<!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>Overview and Introduction</TITLE>
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="Overview and Introduction">
<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="node2.html">
<LINK REL="previous" HREF="mma.html">
<LINK REL="up" HREF="mma.html">
<LINK REL="next" HREF="node2.html">
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV CLASS="navigation"><!--Navigation Panel-->
<A NAME="tex2html393"
HREF="node2.html">
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html391"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html385"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
<BR>
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html394"
HREF="node2.html">Running</A>
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html392"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html386"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</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="tex2html395"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00110000000000000000">License, Version and Legalities</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html396"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00120000000000000000">About this Manual</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html397"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00121000000000000000">Typographic Conventions</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html398"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00122000000000000000"><SPAN CLASS="logo,LaTeX">L<SUP><SMALL>A</SMALL></SUP>T<SMALL>E</SMALL>X</SPAN> and HTML</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html399"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00123000000000000000">Other Documentation</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html400"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00124000000000000000">Music Notation</A>
</UL>
<BR>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html401"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00130000000000000000">Installing
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> </A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html402"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00140000000000000000">Running
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> </A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html403"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00150000000000000000">Comments</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html404"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00160000000000000000">Theory Of Operation</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html405"
HREF="node1.html#SECTION00170000000000000000">Case Sensitivity</A>
</UL>
<!--End of Table of Child-Links-->
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00100000000000000000">
Overview and Introduction</A>
</H1>
<P>
<SPAN CLASS="textit">Musical MIDI Accompaniment</SPAN>,
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> ,<A NAME="tex2html1"
HREF="#foot219"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A> generates standard
MIDI<A NAME="tex2html2"
HREF="#foot220"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">2</SPAN></SUP></A> files which can be used as a backup track for a soloist.
It was written especially for me--I am an aspiring saxophonist and
wanted a program to “play” the piano and drums so I could practice
my jazz solos. With
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> I can create a track based on the chords in
a song, transpose it to the correct key for my instrument, and play my
very bad improvisations until they get a bit better.
<P>
I also lead a small combo group which is always missing at least one
player. With
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> generated tracks the group can practice and perform even
if a rhythm player is missing. This all works much better than I
expected when I started to write the program ... so much better
that I have used
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> generated tracks for live performances with great
success.
<P>
Around the world musicians are using
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> for practice, performance
and in their studios. Much more than ever imagined when this project was started!
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00110000000000000000">
License, Version and Legalities</A>
</H1>
<P>
The program
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> was written by and is copyright Robert van der Poel,
2002--2010.
<P>
This program, the accompanying documentation, and library files can be
freely distributed according to the terms of the GNU General Public
License (see the distributed file “COPYING”).
<P>
If you enjoy the program, make enhancements, find bugs, etc. send a
note to me at
<A HREF="mailto:bob@mellowood.ca"> Bob van der Poel </A>; or a postcard (or even money) to PO Box 57,
Wynndel, BC, Canada V0B 2N0.
<P>
The current version of this package is maintained at: <TT><A NAME="tex2html3"
HREF="http://www.mellowood.ca/mma/">http://www.mellowood.ca/mma/</A></TT>.
<P>
This document reflects version 1.7
of
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> .
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
<Table CellSpacing=0 Width="80%" Align="Center" CellPadding=10 BGColor="#dddddd" Border=3>
<tr> <td>
<BR>
<BR><SPAN CLASS="textit">This program
has recently changed its status from beta to a 1.x version.
I have done everything I can to ensure that the program functions
as advertised, but I assume no responsibility for <SPAN CLASS="textbf">anything</SPAN>
it does to your computer or data.</SPAN>
</DIV>
<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
<BR>
<BR>
</DIV>
<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">Sorry for this disclaimer, but we live in paranoid times.
</DIV>
<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
<BR>
<BR>
</DIV>
<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">This manual most likely has lots of errors. Spelling, grammar, and
probably a number of the examples need fixing. Please give me a hand
and report anything ... it'll make it much easier for me to
generate a really good product for all of us to enjoy.
