Does anyone actually use ABC format?

[Whitmores75087]

I mean, does anyone use ABC format in the same way most people use dotty sheet music? Do you read it to learn a tune? Read it to help you through a tune you're not too strong on?
I've seen people pull out sheetmusic at a session. I do it sometimes. But I've never seen ABC come out.

[colomon]

I can sightread (reasonably clean) ABC at about half-speed. But about the only time I would ever do that is when someone posts ABC on IRTrad and I want to play it now rather than take the minute or two to print it out as sheet music.

I do use ABC for all of my own tunes...

[BillChin]

ABC's big advantage is that it is ASCII. That means tiny files sizes, easy to email, easy to type, requires no special software to type in, and with the concertina conversion site, easy to convert to sheet music for those that read the regular dots.

Almost no kids are taught ABC, so almost all that can sight read are more comfortable with regular sheet music. One sheet of paper can hold many more ABCs than dots, but those that pull them out probably don't travel light.

[s1m0n]

I can WRITE abc reasonably fluidly, but I don't sight read it.

[Jim McGuire]

I've seen people write out a tune as they are learning it in ABC format - way before the software programs - 25 years ago.

As was mentioned earlier, it allows easy input to the ABC software programs, so it becomes a portable, universal format. Written musical notation needs to be interpreted for input and that is not trouble free from errors. Once a tune is entered through ABC in the ABC program, normal musical notation is easily generated.

[RonKiley]

I sometimes get tunes in ABC but I always print them out as dots. I can read dots I never bothered to try to read ABC. I don't ever write ABC.

Ron

[Unseen122]

I can write a bit of ABC but that is it.

[n4vgm]

Check out the post by Tony Higgins on this thread. Some great ABC links.

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=35234

Bob Z.

[PhilO]

I use sheet music - I'm used to it and it helps me see the structure of a tune almost at a glance. I might use some bastardized version of ABC to write notes when I'm learning a tune by ear.

Philo

[TonyHiggins]

When I transcribe a tune from a cd (with or without using slow down software), I write it out in abc. I have whole notebook of tunes done that way. Once the tune is memorized, I tend not to look at it again.

I also have a file of 'Tunes to Learn.' When I hear a tune I really like somewhere, I find out the title and look it up in JC's Tunefinder and copy and past into that file. Eventually I get to it and learn it. The file is pretty big by now, so it's handy to paste a tune into the player to remember what it sounds like. Be warned that the transcriptions in abc databases are often watered down, somewhat uninteresting versions of tunes, but if that's your only source... Some examples are transcriptions of good versions from cd's.

Also, it's easy to write out a key changed version in abc. Like, you count up four notes if changing from d to g. (defg)

Like any printed music, I find the value in using it is to memorize the notes of a tune. Looking at the notes while I play along with the player software is a quick way for me to memorize. This would be a disastrous way to learn 'the music' but I have over 200 cd's of trad music that I listen to and that's where I go for the sound of a tune and Irish music in general. Using print music, whether dots or abc, is pretty useless by itself if you want to play Irish music and make it sound authentic. For that, you have to listen to the real thing. That dead horse has been beaten into the ground on many occasions on this board, but hey, what's one more time?
Tony

[chas]

Ditto most of the others. I can key a tune in in a couple of minutes using ABC, but can't read it in realtime. But I print out the dots and read them. If'n you don't wanna go to the trouble of getting an abc rendering program (there are quite a few good ones; I use Barfly on a Mac), you can always go to the Tune-o-tron.

[colomon]

ABC's big advantage is that it is ASCII. That means tiny files sizes, easy to email, easy to type, requires no special software to type in, and with the concertina conversion site, easy to convert to sheet music for those that read the regular dots.

Not to mention you can store the files in version control for safety, there are Perl modules to process them, there are loads of free programs that produce great looking output from them, and you can do lots of nice Unix-y things with them. Like setting up a script to automatically translate your ABC to Postscript, your Postscript to a PNG file, and then uploading the PNG file. (See, for instance, this autogenerated page.)

Now if I could just get my ABC program to handle coda signs...

[Cayden]

Almost no kids are taught ABC, so almost all that can sight read are more comfortable with regular sheet music. One sheet of paper can hold many more ABCs than dots, but those that pull them out probably don't travel light.

Don't be too quick saying that. 'ABC notation' is a very common form of notation in Ireland (as Jim was hinting at above), although not exactly the same as ABC notation as underrstood on the internet. It is used to transmit tunes widely and all the time.

In fact ALL local childeren read ABC here. I attach a page written by Brid Donohue for her classes. She has the children learn the tune by ear in class, phrase by phrase and once they have the tune they get a notation like this one when they go home, in case they loose a few notes. The system works just fine.

[breandan]

and there are over 5000 tunes in abc format at http://www.thesession.org

[Jon-M]

Another use for ABC is to plug into ABCMus so that you can actually hear a tune, however mechanically rendered, that you don't have on a recording.