<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<!--Converted with LaTeX2HTML 2008 (1.71)
original version by: Nikos Drakos, CBLU, University of Leeds
* revised and updated by: Marcus Hennecke, Ross Moore, Herb Swan
* with significant contributions from:
Jens Lippmann, Marek Rouchal, Martin Wilck and others -->
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Musical Data Format</TITLE>
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="Musical Data Format">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="mma">
<META NAME="resource-type" CONTENT="document">
<META NAME="distribution" CONTENT="global">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="LaTeX2HTML v2008">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Style-Type" CONTENT="text/css">
<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" HREF="mma.css">
<LINK REL="next" HREF="node9.html">
<LINK REL="previous" HREF="node7.html">
<LINK REL="up" HREF="mma.html">
<LINK REL="next" HREF="node9.html">
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV CLASS="navigation"><!--Navigation Panel-->
<A NAME="tex2html515"
HREF="node9.html">
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html513"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html507"
HREF="node7.html">
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
<BR>
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html516"
HREF="node9.html">Lyrics</A>
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html514"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html508"
HREF="node7.html">Riffs</A>
<BR>
<BR></DIV>
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
<!--Table of Child-Links-->
<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>
<UL CLASS="ChildLinks">
<LI><A NAME="tex2html517"
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00810000000000000000">Bar Numbers</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html518"
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00820000000000000000">Bar Repeat</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html519"
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00830000000000000000">Chords</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html520"
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00840000000000000000">Rests</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html521"
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00850000000000000000">Positioning</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html522"
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00860000000000000000">Case Sensitivity</A>
</UL>
<!--End of Table of Child-Links-->
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00800000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="sec-music"></A>
<BR>
Musical Data Format
</H1>
<P>
Compared to patterns, sequences, grooves and the various directives used in
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> ,
the actual bar by bar chord notations are surprisingly simple.
<P>
Any line in your input file which is not a directive or comment is assumed to
be a bar of chord data.
<P>
A line for chord data consists of the following parts:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>Optional line number,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Chord or Rest data (with optional position indicator),
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Optional lyric data,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Optional solo or melody data,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Optional multiplier.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
Formally, this becomes:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>[num] Chord [Chord ...] [lyric] [solo] [* Factor] </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
As you can see, all that is really needed is a single chord. So, the line:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
is completely valid. As is:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>10 Cm Dm Em Fm * 4 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
The optional solo or melody data is enclosed in “{ }”s. The
complete format and use is detailed in the <A HREF="node10.html#chap-solo">Solo and
Melody Tracks</A>.
<P>
Lyrics are enclosed in ”[ ]” brackets. See the <A HREF="node9.html#sec-lyrics">Lyrics section</A>.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00810000000000000000">
Bar Numbers</A>
</H1>
<P>
The optional leading bar number is silently discarded by
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> . It is
really just a specialized comment which helps you debug your music.
Note that only a numeric item is permitted here.
<P>
Get in the habit of using bar numbers. You'll thank yourself when a
song seems to be missing a bar, or appears to have an extra one.
Without the leading bar numbers it can be quite frustrating to match
your input file to a piece of sheet music.<A NAME="tex2html37"
HREF="#foot3695"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">8</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A>
<P>
One important use of the leading bar number is for the -b command line
option <A HREF="node2.html#b-option">detailed here</A>.
<P>
You should note that it is perfectly acceptable to have only a bar
number on a line. This is common when you are using bar repeat, for
example:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>1 Cm * 4
<BR>
2
<BR>
3
<BR>
4
<BR>
5 A </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
In the above example bars 2, 3 and 4 are comment bars.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00820000000000000000">
Bar Repeat</A>
</H1>
<P>
Quite often music has several sequential identical bars. Instead of
typing these bars over and over again,
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> has an optional
<SPAN CLASS="textit">multiplier</SPAN> which can be placed at the end of a line of music
data. The multiplier or factor can is specified as “* NN” This will
cause the current bar to repeated the specified number of times. For
example:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm / Dm / * 4 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
produces 4 bars of output with each the first 2 beats of each bar a Cm
chord and the last 2 a Dm. (The “/” is explained below.)
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00830000000000000000">
Chords</A>
</H1>
<P>
The most important part of a musical data line is, of course, the
chords. You can specify a different chord for each beat in your music.
For example:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm Dm Em Fm </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
specifies four different chords in a bar. It should be obvious by now
that in a piece in <SPAN CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> you'll end up with a “Cm” chord on
beat 1, “Dm” on 2, etc.
<P>
If you have fewer chord names than beats, the bar will be filled
automatically with the last chord name on the line. In other words:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
and
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm Cm Cm Cm </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
are equivalent (assuming 4 beats per bar). There must be one (or more)
spaces between each chord.
<P>
One further shorthand is the “/”. This simply means to repeat the
last chord. So:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm / Dm / </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
is the same as
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm Cm Dm Dm </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
It is perfectly okay to start a line with a “/”. In this case the
last chord from the previous line is used. If the first line of music
data begins with a “/” you'll get an error--
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> tries to be
smart, but it doesn't read minds. Having “/” at the end of the bar
is a tad silly since
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> just ends up throwing these away, but it
does no harm.
