1AUTOSP(1)                                                            AUTOSP(1)
2
3
4

NAME

6       autosp  -  preprocessor  to generate note-spacing commands for MusiXTeX
7       scores
8
9

SYNOPSIS

11       autosp [-v | --version | -h | --help]
12
13       autosp [-d | --dotted] [-l | --log] infile[.aspc] [outfile[.tex]]
14
15

DESCRIPTION

17       This program makes it easier to create MusiXTeX  scores  by  converting
18       (non-standard)  commands  of  the form \anotes ... \en into one or more
19       conventional note-spacing commands (\notes \Notes \NOtes  ...),  deter‐
20       mined  by the actual note values, with \sk spacing commands inserted as
21       necessary.  The coding for an entire measure can be entered one part at
22       a  time,  without  concern  for note-spacing changes within the part or
23       spacing requirements of other parts.
24
25       For example, if applied to
26
27           \anotes\qa J\qa K&\ca l\qa m\ca n\en
28
29       autosp generates
30
31           \Notes\qa J\sk\qa K\sk&\ca l\qa m\sk\ca n\en
32
33       Typically, an \anotes command generates several conventional note-spac‐
34       ing commands.
35
36       If the infile argument does not have an .aspc extension, input is taken
37       from infile.aspc if that file exists.
38
39       If the outfile argument does not have a .tex extension, output is  sent
40       to  outfile.tex.  If no outfile argument is provided, output will go to
41       infile.tex (or to infile.ltx if a \documentclass declaration is encoun‐
42       tered).
43
44       For \anotes commands, line breaks and spaces may precede note segments,
45       allowing more flexible source formatting; the line  breaks  and  spaces
46       will be elided from the output.
47
48       For example,
49
50         \anotes
51           \ibl0K0\qb0K\nbbl0\qb0{.K}\tbbbl0\tbbl0\tql0L&
52           \ibbl1m{-2}\qb1{.m}\tbbbl1\tbbl1\qb1l\tql1k\en
53
54       is acceptable and generates
55
56         \notesp\ibl0K0\qb0K&\ibbl1m{-2}\qb1{.m}\en
57         \nnotes\sk&\tbbbl1\tbbl1\qb1l\en
58         \notesp\nbbl0\qb0{.K}&\tql1k\en
59         \nnotes\tbbbl0\tbbl0\tql0L&\sk\en
60
61
62
63       If  the -l ( --log ) option is used, a very detailed log infile.alog is
64       generated.
65
66       If the -d ( --dotted ) option is used, dotted beam notes  of  the  form
67       \qb{n}{.p} are not given extra space; it is assumed that the subsequent
68       note will be shifted by a \roff-like command or a spacing command  such
69       as  \qsk  or  \hqsk.   Commands  of  the  form  \qlp{p}, \qlpp{p}, ...,
70       \qpb{n}{p} and \qppb{n}{p} are always spaced as indicated.
71
72       If there is a single staff, consecutive whole-bar rest bars are  merged
73       into  a multi-bar rest. Bar-centered rests can be coded using the stan‐
74       dard \def\atnextbar notation but the non-standard command  \Cpause  (or
75       \Cp) in a note segment also generates a bar-centered rest.
76
77       Spacing  commands  \sk  and  \bsk  in the source are discarded, but not
78       "small" skips \hsk, \qsk, \tqsk, \hqsk or \qqsk, or  the  small  "back‐
79       ward" skips \hbsk, \bqsk, \btsk, or \bhsk.  Moreover, non-standard com‐
80       mands \QQsk, \HQsk \TQsk and  \Qsk  in  the  source  generate  "global"
81       skips;  i.e.,  the effect of \qqsk, \hqsk, \tqsk or \qsk, respectively,
82       in every staff. These ensure that staffs remain synchronized  if  addi‐
83       tional spacing is needed in any staff(s).
84
85       Global skips may also be obtained within collective-coding sequences by
86       using up to four successive commas to get the effects of \QQsk,  \HQsk,
87       \TQsk or \Qsk, respectively.  Global skips \tqsk (or, for double-flats,
88       \qsk) are automatically inserted before  accidentals  ('^',  '_',  '=',
89       '<', '>') on collective-coding notes (except when the preceding note is
90       "virtual"; i.e., a skip).  If this automatic additional spacing is  not
91       wanted  in  some context, it may be avoided by replacing the accidental
92       in the collective-coding sequence by any  of  the  explicit  accidental
93       commands: \sh, \fl, \na, \smallsh, \bigsh, etc.  If the automatic spac‐
94       ing is insufficient, the spacing may be increased by adding  sufficient
95       commas or using a conventional notes command instead of \anotes.
96
97
98       A  note  segment  can be completely empty, but if a note segment should
99       start with or contain a "space," the note-value of that space  must  be
100       made  explicit  with  a  command  of  the form \ha{*}, \qa{.*}, \qa{*},
101       \ca{*}, etc.
102
103       From version 2017-06-14, the effects of \TransformNotes calls  are  im‐
104       plemented  by the autosp pre-processor. This enables use of musixlyr in
105       autosp scores; musixlyr.tex is incompatible with the  musixtnt.tex  im‐
106       plementation of \TransformNotes.
107
108       All other conventional MusiXTeX commands are output exactly as given in
109       the input.
110
111
112

