1ABC2MIDI(1) General Commands Manual ABC2MIDI(1)
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6 abc2midi - converts abc file to MIDI file(s)
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9 abc2midi infile [refnum] [-c] [-v] [-ver] [-t] [-n limit] [-CS]
10 [-quiet] [-silent] [-Q tempo] [-NFNP] [-NFER] [-NGRA] [-NGUI] [-STFW]
11 [-OCC] [-NCOM] [-HARP] [-BF] [-TT] [-o outfile] -CSM [filename]
12
14 The default action is to write a MIDI file for each abc tune
15 with the filename <stem>N.mid, where <stem> is the filestem
16 of the abc file and N is the tune reference number. If the -o
17 option is used, only one file is written. This is the tune
18 specified by the reference number or, if no reference number
19 is given, the first tune in the file.
20
22 refnum process the tune with reference number refnum
23 -c selects checking only
25 -v n selects verbose option where n is the level (optional)
27 -ver prints version number and exits
29 -t selects filenames derived from tune titles
31 -CS use 2:1 instead of 3:1 for broken rhythms
33 -quiet Suppresses some common warnings.
35 -silent
37 Suppresses other messages.
38 -n X limits the length of the file name stem to X characters
40 -Q tempo
42 sets the default tempo in quarter notes per minute if it was not
43 specified in the abc header.
44 -NFNP Ignore any dynamic indications !f! !ff! etc.
46 -NFER Ignore any fermata indications (eg H or !fermata!).
48 -NGRA Ignore any grace notes.
50 -NGUI Ignore any guitar chords enclosed in double quotes.
52 -STFW Place lyric text in separate MIDI tracks.
54 -NCOM Suppress some comments in the output MIDI file.
56 -OCC Accept old chord convention (eg +D2G2+ instead of [DG]2).
58 -BF BarFly mode: invokes a stress model if possible.
60 -HARP Roll ornaments=roll are generated for the harpist (same pitch)
62 -TT Changes the tuning from A = 440 Hz.
64 -o outfile
66 write output to outfile
67 -CSM infile
69 load a set of custom stress modes from a file
70
72 * Broken rhythms (>, <), chords, n-tuples, slurring, ties, staccatto
73 notes, repeats, in-tune tempo/length/time signature changes are all
74 supported.
75 * R:hornpipe or r:hornpipe is recognized and note timings are adjusted
77 to give a broken rhythm (ab is converted to a>b).
78 * Most errors in the abc input will generate a suitable error message
80 in the output and the converter keeps going.
81 * Comments and text fields in the abc source are converted to text
83 events in the MIDI output
84 * If guitar chords are present, they are used to generate an accompani‐
86 ment in the MIDI output.
87 * If there are mis-matched repeat signs in the abc, the program
89 attempts to fix them. However, it will not attempt this if a multi-part
90 tune description has been used or if multiple voices are in use.
91 * Karaoke MIDI files can be generated by using the w: field to include
93 lyrics.
94 * Nonnumeric voice id's, eg. V: soprano, as proposed for the new abc
96 standard is accepted.
97 * Invisible rests specified by x are treated the same way as normal
99 rests (z).
100 * Decorations may be indicated using either the deprecated notation
102 (eg. !fermata!) or the standard version 2.0 notation (eg. +fermata+).
103
105 * No field is inherited from above the X: field of the tune.
106
110 * There are some extensions to the abc syntax of the form
111 %%MIDI channel n
113 These control channel and program selection, transposing and various
115 other features of abc2midi.
116 Each of these should appear on a line by itself. All of them are
118 allowed within the abc tune body. By using these in combination with
119 the part notation, one can, for example, play a part transposed or in a
120 different key.
121 The idea behind this syntax is that other programs will treat it as a
123 comment and ignore it.
124 %%MIDI channel n
126 selects melody channel n (in the range 1-16).
