Question re "ABC" notation

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 10:16 am

I've seen a lot of you use ABC notation, but I have no idea how to read it, let alone write it. Is there a website somewhere where one can learn the basics? It's always nice to know another way of jotting down a tune, especially as I don't always have staff paper handy (and drawing staves is NOT my idea of fun!).

Thanks,

Redwolf

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 10:25 am

http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/

I think you'll find all you need here, Redwolf.

lollycross · Post by **lollycross** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 10:38 am

Gee, that was quite a site. A little too much to learn there tho!!!
I think I will just wait until someone scores
out the tune to learn it, ha ha
Lolly

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: lollycross on 2002-07-22 12:38 ]</font>

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 10:52 am

There are utilities out there to turn ABC into sheet music... being a Linux user I use abc2ps, but there are many, many windows utilities. Having not used them I can't recommend any in particular, though.

So, if you don't want to learn to read ABC directly, get a free or shareware reader...
problem solved.

--Chris

SteveK · Post by **SteveK** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 11:17 am

If you have an ABC from the web you can copy it and paste it onto the converter at Concertinanet. You'll get sheet music provided the ABC properly follows the rules. If you want to learn to write ABC you can also use that to check your ABC as you go along.

http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html

Steve

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 2:07 pm

Other than professed love for rats, I don't know you well enough to sense your desire to learn new things. When it comes to computers, people differ wildly in their willingness to tackle new software. Some (usually young people) love it while others kick and scream. I fall somewhere in between. I learn what I have to but not much else. My life seems too short, ya know?

But I guarantee that once you climb the "learning curve" to figure out a usable abc system for your computer and printer, you will be happy that you did.

Its a great tool for acquiring, editing and sharing music. I posted lengthy note about how I use it , but mainly I put together my own sets of tunes, print em out and make pdfs for other Weekender.

John-N · Post by **John-N** » Mon Jul 22, 2002 3:07 pm

The defacto ABC editor for Windows is <a href="http://abc2win.com/">ABC2Win</a>.

I recommend the tool and I agree that the ABC notation is worth learning.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: John-N on 2002-07-22 17:08 ]</font>

ThorntonRose · Post by **ThorntonRose** » Tue Jul 23, 2002 6:19 am

ABC2Win is a good ABC tool, but I don't use it very often anymore. I use TextPad for editing, abc2ps (Windows version) for converting the ABC to PostScript, and ToastScript for viewing and printing PostScript. One of the main reasons that I switched to abc2ps is that handles lyrics better, particularly if you want them under the notes.

okverka · Post by **okverka** » Mon Jul 29, 2002 2:03 pm

I prefer runabc - it is a graphical user interface to text editor (I prefer Editplus) abc2ps, abc2midi, postcript viewer (Ghostscript) and midi file player (winamp with some plugins).
Rather complex to install, but very flexible, with the best possible printed notation sheets.
All available at:

http://ifdo.pugmarks.com/~seymour/runabc/runabc.html

also via ABC notation homepage:
http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/