OPERATION

114       autosp determines the spacing for ordinary notes from the note commands
115       themselves; for example,
116
117       +  \qa, \qu, \ql, \qp result in \NOtes;
118
119       +  \ca, \cu, \cl, \ds result in \Notes;
120
121       and so on.
122
123       The spacing for beamed notes is determined by the beam multiplicity, so
124       that \ib... results in \Notes, \ibb... results in \notes, etc.
125
126       Collective coding of note sequences (including accidentals and dots) is
127       handled  by  expanding  the sequence into a sequence of individual note
128       commands.
129
130
131       autosp scales notes by the relevant instrument-size value.
132
133

LIMITATIONS

135       autosp  assumes  that  &  and  |  (rather  than   \nextinstrument   and
136       \nextstaff) are used to separate instruments and staffs.
137
138
139       Appoggiaturas  and  grace notes are recognized by the use of \tinynote‐
140       size; note-spacing of 1.45\elemskip is used. If this isn't suitable and
141       can't  be  corrected  with a small skip, a \vnotes command with any de‐
142       sired spacing can be used.
143
144       autosp  supports  x-tuplets  introduced  using  \xtuplet{x}  or  \xxtu‐
145       plet{x:y}  and  triplets introduced using any of the following commands
146       (regardless of any re-definition of \txt or \tuplettxt):
147
148         \triolet
149         \uptrio
150         \downtrio
151         \uptuplet
152         \downtuplet
153
154       autosp assumes that an x-tuplet is to be played in (x-1)/x of  the  ap‐
155       parent x-tuplet duration.  So, for example, a triplet in eighths is as‐
156       sumed to be played in the time of one quarter note.  If this assumption
157       isn't  valid,  the  x-tuplet  must be coded explicitly using a suitable
158       \vnotes command; see the first measure of barsant2.aspc for an  example
159       of  a  non-standard  x-tuplet: a 5-tuple of 64th notes with an intended
160       duration of six 64ths.
161
162       In some polyrhythmic scores, the \txt numeral may be displaced, even if
163       the notes themselves are correctly spaced. In these cases, it is possi‐
164       ble to suppress the normal output of \txt  by  using  the  non-standard
165       commands  \Triolet (no arguments) or \Xtuplet{k}\ and placing a numeral
166       at the correct location using \zcn (i.e., \zcharnote).
167
168       autosp can deal with simultaneous x-tuplets in multiple staffs provided
169       the x values and total note durations are identical.
170
171       In  some  baroque scores, particularly by J.S. Bach, a beamed sixteenth
172       note is vertically aligned with the third note of a triplet  of  eighth
173       notes in another staff (implying that they should be sounded simultane‐
174       ously); e.g.,
175
176           \ibl0L0\qb0{.L}\tqql0L
177
178       would be played as if notated
179
180           \uptrio{b}10\ql L\hroff{\cl L}
181
182       The following coding will align the  beamed  sixteenth  note  with  the
183       third note of a triplet in another staff:
184
185           \ibl0L0\qb0{.L}\hbsk\tqql0L
186
187       and, similarly, for triplets of sixteenth notes:
188
189           \ibbu0J0\qb0{.J}\hbsk\nqqqu0J\qb0{.J}\hbsk\tqqqu0J
190
191       Generally,  user-defined macros are not processed or expanded; however,
192       definitions of the form
193
194           \def\atnextbar{\znotes ... \en}
195
196       generate definitions that do take account of \TransformNotes.
197
198       All staffs are assumed to have the same meter; see kinder2.aspc for  an
199       example of how to work around this.
200
201       autosp  may  not  be  effective for music with more than one voice in a
202       single staff. It might be advisable to use a separate  staff  for  each
203       voice,  to avoid \anotes when necessary, or to omit certain voices ini‐
204       tially and add them into the resulting TeX file.
205
206

EXAMPLES

208       See files quod2.aspc, kinder2.aspc,  geminiani.aspc  and  barsant2.aspc
209       for  scores  suitable for input to autosp.  The program tex2aspc can be
210       used to convert "legacy" MusiXTeX scores to .aspc format.
211
212

SEE ALSO

214       msxlint(1) tex2aspc(1)
215
216       musixdoc.pdf
217
218

AUTHOR

220       This  program  and  manual   page   were   written   by   Bob   Tennent
221       <rdt@cs.queensu.ca>.
222
223
224
225                                  2021-01-07                         AUTOSP(1)
Impressum