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> recognizes a wide variety of chords in standard and Roman
numeral notation. In addition, you can specify slash chords,
inversions, barre offsets, and shift the octave up or down. Refer to
the complete table in the appendix for
<A HREF="node30.html#sec-chordname">details</A>.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00840000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="rests"></A>
<BR>
Rests
</H1>
<P>
To disable a voice for a beat you can use a “z” for a chord name. If
used by itself a “z” will disable all but the drum tracks for the
given beat. However, you can disable “Chord”, “Arpeggio”,
“Scale”, “Walk”, “Aria”, or “Bass” tracks as well by appending a track
specifier to the “z”. Track specifiers are the single letters “C”,
“A”, “S”, “W”, “B”, “R” or `D” and “!”. Track specifiers are
only valid if you also specify a chord. The track specifiers are:
<P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT>D
<DD>All drum tracks,
<P>
<DT>W
<DD>All walking bass tracks,
<P>
<DT>B
<DD>All bass tracks,
<P>
<DT>C
<DD>All chord tracks,
<P>
<DT>A
<DD>All arpeggio tracks,
<P>
<DT>S
<DD>All scale tracks,
<P>
<DT>R
<DD>All aria tracks,
<P>
<DT>P
<DD>All plectrum tracks,
<P>
<DT>!
<DD>All tracks (almost the same as DWBCAP, see below).
<P>
</DD>
</DL>
<P>
Assuming the “C” is the chord and “AB” are the track specifiers:
<P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT>CzAB
<DD>mutes the A<SMALL>RPEGGIO</SMALL> and B<SMALL>ASS</SMALL> tracks,
<P>
<DT>z
<DD>mutes all the tracks except for the drums,
<P>
<DT>Cz
<DD>is not permitted,
<P>
<DT>zAB
<DD>is not permitted.
<P>
</DD>
</DL>
<P>
Assuming that you have a drum, chord and bass pattern defined:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Fm z G7zC CmzD </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
would generate the following beats:
<P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT>1
<DD>Drum pattern, Fm chord and bass,
<P>
<DT>2
<DD>Drum pattern only,
<P>
<DT>3
<DD>Drum pattern and G7 bass, no chord,
<P>
<DT>4
<DD>Cm chord and bass, no drum.
<P>
</DD>
</DL>
<P>
In addition, there is a super-z notation. “z!” forces all
instruments to be silent for the given beats. “z!” is the same as
“zABCDWR”, except that the latter is not valid since it needs a
prefixed chord.
<P>
The “z” notation is used when you have a “tacet” beat or beats.
The alternate notations can be used to silence specific tracks for a
beat or two, but this is used less frequently.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00850000000000000000">
Positioning</A>
</H1>
<P>
In earlier versions of
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> all chords (and rests) were positioned on
the beat, and one could only specify a limited number of chord changes
per bar. Using the enhanced positioning syntax an unlimited number of
chord changes per bar can be specified. But, please note <SPAN CLASS="textit">the
changes you hear in your song depend on the specific pattern you are
using! You might specify a chord at, for example, beat 2.25, but if
the pattern doesn't sound a chord at that position it's a bit silly.</SPAN>
<P>
As discussed above, a normal set of chord changes is entered like:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm / Dm </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
which sets a “Cm” for beats 1 and 2, and “Dm” for beats 3 to the
bar end.
<P>
To modify this, you can use the “@” symbol along with an offset to
indicate other changes. So, the above example could also be written
as:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm Dm@3 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
Changing on the “off beat” is simple as well. Consider,
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>C D@3.5 F </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
In this case the “C” chord is in effect from the first beat until
beat 3.5, a “D” chord is set for 3.5 until 4, and an “F” from 4 to
the end of bar.
<P>
In parsing, when
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> finds a chord name without the “@” it assumes
that the position is the next full beat after the previous chord
... which means that in the above example “F” and “F@4” are
equivalent.
<P>
<UL>
<LI>The offset used must be 1 or greater and less than the value of
the T<SMALL>IME</SMALL> parameter (<A HREF="node16.html#time">here</A>)
plus 1. Any partial beat (2.33, 3.9, 1.25, etc.) is permitted.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Chords must be specified in order. For example,
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Cm Dm E@1.5 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
would generate an error.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>No spaces are permitted between chord and the “@” symbol or
between the “@” and the value.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>The “@” must be at the end of the chord following any chord
modifiers. The chords “+Cdim>-2@2.5” and “E/G#@4” are perfectly acceptable.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00860000000000000000">
Case Sensitivity</A>
</H1>
<P>
In direct conflict with the rest of the rules for input files, all
chord names (and modifiers) <SPAN CLASS="textit">are</SPAN> case sensitive. This means that you <SPAN CLASS="textit">can
not</SPAN> use notations like “cm”--use “Cm” instead.
<P>
The “z” and the associated track specifiers are also case sensitive.
For example, the form “Zc” will <SPAN CLASS="textit">not</SPAN> work!
<P>
<P>
<BR><HR><H4>Footnotes</H4>
<DL>
<DT><A NAME="foot3695">... music.</A><A
HREF="node8.html#tex2html37"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">8</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>If your line
numbers get out of order you can use the supplied utility
<SPAN CLASS="textbf">mma-renum</SPAN> to renumber the comment lines. This utility is
installed in your default path or in the root
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> directory,
depending on the distribution.
</DD>
</DL>
<DIV CLASS="navigation"><HR>
<!--Navigation Panel-->
<A NAME="tex2html515"
HREF="node9.html">
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html513"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html507"
HREF="node7.html">
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
<BR>
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html516"
HREF="node9.html">Lyrics</A>
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html514"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html508"
HREF="node7.html">Riffs</A></DIV>
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
<ADDRESS>
bob
2010-11-07
</ADDRESS>
</BODY>
</HTML>