</td></tr>
</Table>
</DIV>
<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
<BR>
<BR>
</DIV>
<P>
<DIV ALIGN="CENTER">
</DIV>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00120000000000000000">
About this Manual</A>
</H1>
<P>
This manual was written by the program author--and this is always a
very bad idea. But, having no volunteers, the choice is no manual at
all or my bad perspectives.<A NAME="tex2html4"
HREF="#foot260"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">3</SPAN></SUP></A>
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> is a large and complex program. It really does need a manual;
and users really need to refer to the manual to get the most out of
the program. Even the author frequently refers to the manual. Really.
<P>
I have tried to present the various commands in a logical and useful
order. The table of contents should point you quickly to the relevant
sections.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00121000000000000000">
Typographic Conventions</A>
</H2>
<P>
<UL>
<LI>The name of the program is always set in the special logo type:
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> .
<P>
</LI>
<LI>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> commands and directives are set in small caps:
D<SMALL>IRECTIVE</SMALL>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Important stuff is emphasized: <SPAN CLASS="textit">important</SPAN>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Websites look like this: <TT><A NAME="tex2html5"
HREF="http://www.mellowood.ca/mma/index.html">http://www.mellowood.ca/mma/index.html</A></TT>
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Filenames are set in bold typewriter font: <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">filename.mma</SPAN></TT>
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Lines extracted from a
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> input file are set on individual
lines:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>A command from a file </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Commands you should type from a shell prompt (or other operating
system interface) have a leading <TT>$</TT> (to indicate a shell
prompt) and are shown on separate lines:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>$ enter this </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00122000000000000000">
<SPAN CLASS="logo,LaTeX">L<SUP><SMALL>A</SMALL></SUP>T<SMALL>E</SMALL>X</SPAN> and HTML</A>
</H2>
<P>
The manual has been prepared with the <SPAN CLASS="logo,LaTeX">L<SUP><SMALL>A</SMALL></SUP>T<SMALL>E</SMALL>X</SPAN> typesetting system.
Currently, there are two versions available: the primary version is a
PDF file intended for printing or on-screen display (generated with
<TT>dvipdf</TT>); the secondary version is in HTML (transformed with
<SPAN CLASS="logo,LaTeX2HTML">L<SUP><SMALL>A</SMALL></SUP>T<SMALL>E</SMALL>X2<TT>HTML</TT></SPAN>) for electronic viewing. If other formats are needed
... please offer to volunteer.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00123000000000000000">
Other Documentation</A>
</H2>
<P>
In addition to this document the following other items are recommended
reading:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>The standard library documentation supplied with this document
in PDF and HTML formats.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>The
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> tutorial supplied with this document in pdf and html
formats.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Various <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">README</SPAN></TT> files in the distribution.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>The Python source files.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00124000000000000000">
Music Notation</A>
</H2>
<P>
The various snippets of standard music notation in this manual have
been prepared with the MUP program. I highly recommend this program
and use it for most of my notation tasks. MUP is available from Arkkra
Enterprises, <TT><A NAME="tex2html6"
HREF="http://www.Arkkra.com/">http://www.Arkkra.com/</A></TT>.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00130000000000000000">
Installing
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> </A>
</H1>
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> is a Python program developed with version 2.4 of Python. At the
very least you will need this version (or later) of Python! Please
note:
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> does not work with version 3.x of Python.
<P>
To play the MIDI files you'll need a MIDI player. Pmidi, tse3play, and
many others are available for Linux systems. For Windows and Mac
systems I'm sure there are many, many choices.
<P>
You'll need a text editor like <SPAN CLASS="textit">vi</SPAN>, <SPAN CLASS="textit">emacs</SPAN>, etc. to create
input files. Don't use a word processor!
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> consists of a variety of bits and pieces:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>The executable Python script, <TT>mma</TT>,<A NAME="tex2html7"
HREF="#foot377"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">4</SPAN></SUP></A> must somewhere in your
path. For users running Windows or Mac, please check
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> website
for details on how to install on these systems. As distributed the
file “mma.py” (and, when installed) “mma” are executable scripts
with the correct permissions already set (this has no effect for Windows).
