<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
<!--Converted with LaTeX2HTML 2002-2-1 (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>Lyrics</TITLE>
<META NAME="description" CONTENT="Lyrics">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="mma">
<META NAME="resource-type" CONTENT="document">
<META NAME="distribution" CONTENT="global">
<META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="LaTeX2HTML v2002-2-1">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Style-Type" CONTENT="text/css">
<LINK REL="STYLESHEET" HREF="mma.css">
<LINK REL="next" HREF="node10.html">
<LINK REL="previous" HREF="node8.html">
<LINK REL="up" HREF="mma.html">
<LINK REL="next" HREF="node10.html">
</HEAD>
<BODY bgcolor="#ffffff">
<!--Navigation Panel-->
<A NAME="tex2html447"
HREF="node10.html">
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html445"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html439"
HREF="node8.html">
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
<BR>
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html448"
HREF="node10.html">Solo and Melody Tracks</A>
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html446"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html440"
HREF="node8.html">Musical Data Format</A>
<BR>
<BR>
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
<!--Table of Child-Links-->
<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html449"
HREF="node9.html#SECTION00910000000000000000">Lyric Options</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html450"
HREF="node9.html#SECTION00911000000000000000">Event Type</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html451"
HREF="node9.html#SECTION00912000000000000000">Word Splitting</A>
</UL>
<BR>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html452"
HREF="node9.html#SECTION00920000000000000000">Chord Name Insertion</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html453"
HREF="node9.html#SECTION00921000000000000000">Chord Tranposition</A>
</UL>
<BR>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html454"
HREF="node9.html#SECTION00930000000000000000">Setting Lyrics</A>
<UL>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html455"
HREF="node9.html#SECTION00931000000000000000">Limitations</A>
</UL></UL>
<!--End of Table of Child-Links-->
<HR>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00900000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="sec-lyrics"></A>
<BR>
Lyrics
</H1>
<P>
MIDI files can include song lyrics. And some MIDI players or
sequencers can display them as a file is played. Some, but not all.
<P>
I'm not aware of any keyboards which display lyrics; and most Linux
based players do not display them. Exceptions to the rule are the
programs <I>Kmid</I> which displays and highlights lyrics almost in a
Karaoke manner, <I>xplaymidi</I> and <I>timidity</I> which display the
lyrics in a secondary panel.
<P>
With this qualifier out of the way, there really is no reason for
lyrics NOT to be useful in a program like
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> . Singers do not want
a melody playing while they are vocalizing (really, they are no
different in this than any other instrumentalist). And some
platforms<A NAME="tex2html36"
HREF="#foot3444"><SUP>9.1</SUP></A> other than Linux support lyric display in a more
useful format.
<P>
The ``Standard MIDI File'' document describes a <I>Lyric</I> Meta-event:
<P>
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>FF 05 len text <I>Lyric</I>.</B> A lyric to be sung.
Generally, each syllable will be a separate lyric event which begins
at the event's time.<A NAME="tex2html37"
HREF="#foot3448"><SUP>9.2</SUP></A></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<P>
Unfortunately, not all players and creators follow the
specification--the most notable exception are ``.kar'' files. These
files eschew the <I>Lyric</I> event and place their lyrics as a
<I>Text Event</I>. There are programs strewn on the net which convert
between the two formats (but I really don't know if
conversion is needed).
<P>
If you want to read the word from the source, refer to the official
MIDI lyrics documentation at
<TT><A NAME="tex2html38"
HREF="http://www.midi.org/about-midi/smf/rp017.shtml">http://www.midi.org/about-midi/smf/rp017.shtml</A></TT>.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00910000000000000000">
Lyric Options</A>
</H1>
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> has a number of options in setting lyrics. They are all called
via the L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL> command. Most options are set as option/setting
pairs with the option name and the setting joined with an ``=''.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00911000000000000000">
Event Type</A>
</H2>
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> supports both format for lyrics (discussed above). The
EVENT option is used to select the desired mode.
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric EVENT=LYRIC </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
selects the default L<SMALL>YRIC </SMALL>E<SMALL>VENT</SMALL> mode.
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric EVENT=TEXT </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
selects the T<SMALL>EXT </SMALL>E<SMALL>VENT</SMALL> mode. Use of this option also prints a
warning message.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00912000000000000000">
Word Splitting</A>
</H2>
<P>
Another option controlled by the L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL> command is to determine
the method used to split words. As mentioned earlier (and in various
MIDI documents), the lyrics should be split into syllables.
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> does
this by taking each word (anything with white space surrounding it)
and setting a MIDI event for that. However, depending on your player,
you might want only one event per bar. You might even want to put the
lyrics for several bars into one event. In this case simply set the
``bar at a time'' flag:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric SPLIT=BAR </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
You can return to normal (syllable/word) mode at anytime with:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric SPLIT=NORMAL </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00920000000000000000">
Chord Name Insertion</A>
</H1>
<P>
It is possible to have
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> duplicate the current chord names and
insert them as a lyrics. The option:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric CHORDS=On </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
will enable this. In this mode the chord line is parsed and inserted
as verse one into each bar.