128 %%MIDI program [c] n
130 selects program n (in the range 0-127) on channel c. If c is not given,
132 the program is selected on the current melody channel. Most modern tone
133 generators follow the General MIDI standard which defines the instru‐
134 ment type for each program number.
135 %%MIDI beat a b c n
137 controls the way note velocities are selected. The first note in a bar
139 has velocity a. Other "strong" notes have velocity b and all the rest
140 have velocity c. a, b and c must be in the range 0-127. The parameter n
141 determines which notes are "strong". If the time signature is x/y, then
142 each note is given a position number k = 0, 1, 2 .. x-1 within each
143 bar. Note that the units for n are not the unit note length. If k is a
144 multiple of n, then the note is "strong". The volume specifiers !ppp!
145 to !fff! are equivalent to the following :
146 !ppp! = %%MIDI beat 30 20 10 1
148 !pp! = %%MIDI beat 45 35 20 1
149 !p! = %%MIDI beat 60 50 35 1
150 !mp! = %%MIDI beat 75 65 50 1
151 !mf! = %%MIDI beat 90 80 65 1
152 !f! = %%MIDI beat 105 95 80 1
153 !ff! = %%MIDI beat 120 110 95 1
154 !fff! = %%MIDI beat 127 125 110 1
155 %%MIDI beatmod n
158 Increments by n (or decrements if n is negative) the velocities a, b
160 and c described above. The instructions !crescendo(! and !crescendo)!
161 are equivalent to inserting a %%MIDI beatmod 15 wherever they occur.
162 (Alternatively you can use !<(! and !<)!.) Similarly the instructions
163 !diminuendo(! and !diminuendo)! are equivalent to %%MIDI beatmod -15.
164 %%MIDI deltaloudness n
167 where n is a small positive number. By default the crescendo and
169 diminuendo instructions modify the beat variables a, b, and c by 15
170 velocity units. This instruction allows you to set this default to
171 value n.
172 %%MIDI nobeataccents
175 For instruments such as church organ that have no greatly emphasized
177 beat notes, using this will force use of the 'b' velocity (see %%MIDI
178 beat) for every note irrespective of position in the bar. This allows
179 dynamics (ff, f, etc) to be used in the normal way.
180 %%MIDI beataccents
182 Revert to emphasizing notes the the usual way. (default)
184 %%MIDI beatstring <string of f, m and p>
187 This provides an alternative way of specifying where the strong and
189 weak stresses fall within a bar. 'f' means velocity a (normally
190 strong), 'm' means velocity b (medium velocity) and 'p' means velocity
191 c (soft velocity). For example, if the time signature is 7/8 with
192 stresses on the first, fourth and sixth notes in the bar, we could use
193 the following
194 %%MIDI beatstring fppmpmp
196 %%MIDI transpose n
198 transposes the output by the specified number of semitones. n may be
200 positive or negative.
201 %%MIDI rtranspose n
203 Relative transpose by the specified number of semitones. i.e. %%MIDI
205 transpose a followed by %%MIDI rtranspose b results in a transposition
206 of a+b. %%MIDI transpose b will result in a transposition of b semi‐
207 tones, regardless of any previous transposition.
208 %%MIDI c n
210 specifies the MIDI pitch which corresponds to c. The default is 60.
212 This number should normally be a multiple of 12.
213 %%MIDI grace a/b
215 sets the fraction of the next note that grace notes will take up. a
217 must be between 1 and b-1. The grace notes may not sound natural in
218 this approach, since the length of the individual grace notes vary with
219 the complexity of the grace and the length of the following note. A
220 different approach (which is now the default) assumes that the grace
221 notes always have a fixed duration. To use the other approach you
222 would specify,
223 %%MIDI gracedivider b
225 where b specifies how many parts to divide the unit length specified by
227 the L: field command. For example if b = 4 and L: = 1/8, then every
228 grace note would be 1/(8*4) or a 32nd note. Time would be stolen from
229 the note to which the grace notes are applied. If that note is not long
230 enough to handle the grace then the grace notes would be assigned 0
231 duration.