<P>
</LI>
<LI>A number of Python modules (all are files ending in
“.py”). These should all be installed under the directory
<TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">/usr/local/share/mma/MMA</SPAN></TT>. See the enclosed file
<TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">INSTALL</SPAN></TT> for some additional commentary.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>A number of library files defining standard rhythms. These
should all be installed under the directory
<TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">/usr/local/share/mma/lib/stdlib</SPAN></TT>. In addition, the library
files depend on files in <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">/usr/local/share/mma/includes</SPAN></TT>.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
The scripts <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">cp-install</SPAN></TT> or <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">ln-install</SPAN></TT> will install
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> properly on most Linux systems. Both scripts assume that main script
is to be installed in <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">/usr/local/bin</SPAN></TT> and the support files in
<TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">/usr/local/share/mma</SPAN></TT>. If you want an alternate location, you
can edit the paths in the script. The only supported alternate to use
is <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">/usr/share/mma</SPAN></TT>.
<P>
The difference between the two scripts is that <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">ln-install</SPAN></TT> creates
symbolic links to the current location; <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">cp-install</SPAN></TT> copies the files.
Which to use it up to you, but if you have unpacked the distribution in
a stable location it is probably easier to use the link version.
<P>
In addition, you <SPAN CLASS="textit">can</SPAN> run
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> from the directory created by
the untar. This is not recommended, but will show some of
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> 's
stuff. In this case you'll have to execute the program file
<TT>mma.py</TT>.
<P>
You should be “root” (or at least, you need write permissions in
<TT>/usr/local/</TT>) to run either install script. Use the “su” or
“sudo” command for this.
<P>
If you want to install
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> on a platform other than Linux, please get the
latest updates from our website at <TT><A NAME="tex2html8"
HREF="www.mellowood.ca/mma">www.mellowood.ca/mma</A></TT>.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00140000000000000000">
Running
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> </A>
</H1>
<P>
For details on the command line operations in
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>
<A HREF="node2.html#sec-running">see the "running" section</A>.
<P>
To create a MIDI file you need to:
<P>
<OL>
<LI>Create a text file (also referred to as the “input file”) with
instructions which
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> understands. This includes the chord
structure of the song, the rhythm to use, the tempo, etc. The file
can be created with any suitable text editor.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Process the input file. From a command line the instruction:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>$ mma myfile <ENTER> </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
will invoke
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> and, assuming no errors are found, create a MIDI
file <TT><SPAN CLASS="textbf">myfile.mid</SPAN></TT>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Play the MIDI file with any suitable MIDI player.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Edit the input file again and again until you get the perfect
track.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Share any patterns, sequences and grooves with the author so
they can be included in future releases!
</LI>
</OL>
<P>
An input file consists of the following information:
<P>
<OL>
<LI>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> directives. These include T<SMALL>EMPO</SMALL>, T<SMALL>IME</SMALL>,
V<SMALL>OLUME</SMALL>, etc. <A HREF="node24.html#sec-directives">Directives</A>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>P<SMALL>ATTERN</SMALL>, S<SMALL>EQUENCE</SMALL> and G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL> detailed in
<A HREF="node4.html#sec-pats">Patterns</A>,
<A HREF="node5.html#sec-seqs">Sequences</A>, and
<A HREF="node6.html#sec-grooves">Grooves</A>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Music information. See <A HREF="node8.html#sec-music">Musical
Data</A>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Comment lines and blank lines. See below.
<P>
</LI>
</OL>
<P>
Items 1 to 3 are detailed later in this manual. Please read them
before you get too involved in this program.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00150000000000000000">
Comments</A>
</H1>
<P>
Proper indentation, white space and comments are a
<SPAN CLASS="textit">good thing</SPAN>--and you really should use them. But, in most cases
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> really doesn't care:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>Any leading space or tab characters are ignored,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Multiple tabs and other white space are treated as single
characters,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Any blank lines in the input file are ignored.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
Each line is initially parsed for comments. A comment is anything
following a “//” (2 forward slashes).<A NAME="tex2html9"
HREF="#foot345"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">5</SPAN></SUP></A>
<P>
Comments are stripped from the input stream. Lines starting with the
C<SMALL>OMMENT</SMALL> directive are also ignored. See the
<A HREF="node24.html#comment">comment discussion</A> for details.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00160000000000000000">
Theory Of Operation</A>
</H1>
<P>
To understand how
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> works it's easiest to look at the initial
development concept. Initially, a program was wanted which would take
a file which looked something like:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo 120
<BR>
Fm
<BR>
C7
<BR> ...</B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
and end up with a MIDI file which played the specified chords over a
drum track.
