abc replacement: lilypond

To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café ^TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=1607
10 messages

abc replacement: lilypond

21 May 97 - 11:46 PM (#5508)
Subject: abc replacement: lilypond
From: lindahl@pbm.com

I've just looked at GNU Lilypond for the first time and it shows promise for replacing abc. It does a good job with lyrics, not to mention multiple voices and postscript output. It's very unixish and requires MusicTeX to print. There isn't an abc->mudela filter yet but it would be fairly easy to write.

http://www.stack.nl/~hanwen/lilypond/

12 Jan 19 - 10:02 PM (#3971261)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: leeneia

Nice tune, but it's lost here.

Start a new thread and call it Tune add: Paddy Lynn's Delight

Tell us about yourself. What instruments do you play? How did you come across this book? Is it an old book or new?

13 Jan 19 - 03:48 PM (#3971315)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: Stanron

There was a thread a while ago comparing Lilypond with ABC. I kind of liked Lilypond, but the consensus was that ABC was easier for folk tunes. They are similar but ABC is simpler.

13 Jan 19 - 03:52 PM (#3971316)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: Stanron

Of course it must also be said that there is an enormous resource of folk tunes in ABC format. That cannot be said for Lilypond.

15 Jan 19 - 10:19 AM (#3971556)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: treewind

The ABC posted above could be making a point, if in a rather obscure way.
- How much Lilypond code would be needed to post the same tune?
- What are the chances of manually typing typing that tune in LilyPond and getting it right?
- At a pinch I could recognise a tune from the ABC. I very much doubt I could from the Lilypond code.

I regularly type ABC tunes at the keyboard. Until I need to see the dots for checking or printing I don't need any special software.

The difference between ABC and Lilypond is like the difference between a simple word processor (or even a text editor) and a DTP program. Lilypond can produce beautifully typeset music right up to full orchestral scores, but it will never replace ABC for jotting down folk tunes in computer readable form.

Actually, if I wanted better output than my ABC software can produce, I'd probably use MuseScore, which is also free, multi-platform and can do a lot that ABC can't, and I guess wouldn't take me as long to learn as Lilypond.

15 Jan 19 - 12:35 PM (#3971577)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: Stanron

The Lilypond file equivalent to the post

12 Jan 19 -05:32 PM

is

\version "2.18.2"
\header {
      encodingdate = "2019-01-14"
      title = "Paddy Lynn’s Delight"
       subtitle = "Music From Ireland, Volume Three, Bulmer & Sharpley, page 15, tune #43 "}
         \relative c'
          {\key a \dorian \time 4/4
       \repeat volta 2{
             |e8a, a4 c8 b a g |e g g4 a8 g e g |e' a, a4 c8 b a b | c d e d e a a g |
             |e a, a4 c8 b a g |e g g4 a8 g e g |c d e g a g e c | a c b g a2 }

       \repeat volta 2{
             |c4 g'8 c, a' c, g' c, | c d e g a e g e |c4 g'8 c, a' c, g' c,| d4 e8 d c a a b |
             |c4 g'8 c, a' c, g' c,| c d e g a e g e | g c, b' a g e d b | a c b g a2 |}
          }

Not that much different in size but some concepts are going to seem weird to ABC users. I also think that ABC might be easier to sight read.

15 Jan 19 - 01:35 PM (#3971583)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: GUEST

I mean I use Lilypond and not ABC, so obviously I can understand the lilypond example posted here better than the ABC example. It's not surprising that someone who uses ABC and not lilypond understands the ABC example better.

Anyway, now they are both posted side by side, I might see whether I can work out what is going on in the ABC notation.

15 Jan 19 - 01:57 PM (#3971586)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: Stanron

One big difference is that pitch and note length in ABC is specific not relative as in Lilypond. Middle C up to the B above that are Capital letters. An octave above middle C and the notes are in lower case letters.

The L: 1/8 in the header sets the 'standard note as an eighth note. Quarter notes have a 2 after them and half notes have a 4. Notes without a number are all quarter notes.

You can 'declare' a repeat section using |: and :| at either end.

There are several programs where you can input ABC files and experiment. Good luck.

07 Feb 19 - 04:47 AM (#3975235)
Subject: RE: abc replacement: lilypond
From: GUEST

"Music From Ireland, Volume Three, Bulmer & Sharpley"
Those names seem awfully familiar!