<P>
The mode is enabled with ``On'' or ``1'' and disabled with ``Off'' or
``0''.
<P>
After the chords are extracted they are treated exactly like a verse
you have entered as to word splitting, etc. Note that the special
chord ``z'' is converted to ``N.C.'' and directives after the ``z'' in
constructs like ``C7zCS'' will appear with only the chord name.
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00921000000000000000">
Chord Tranposition</A>
</H2>
<P>
If you are transposing a piece or if you with to display the chords
for a guitar with a cappo you can tell
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> to transpose the chord
names inserted with C<SMALL>HORDS=</SMALL>O<SMALL>N</SMALL>. Just add a transpose directive
in the L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL> command:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric CHORDS=On Transpose=2 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
Please note that the Lyrics code does <I>not</I> look at the global
T<SMALL>RANSPOSE</SMALL> setting.<A NAME="tex2html39"
HREF="#foot3474"><SUP>9.3</SUP></A>
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> isn't too smart in it's transposition and will often display the
``wrong'' chord names in relation to ``sharp'' and ``flat'' names. If
you find that you are getting too many ``wrong'' names, try setting
the CN<SMALL>AMES</SMALL> option to either ``Sharp'' or ``Flat''. Another
example:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric CHORDS=On Transpose=2 CNames=Flat </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
By default, the ``flat'' setting is used. In addition to ``Flat'' and
``Sharp'' you can use the abbreviations ``#'', ``b'' and ``SPMamp;''.
<P>
You can (and may well need to) change the CN<SMALL>AMES</SMALL> setting
anywhere in the song.
<P>
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00930000000000000000">
Setting Lyrics</A>
</H1>
<P>
Adding a lyric to your song is a simple matter ...and like so many
things, there is more than one way to do it.
<P>
Lyrics can be set for a bar in-between a pair of <B>[]</B>s
somewhere in a data bar.<A NAME="tex2html40"
HREF="#foot3480"><SUP>9.4</SUP></A> For
example:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>z [ Pardon ]
<BR>
C [ me, If I'm ]
<BR>
E7 [ sentimental, \r]
<BR>
C [when we say good ] </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
The alternate method is to use the L<SMALL>YRIC </SMALL>S<SMALL>ET</SMALL> directive:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric Set Hello Young Lovers </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
Unlike the other L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL> options, the S<SMALL>ET</SMALL> option must be
the last one on a line, and it does not use the ``='' sign. If you are
setting the lyric for a single verse the <B>[]</B>s are optional;
however, for multiple verses they are used (just like they are when
you include the lyric in a data/chord line). The advantage to using
L<SMALL>YRIC </SMALL>S<SMALL>ET</SMALL> is that you can specify multiple bars of lyrics at
one point in your file. See the sample file <TT><B>egs/lyrics.mma</B></TT> for
an example.
<P>
The lyrics for each bar are separated into individual events, one for
each word ...unless the option S<SMALL>PLIT=</SMALL>B<SMALL>AR</SMALL> has been used, in
which case the entire lyric is placed at the offset corresponding to
the start of the bar.
<P>
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> recognizes two special characters in a L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL>:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>A <B> \r</B> is converted into an EOL character (hex
value 0x0D). A <B> \r</B> should appear at the end of each
lyrical line.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>A <B> \n</B> is converted into a LF character (hex
value 0x0A). A <B> \n</B> should appear at the end of each
verse or paragraph.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
When a multi-verse section is created using a R<SMALL>EPEAT</SMALL> or
G<SMALL>OTO</SMALL>, different lyrics can be specified for different passes.
In this case you simply specify two more sets of lyrics:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>A / Am / [First verse] [Second Verse] </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
However, for this work properly you must set the internal counter
L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL>V<SMALL>ERSE</SMALL> for any verse other than 1. This counter is set with
the command:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric Verse=Value | INC | DEC </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
This means that you can directly set the value (the default value is
1) with a command like:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric Verse=2 </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
And you can increment or decrement the value with the INC and
DEC options. This is handy at to use in repeat sections:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Lyric Verse=Inc </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
You cannot set the value to a value less than 1.
<P>
There are a couple of special cases:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>If there is only one set of lyrics in a line, it will be treated
as text for verse 1, regardless of the value of L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL>V<SMALL>ERSE</SMALL>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>If the value of L<SMALL>YRIC</SMALL>V<SMALL>ERSE</SMALL> is greater than the number of
verses found after splitting the line, then no lyrics are produced.
In most cases this is probably not what you want.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<P>
At times you may wish to override
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> 's method of determining the
beat offsets for a lyric or a single syllable in a lyric. You can
specify the beat in the bar by enclosing the value in ``<IMG
WIDTH="33" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="MIDDLE" BORDER="0"
SRC="img2.png"
ALT="$< >$">''
brackets. For example, suppose that your song starts with a pickup bar
and you'd like the lyrics for the first bar to start on beat 4:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>z z z C [ <4>Hello ]
<BR>
F [ Young lovers ] </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
Assuming <B>4/4</B> the above would put the word ``Hello'' at beat
4 of the first bar; ``Young'' on the first beat of bar 2; and
``lovers'' on beat 3 of bar 2.
