Tab: How best to display bends

Subject: Tab: How best to display bends
From: pavane
Date: 08 Jun 06 - 11:49 AM

Re: My program HARMONY

I am still struggling with the problem of annotating the guitar tablature for bends. It seems that some programs show them as two or more tied notes.

For playback reasons, I would prefer to restrict a bend to a single displayed note. Also, I think the abc +bend+ decoration affects only one note.

Would it be adequate to display a letter (for example B) over the fret number of the note to be bent?

It may be possible also to follow it with a number, which could be the number of semi-tones (or quarter-tones) to bend.

I could then ensure in future that the bend was automatically included in the playback and MIDI.

It is important that the pitch effects of the bend are cancelled completely at the end of the note, otherwise they will affect following notes as well. Therefore there may need to be two different types of bend, a Bend UP, which is just cancelled at the end, or Bend Up and Down.

I could annotate these as U and B to distinguish them.

(For advanced users, the complete characteristics of the note, incliding amount of bend, and timing, can already be controlled by using note styles).

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: Grab
Date: 08 Jun 06 - 12:47 PM

Two or more tied notes is a good reflection of what's actually happening, isn't it?

A number before/after it would work though. Best might be to show the destination fret equivalent to the bent note.

For quarter-tone bends, they tend to have a different symbol of an arrow curving up.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: pavane
Date: 12 Jun 06 - 06:24 AM

Graham
Thanks for your comments.

As I said, it is difficult to implement bends as two tied notes, for various technical reasons.

Showing a fret would limit you to defining bends only of semitones or whole tones. It would also mean sometimes using two digits, when well up the frets.

I have seen the upward curving arrow, and could maybe use that, but it is more difficult to code - could delay the code release for some time.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: Nick
Date: 12 Jun 06 - 07:41 AM

My son writes tabs in Power Tab software and I've found that the way they display bends is straightforward.

I've uploaded a screen shot here in case you are unfamiliar with it.

Not sure if that's any help though!

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: pavane
Date: 12 Jun 06 - 09:35 AM

Thanks Nick, but that picture was a bit too small for me to see it in detail. It looks similar to the method used by Sibelius though.

I still need to keep the bend up and down all within one note if possible, so that I can use the Note Style facility, otherwise the program logic gets really messy. I need to consider other program functions, such as chord generation, which are affected by tied notes.

Note styles give the user complete control over all the MIDI parameters available, although there are some predefined examples supplied with HARMONY. The last item within a style usually needs to reset the parameters, particularly the 'pitch wheel', otherwise the effects are carried over to the following note(s).

I think I may have to go with the curved up arrow (and back down if appropriate), even if it means more work.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: Nick
Date: 12 Jun 06 - 10:47 AM

If you click on it it opens a browser window which is clear as a bell for me

Big pic

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: pavane
Date: 12 Jun 06 - 11:45 AM

No, I cannot make it display more than 2 inches high.
There are navigation links and adverts to the left, and some buttons etc above.
But never mind

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 12 Jun 06 - 08:02 PM

As this is a family friendly site, I am unable to post appropriate links on how best to display bends...

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: pavane
Date: 13 Jun 06 - 01:38 AM

I have now managed to implement the curved up arrow, followed by curved down if appropriate, so that's the way it will be!

It does have the advantage that you can show simultaneous bends for several notes.

See - I bend over backwards to accommodate you! Or can't I say that on air?

Thanks for your help.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: pavane
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 02:11 AM

Just one last question (Promise)

abc only provides one decorator for bends, i.e. +bend+

Should this be interpreted as a 'Bend up' or a 'Bend up and Down'?
Whichever is chosen will be the default type of bend throughout the program.

HARMONY will provide both as options, plus Pre-bend (Bend down from an initial bend-up position). But it can only export one type to abc within the standard.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 07:13 AM

A a wild guess, I expect that whoever designed the 'abc standard', only ever knew about 'up and down'.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 09:02 AM

Why not an up > or down < or both? < > ?

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: pavane
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 12:24 PM

Sorcha, you didn't read the question.

The abc DEFINITION only provides one option, which is +bend+.
It doesn't say which type of bend is to be played.

My program can define all kinds, but can only import and export them to abc as that single option.

So the default on import from abc will be Up and Down.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 06:47 PM

oh.

Subject: RE: Tab: How best to display bends
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 07:40 PM

You gotta be careful Pavanne, having all three map to the default could turn everything into Hawaiian Guitar... :-)