<P>
Of course, after starting this “simple” project a lot of
complexities developed.
<P>
First, the chord/bar specifications. Just having a single chord per
bar doesn't work--many songs have more than one chord per bar.
Second, what is the rhythm of the chords? What about bass line? Oh,
and where is the drummer?
<P>
Well, things got more complex after that. At a bare minimum, the
program or interface should have the ability to:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>Specify multiple chords per bar,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Define different patterns for chords, bass lines and
drum tracks,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Have easy to create and debug input files,
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Provide a reusable library that a user could simply plug in, or
modify.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
From these simple needs
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> was created.
<P>
The basic building blocks of
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> are P<SMALL>ATTERN</SMALL>s. A pattern is a
specification which tells
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> what notes of a chord to play, the
start point in a bar for the chord/notes, and the duration and the
volume of the notes.
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> patterns are combined into S<SMALL>EQUENCE</SMALL>s. This lets you
create multi-bar rhythms.
<P>
A collection of patterns can be saved and recalled as G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL>s.
This makes it easy to pre-define complex rhythms in library files and
incorporate them into your song with a simple two word command.
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> is bar or measure based (we use the words interchangeably in
this document). This means that
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> processes your song one bar at a
time. The music specification lines all assume that you are specifying
a single bar of music. The number of beats per bar can be adjusted;
however, all chord changes must fall on a beat division (the playing
of the chord or drum note can occur anywhere in the bar).
<P>
To make the input files look more musical,
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> supports
R<SMALL>EPEAT</SMALL>s and R<SMALL>EPEAT</SMALL>E<SMALL>NDING</SMALL>s. However, complexities like
<SPAN CLASS="textit">D.S.</SPAN> and <SPAN CLASS="textit">Coda</SPAN> are not internally supported (but can be
created by using the G<SMALL>OTO</SMALL> command).
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00170000000000000000">
Case Sensitivity</A>
</H1>
<P>
Just about everything in a
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> file is case insensitive.
<P>
This means that the command:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo 120 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
could be entered in your file as:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>TEMPO 120 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
or even
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>TeMpO 120 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
for the exact same results.
<P>
Names for patterns, and grooves are also case insensitive.
<P>
The only exceptions are the names for chords, notes in S<SMALL>OLO</SMALL>s,
and filenames. In keeping with standard chord notation, chord names
are in mixed case; this is detailed in <A HREF="node8.html#sec-music">Musical
Data</A>. Filenames are covered in
<A HREF="node27.html#sec-paths">Paths and Filenames</A>.
<P>
<BR><HR><H4>Footnotes</H4>
<DL>
<DT><A NAME="foot219">...,</A><A
HREF="node1.html#tex2html1"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>Musical MIDI
Accompaniment and the short form
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> in the distinctive script are
names for a program written by Bob van der Poel. The “MIDI
Manufacturers Association, Inc.” uses the acronym MMA, but there is
no association between the two.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot220">...
MIDI</A><A
HREF="node1.html#tex2html2"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">2</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>MIDI is an acronym for Musical Instrument Digital
Interface.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot260">... perspectives.</A><A
HREF="node1.html#tex2html4"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">3</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>The problem, all humor aside, is
that the viewpoints of a program's author and user are quite
different. The two “see” problems and solutions differently, and for
a user manual the programmer's view is not the best.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot377">...mma,</A><A
HREF="node1.html#tex2html7"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">4</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>In the
distribution this is <TT>mma.py</TT>. It is renamed to save a few
keystrokes when entering the command.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot345">... slashes).</A><A
HREF="node1.html#tex2html9"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">5</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>The first choice for
a comment character was a single “#”, but that sign is used for
“sharps” in chord notation.
</DD>
</DL>
<DIV CLASS="navigation"><HR>
<!--Navigation Panel-->
<A NAME="tex2html393"
HREF="node2.html">
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html391"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html385"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
<BR>
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html394"
HREF="node2.html">Running</A>
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html392"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html386"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A></DIV>
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
<ADDRESS>
bob
2010-11-07
</ADDRESS>
</BODY>
</HTML>