232 %%MIDI chordname name n1 n2 n3 n4 n5 n6
237 Defines how to play a guitar chord called "name". n1 is usually 0 and
239 n2, n3 to n6 give the pitches of the other notes in semitones relative
240 to the root note. There may be fewer than 6 notes in the chord, but not
241 more.If "name" is already defined, this command re-defines it. Unlike
242 most other commands, chordname definitions stay in effect from where
243 they are defined to the end of the abc file. The following illustrates
244 how m, 7, m7 and maj7 could be set up if they were not already defined.
245 %%MIDI chordname m 0 3 7
247 %%MIDI chordname 7 0 4 7 10
248 %%MIDI chordname m7 0 3 7 10
249 %%MIDI chordname maj7 0 4 7 11
250 %%MIDI gchord string
252 sets up how guitar chords are generated. The string is a sequence made
254 of of z's, c's f's and b's for rests, chords, fundamental and funda‐
255 mental plus chord notes respectively. This specifies how each bar is
256 to be played. An optional length is allowed to follow the z's, c's f's
257 and b's e.g. czf2zf3. If the abc contains guitar chords, then
258 abc2midi automatically adds chords and fundamentals after encountering
259 the first guitar chord. It keeps using that chord until a new chord is
260 specified in the abc. Whenever the M: field is encountered in the abc,
261 an appropriate default string is set :
262 For 2/4 or 4/4 time default is equivalent to : %%MIDI gchord fzczfzcz
264 For 3/4 time default is equivalent to : %%MIDI gchord fzczcz
266 For 6/8 time default is equivalent to : %%MIDI gchord fzcfzc
268 For 9/8 time default is equivalent to : %%MIDI gchord fzcfzcfzc
270 The gchord command has been extended to allow you to play the individ‐
272 ual notes comprising the guitar chord. This allows you to play broken
273 chords or arpeggios. The new codes g,h,i,j, G,H,I,J reference the indi‐
274 vidual notes starting from the lowest note of the chord (not necessar‐
275 ily the root in the case of inversions). For example for the C major
276 chord, g refers to C, h refers to E and i refers to G. For a gchord
277 command such as,
278 %%MIDI gchord ghih
280 Abc2midi will arpeggiate the C major guitar chord to CEGE. The upper
282 case letters G,H,I, and J refer to the same notes except they are
283 transposed down one octave. Note for the first inversion of the C major
284 chord (indicated by "C/E"), E would be the lowest note so g would ref‐
285 erence the note E.
286 Like other gchord codes, you may append a numeral indicating the dura‐
288 tion of the note. The same rules apply as before. You can use any com‐
289 bination of the gchord codes, (fcbghijGHIJz).
290 %%MIDI chordprog n
294 Sets the MIDI instrument for the chords to be n. If the command
296 includes the string octave=n where n is a number between -2 and 2
297 inclusive, then this will shift the pitch of the instrument by n
298 octaves. For example %%MIDI chordprog 10 octave=1.)
299 %%MIDI bassprog n
302 Sets the MIDI instrument for the bass notes to be n. If the command
304 includes the string octave=n where n is a number between -2 and 2
305 inclusive, then this will shift the pitch of the instrument by n
306 octaves. For example %%MIDI bassprog 10 octave=-1.)
307 %%MIDI chordvol n
309 Sets the volume (velocity) of the chord notes at n.
311 %%MIDI bassvol n
313 Sets the volume (velocity) of the bass notes at n. There is no corre‐
315 sponding melodyvol command since there are 3 velocity values for
316 melody, set using the beat command.
317 %%MIDI gchordon
319 Turns on guitar chords (they are turned on by default at the start of a
321 tune).