<P>
Note: there must not be a space inside the ``<IMG
WIDTH="33" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="MIDDLE" BORDER="0"
SRC="img2.png"
ALT="$< >$">'', nor can there be
a space between the bracket and the syllable it applies to.
<P>
Only the first ``<IMG
WIDTH="33" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="MIDDLE" BORDER="0"
SRC="img2.png"
ALT="$< >$">'' is checked. So, if you really want to have
the characters ``<IMG
WIDTH="19" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="MIDDLE" BORDER="0"
SRC="img3.png"
ALT="$<$">'' or ``<IMG
WIDTH="19" HEIGHT="33" ALIGN="MIDDLE" BORDER="0"
SRC="img4.png"
ALT="$>$">'' in a lyric just include a dummy to
keep
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> happy:
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>C [ <><Verse_1.>This is a Demo ] </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
<P>
<A HREF="#eg:twk">This example</A> <A NAME="tex2html41"
HREF="#foot3545"><SUP>9.5</SUP></A> shows a complete
song with lyrics. You should also examine the file
<TT><B>egs/lyrics.mma</B></TT> for an alternate example.
<P>
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="#efefef" Border=3>
<tr><td Align="CENTER" BGColor="White">
<B><FONT SIZE="+2">Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star</FONT></B> <A NAME="eg:twk"></A>
</tr> </td>
<tr> <td >
<Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
<tr><td>
<B>Tempo 200
<BR>
Groove Folk
<BR>
Repeat
<BR> 1 G [Twinkle,] [When the]
<BR> 2 G [Twinkle] [blazing ]
<BR> 3 C [little] [sun is]
<BR> 4 G [star; \r] [gone, \r]
<BR> 5 Am [How I] [When he ]
<BR> 6 G [wonder] [nothing]
<BR> 7 D7 [what you] [shines u-]
<BR> 8 G [are. \r] [pon. \r]
<BR> 9 G [Up a-] [then you]
<BR> 10 D7 [bove the] [show your]
<BR> 11 G [world so] [little]
<BR> 12 D [high, \r] [light, \r]
<BR> 13 G [Like a] [Twinkle, ]
<BR> 14 D7 [diamond] [twinkle,]
<BR> 15 G [in the] [all the]
<BR> 16 D7 [sky! \r] [night. \r]
<BR> 17 G [Twinkle,]
<BR> 18 G [twinkle]
<BR> 19 C [Little]
<BR> 20 G [star, \r]
<BR> 21 Am [How I]
<BR> 22 G [wonder]
<BR> 23 D7 [what you]
<BR> 24 G [are. \r \n]
<BR>
<BR> Lyric Verse=Inc
<BR>
RepeatEnd </B>
</td></tr>
</Table>
</td> </tr>
</Table>
<P>
<P>
<H2><A NAME="SECTION00931000000000000000">
Limitations</A>
</H2>
<P>
A few combinations are not permitted:
<P>
<UL>
<LI>You cannot specify lyrics in bars that are being repeated with
the ``*'' option.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>You cannot insert lyrics with L<SMALL>YRIC </SMALL>S<SMALL>ET</SMALL> and [<SMALL>STUFF]</SMALL>.
<P>
</LI>
</UL>
<BR><HR><H4>Footnotes</H4>
<DL>
<DT><A NAME="foot3444">...
platforms</A><A
HREF="node9.html#tex2html36"><SUP>9.1</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>Pointers and reviews to other players would be
would appreciated.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot3448">... time.</A><A
HREF="node9.html#tex2html37"><SUP>9.2</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>I am quoting from ``MIDI
Documentation'' distributed with the TSE Library. Pete Goodliffe,
Oct. 21, 1999. Page 41.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot3474">... setting.</A><A
HREF="node9.html#tex2html39"><SUP>9.3</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>This is a feature! It permits you
to have separate control over music generation and chord symbol
display.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot3480">... bar.</A><A
HREF="node9.html#tex2html40"><SUP>9.4</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>Although the lyric can be placed
anywhere in the bar, it is recommended that you only place the lyric at
the end of the bar. All the examples follow this style.
</DD>
<DT><A NAME="foot3545">...eg:twk </A><A
HREF="node9.html#tex2html41"><SUP>9.5</SUP></A></DT>
<DD>Included in
this distribution as <TT><B>songs/twinkle.mma</B></TT>.
</DD>
</DL><HR>
<!--Navigation Panel-->
<A NAME="tex2html447"
HREF="node10.html">
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html445"
HREF="mma.html">
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
<A NAME="tex2html439"
HREF="node8.html">
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
<BR>
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html448"
HREF="node10.html">Solo and Melody Tracks</A>
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html446"
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html440"
HREF="node8.html">Musical Data Format</A>
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
<ADDRESS>
bob
2007-03-07
</ADDRESS>
</BODY>
</HTML>