :-)

Thanks,

kat

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: Joe Offer
Date: 11 Sep 04 - 11:11 PM

Hi, James - I'm not going to upload the MIDI you sent me because it's definitely "THE Sailor's Hornpipe," and your ABC works just fine. Our MIDI section is permanent, and I think we'd just want the Sailor's Hornpipe there temporarily. JC's ABC Tune Finder (click) has several examples - note that it's not No. 1 or No. 2 - it's THE Sailor's Hornpipe.
I'm glad you posted this - it was fun. Feel free to send me others (in moderation). I'll post 'em if they're not so easy to identify as this one was.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: GUEST,CBJames
Date: 12 Sep 04 - 11:40 AM

Thanks Joe.   

Do you or Kat know anything more about this? Is it from the British Navy, American navy, music hall?

Will send more from time to time.

CBJ

Subject: Sailor's Hornpipe
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Sep 04 - 12:29 PM

Hi, CBJ - Here's the entry on "Sailor's Hornpipe" from Fuld's Book of World-Famous Music:

While this dance is presumably of English or Irish origin, its earliest known printing is in a book published in the United States about Aug., 1796, entitled Evening Amusement, p. 15, under the title College Horn pipe. The publishers are B. Carr's Musical Repositories, Philadelphia and New York, and J. Carr's, Baltimore. LC.
The earliest known British printing was entered at Stationers' Hall on Jan. 29, 1798, by J. Dale, London, under the title The College Horn pipe; BM and JF. A similarly titled edition published by Geo. Goulding, 45 Pall Mall, London, has a watermark 1800; JF. Chappell says that the tune was an old sailor's song called Jack's the Lad, but no printing under this title has been found. If the dance is of Irish origin, no Irish printing has been found prior to those mentioned above.

So, that's a start.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Sep 04 - 12:38 PM

A rest is a zed (z). One thing to be careful of when posting abc here or most other places is the shorthand notation for tunes with a dotted rythym. The characters (< and >) can create havoc with html.

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: GUEST,CBJames
Date: 12 Sep 04 - 10:01 PM

Thanks Joe - what a goldmine you are! And it is indeed world famous music!

And GUEST, thanks for the ABC tip. I will check for fuller instructions here before my next attempt.

cbj

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: GUEST,CBJames
Date: 13 Sep 04 - 07:41 PM

One last thing to say before we put this to bed.

Katlaughing -

that thread on Lyrics for this song was most entertaining. Thanks for pointing it out.

1) I realize now that the original source of this tune bubbling up through the gray matter was doubtless ALL THOSE POPEYE CARTOONS I WATCHED AS A KID!

2) I am glad my kids are in late highschool. Now that I know the alternates I would have a hard time singing the Sharon, Lois & Bram version of "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" with a straight face. (It's not quite the same tune anayway).

Cheers,

james.

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: katlaughing
Date: 13 Sep 04 - 08:06 PM

Well...I didn't want to say, but that's exactly what came to my mind and my friend's mind when we listened to it...that's Popeye's tune! **BG** Glad you enjoyed the thread. Stick around, it's been fun. If you join up, it's free, you can also send and receive PM's (private messages) to other members, bid in the auction, put yer mug up on the Member's Photos pages, and join in the MudChat.

All the best,

kat

Subject: RE: How to upload a tune - to ask about it
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 13 Sep 04 - 08:13 PM

On the whole, we have better information in previous threads here than Fuld provides on the tune, and see The Fiddler's Companion for more.

Information now available shows that the tune was known in both England and America by the mid-to-late 1760s, though it may not be much older than that. By the 1790s, everybody seems to have known it. There is no apparent reason, historical or stylistic, to connect it with Ireland (if not English, an American origin would be the next most likely), and Fuld's comment is puzzling on that score.

A good ABC resource is Steve Mansfield's How to interpret abc music notation