322 %%MIDI gchordoff
324 Turns off guitar chords.
326 %%MIDI droneon
328 Turns on a continuous drone (used in bagpipe music) consisting of two
330 notes. By default the notes are A, and A,, played on a bassoon at a
331 velocity of 80. This can be configured by the %%MIDI drone command
332 described below.
333 %%MIDI droneoff
335 Turns off the continuous drone.
337 %%MIDI drone n1 n2 n3 n4 n5
339 Sets the drone parameters where n1 is the MIDI program, n2 and n3 spec‐
341 ify the MIDI pitches of the two notes in the chord, and n4 and n5 spec‐
342 ify the MIDI velocities of the two notes. If you do not set these
343 parameters they are by default 70 45 33 80 80. A value of zero or less
344 indicates that the setting of this parameter should be left as it is.
345 %%MIDI drum string [drum programs] [drum velocities]
347 This sets up a drum pattern. The string determines when there is a drum
349 beat and the drum program values determine what each drum strike sounds
350 like.
351 e.g. %%MIDI drum d2zdd 35 38 38 100 50 50
353 The string may contain 'd' for a drum strike or 'z' for a rest. By
355 default a voice starts with no drum pattern and '%%MIDI drumon' is
356 needed to enable the drumming. The drum pattern is repeated during each
357 bar until '%%MIDI drumoff' is encountered. The %%MIDI drum command may
358 be used within a tune to change the drum pattern. This command places
359 the drum sounds on channel 10 and assumes your tone generator complies
360 with the General Midi standard - if it does not, then you may hear
361 tones instead of drum sounds.
362 In both the gchord and drum commands, the standard note length of a
364 single note f,c,z or d is not set by the L: command. Instead it is
365 adjusted so that the entire gchord string or drum string fits exactly
366 into one bar. In other words the duration of each note is divided by
367 the total duration of the string. This means that, for example, the
368 drum string "dd" is equivalent to drum string "d4d4". You cannot cur‐
369 rently specify fractions directly (eg. C3/2) as done in the body of the
370 music, but it is still possible to express complex rhythms. For exam‐
371 ple, to indicate a rhythm such as (3ddd d/d/d/d, you would write the
372 string "d4d4d4d3d3d3d3".
373 %%MIDI drumbars n
375 The %%MIDI drum line can sound quite monotonous if it is repeated each
377 bar. To circumvent this problem a new MIDI command %%MIDI drumbars n
378 where n is a small number will spread out the drum string over n con‐
379 secutive bars. By default drumbars is set to 1 maintaining compatibil‐
380 ity with existing abc files. You should take care that the drumstring
381 is evenly divisible between the drumbar bars. Also the time signature
382 should not change between bars in a drumbar unit. (Sample abc file in
383 doc/CHANGES June 24 2008.)
384 %%MIDI gchordbars n
386 This command spreads the gchord string over n consecutive bars just
388 like drumbars (above). (A sample is found in doc/CHANGES March 17
389 2009.)
390 With version 1.54 Dec 4 2004 of abc2midi, notes in chords (eg. [FAc])
396 are not played in the same instant but offsetted and shortened by 10
397 MIDI time units. Thus the first note in the chord (eg. F) is played for
398 the full indicated time, the second note (eg. A) starts 10 MIDI units
399 later and is shortened by the same amount and the third note starts
400 another 10 MIDI units later and is shortened by another 10 units. This
401 introduces an "expressivo" option and avoids the heavy attack. (This
402 does not apply to gchords or multivoiced chords.) The amount of the
403 delay and shortening may be configured by the MIDI command
404 %%MIDI chordattack n
407 where n is a small number. If n is zero, then abc2midi should behave as
410 in earlier versions. The delay n is in MIDI time units where there are
411 480 units in a quarter note beat. The program may not run correctly if
412 n is too large and there are short chords.
413 %%MIDI randomchordattack n
416 Like above except that the delay is a random variable uniformly dis‐
418 tributed between 0 and n-1.
