mirror of
https://github.com/microtherion/VocalEasel.git
synced 2024-12-23 03:34:00 +00:00
476 lines
11 KiB
HTML
476 lines
11 KiB
HTML
<!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>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 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="node9.html">
|
|
<LINK REL="previous" HREF="node7.html">
|
|
<LINK REL="up" HREF="mma.html">
|
|
<LINK REL="next" HREF="node9.html">
|
|
</HEAD>
|
|
|
|
<BODY bgcolor="#ffffff">
|
|
<!--Navigation Panel-->
|
|
<A NAME="tex2html420"
|
|
HREF="node9.html">
|
|
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
|
|
<A NAME="tex2html418"
|
|
HREF="mma.html">
|
|
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
|
|
<A NAME="tex2html412"
|
|
HREF="node7.html">
|
|
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
|
|
<BR>
|
|
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html421"
|
|
HREF="node9.html">Lyrics</A>
|
|
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html419"
|
|
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
|
|
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html413"
|
|
HREF="node7.html">Riffs</A>
|
|
<BR>
|
|
<BR>
|
|
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
|
|
<!--Table of Child-Links-->
|
|
<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>
|
|
|
|
<UL>
|
|
<LI><A NAME="tex2html422"
|
|
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00810000000000000000">Bar Numbers</A>
|
|
<LI><A NAME="tex2html423"
|
|
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00820000000000000000">Bar Repeat</A>
|
|
<LI><A NAME="tex2html424"
|
|
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00830000000000000000">Chords</A>
|
|
<LI><A NAME="tex2html425"
|
|
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00840000000000000000">Rests</A>
|
|
<LI><A NAME="tex2html426"
|
|
HREF="node8.html#SECTION00850000000000000000">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,
|
|
|
|
<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 ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>[num] Chord [Chord ...] [lyric] [solo] [* Factor] </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
As you can see, all that is really needed is a single chord. So, the line:
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<TABLE ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Cm </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
is completely valid. As is:
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<TABLE ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>10 Cm Dm Em Fm * 4 </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
The optional solo or melody data is enclosed in ``{ }''. The
|
|
complete format and use is detailed in the <A HREF="node10.html#chap-solo">Solo and
|
|
Melody Tracks</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.
|
|
|
|
<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 ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>1 Cm * 4
|
|
<BR>
|
|
2
|
|
<BR>
|
|
3
|
|
<BR>
|
|
4
|
|
<BR>
|
|
5 A </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</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
|
|
<B>multiplier</B> 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 ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Cm / Dm / * 4 </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</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 ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Cm Dm Em Fm </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
specifies four different chords in a bar. It should be obvious by now
|
|
that in a piece in <B>4/4</B> 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 ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Cm </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
and
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<TABLE ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Cm Cm Cm Cm </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</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 ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Cm / Dm / </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</TD></TR></TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
is the same as
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<TABLE ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Cm Cm Dm Dm </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</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.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<FONT Face="Serif" Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> recognizes a wide variety of chords in standard notation. In
|
|
addition, you can specify slash chords and shift the octave up or
|
|
down. Refer to the complete table in the appendix for
|
|
<A HREF="node26.html#sec-chordname">details</A>.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<H1><A NAME="SECTION00840000000000000000">
|
|
Rests</A>
|
|
</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'' or ``Bass'' tracks as well by appending a track
|
|
specifier to the ``z''. Track specifiers are the single letters ``C'',
|
|
``A'', ``S'', ``W'', ``B'' 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>!
|
|
<DD>All tracks (almost the same as DWBCA, 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>PREGGIO</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 ALIGN="CENTER" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=5 BGCOLOR="OldLace" BORDER=3>
|
|
<TR> <TD>
|
|
|
|
<BLOCKQUOTE><B>Fm z G7zC CmzD </B></BLOCKQUOTE>
|
|
|
|
</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
|
|
``zABCDW'', 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">
|
|
Case Sensitivity</A>
|
|
</H1>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
In direct conflict with the rest of the rules for input files, all
|
|
chord names <B>are</B> case sensitive. This means that you <B>can
|
|
not</B> 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 <B>not</B> work!
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<HR>
|
|
<!--Navigation Panel-->
|
|
<A NAME="tex2html420"
|
|
HREF="node9.html">
|
|
<IMG WIDTH="37" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="next" SRC="next.png"></A>
|
|
<A NAME="tex2html418"
|
|
HREF="mma.html">
|
|
<IMG WIDTH="26" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="up" SRC="up.png"></A>
|
|
<A NAME="tex2html412"
|
|
HREF="node7.html">
|
|
<IMG WIDTH="63" HEIGHT="24" ALIGN="BOTTOM" BORDER="0" ALT="previous" SRC="prev.png"></A>
|
|
<BR>
|
|
<B> Next:</B> <A NAME="tex2html421"
|
|
HREF="node9.html">Lyrics</A>
|
|
<B> Up:</B> <A NAME="tex2html419"
|
|
HREF="mma.html">Reference Manual</A>
|
|
<B> Previous:</B> <A NAME="tex2html413"
|
|
HREF="node7.html">Riffs</A>
|
|
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
|
|
<ADDRESS>
|
|
Bob
|
|
2006-10-15
|
|
</ADDRESS>
|
|
</BODY>
|
|
</HTML>
|