419 %%MIDI trim x/y
422 where x and y are two numbers. This command controls the articulation
424 of notes and chords by placing silent gaps between the notes. The
425 length of these gaps is determined by x/y and the unit length specified
426 by the L: command. These gaps are produced by shortening the notes by
427 the same amount. If the note is already shorter than the specified
428 gap, then the gap is set to half the length of the note. The fraction
429 x/y indicates a note duration in the same manner as specified in the
430 abc file. The actual duration is based on the unit length specified by
431 the L: field command. It is recommended that x/y be a fraction close to
432 zero. Note trimming is disabled inside slurs as specified by parenthe‐
433 ses. You can turn off all note trimming by setting x to 0, eg 0/1. By
434 default, note trimming is turned off at the beginning of a tune or
435 voice command.
436 %%MIDI expand x/y
439 where x and y are two numbers defining a fraction less than 1. This
441 command controls the articulation of notes and chords in the reverse
442 manner. The notes are lengthened by this fraction so they overlap the
443 start of the next note.
444 %%MIDI drummap note midipitch
448 Please see abcguide.txt.
450 %%MIDI ptstress filename
452 This command loads file filename into abc2midi which contains the Phil
454 Taylor stress parameters and puts abc2midi in the mode where it applies
455 these stress parameters on every note. This model runs in opposition to
456 the standard beat model, so the MIDI beat, beatstring, beatmod commands
457 become ineffectual. This also means that the dynamic indications !f!
458 !pp! etc. do not work any more.
459 There are two different implementations of the stress model. Model 1
461 modifies the note articulation and takes control of the MIDI trim
462 parameters too. To revert back to the standard model, put the command
463 %%MIDI beataccents. Model 2 modifies both the onset and ending of each
464 note allowing a musical beat to expand or contract in time. However,
465 the length of a musical measure should be preserved. Note if you using
466 model 2, which the current default, you must include -BF as one of the
467 runtime parameters of abc2midi.
468 The model divides a bar into equal segments. For each segment, a loud‐
470 ness or MIDI velocity is specified and a duration multiplier is speci‐
471 fied. If a note falls into a specific segment, it assumes the velocity
472 of that segment and its duration is modified accordingly. If the note
473 overlaps more than one segment, then the note assumes the average of
474 those segment values.
475 The input file specifies the number of segments and the loudness and
477 duration multipliers for each segment. The file has the following for‐
478 mat. The first value is the number of segments and each line specifies
479 the velocity and duration multiplier of the specific segment. The
480 velocity is limited to 127 and the duration is a decimal number. The
481 note durations is modified by varying the gap between notes, so it is
482 not possible to extend a note. This preserves the regular tempo of the
483 music. The program scales, the note duration indications by dividing it
484 by the maximum value which here is 1.4.
485 %%MIDI stressmodel n
488 where n is either 1 or 2, selects the stress model implementation.
490 other %%MIDI commands such as bendvelocity, bendstring, controlstring
493 have been introduced recently and are described in the file
494 abcguide.txt.
495
500 The proposed standard introduces a new copyright field using the syntax
501 %%abc-copyright (c) Copyright John Smith 2003
504 Abc2midi now inserts this in the MIDI file in the form of a metatext
507 copyright tag. Changes were made to the event_specific function in
508 store.c to process the copyright information. It is also copied into
509 the Karaoke track (if it is created) as as @T field.
510
513 abc2ps(1), midi2abc(1), yaps(1).
514
516 James Allwright <J.R.Allwright@westminster.ac.uk>
517
519 by Seymour Shlien <fy733@ncf.ca>
520
522 This man page describes abc2midi version 2.27 June 25 2006.
523
525 Copyright 1999 James Allwright
526 abc2midi is supplied "as is" without any warranty. It is free software
528 and can be used, copied, modified and distributed without fee under the
529 terms of the GNU General Public License.
530 More complete documentation may be found in abcguide.txt which comes
532 with the abcMIDI distribution.
533 June 2017 ABC2MIDI(1)