Jim Vint's ABC2Win site at http://abc2win.com/ should give you most of the information you need to know. It's a fantastic tool for trad musicians as not only can you download tunes from the web and print them out in staff notation, but you can also exchange tunes with fellow musicians by e-mail using the attachment feature.
I'm pleased with my recent acquisition, Palm ABC (for palm pilots). Doesn't handle rolls well at all, but for the bones of
a tune -- can listen and learn them anywhere...
ABC is the folk music notation of the wired age. Many teachers in Ireland used some primitive ABC type notations long before they had computers because their students seemed to be afraid of "normal, i.e. tadpole" notation. Heck, I know people who read ABC better than treble clef.
A problem with ABC2Win, which is excellent for printing notation from ABC, is that it can only cope with the treble clef. There is apparently no provision for the viola clef, or the cello's tenor and bass clefs. To be sure, you can show the open C string of the viola in ABC as "C,", and this prints out in ABC2Win but only as a large and difficult-to-read number of ledger lines hanging off the stave. If you try going an octave lower to the open C of the cello standard ABC notation allows you to use "C,," - and ABCmus20 will actually play that note for you - but if you try to print "C,," as notation with ABC2Win all you get is middle C printed. I contacted ABC2Win some time ago on this and they said there were no plans to introduce other clefs.
Can anyone recommend alternative software that can print out ABC in notation using these other clefs?
ABC
ABC
Can anyone lead me to a site or page that explains the rules of this method ? I have noticed that a lot of material is written in this form.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by azo
Re: ABC
Jim Vint's ABC2Win site at http://abc2win.com/ should give you most of the information you need to know. It's a fantastic tool for trad musicians as not only can you download tunes from the web and print them out in staff notation, but you can also exchange tunes with fellow musicians by e-mail using the attachment feature.
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Bannerman
Re: ABC
I'm pleased with my recent acquisition, Palm ABC (for palm pilots). Doesn't handle rolls well at all, but for the bones of
a tune -- can listen and learn them anywhere...
# Posted on January 30th 2003 by Fsnockhart
Re: ABC
ABC is the folk music notation of the wired age. Many teachers in Ireland used some primitive ABC type notations long before they had computers because their students seemed to be afraid of "normal, i.e. tadpole" notation. Heck, I know people who read ABC better than treble clef.
# Posted on February 2nd 2003 by marathoner
Re: ABC
A problem with ABC2Win, which is excellent for printing notation from ABC, is that it can only cope with the treble clef. There is apparently no provision for the viola clef, or the cello's tenor and bass clefs. To be sure, you can show the open C string of the viola in ABC as "C,", and this prints out in ABC2Win but only as a large and difficult-to-read number of ledger lines hanging off the stave. If you try going an octave lower to the open C of the cello standard ABC notation allows you to use "C,," - and ABCmus20 will actually play that note for you - but if you try to print "C,," as notation with ABC2Win all you get is middle C printed. I contacted ABC2Win some time ago on this and they said there were no plans to introduce other clefs.
Can anyone recommend alternative software that can print out ABC in notation using these other clefs?
# Posted on February 2nd 2003 by lazyhound
Re: ABC
For Mac users there is a terrific shareware integrated text editor/player/viewer for abc music files.
http://www.barfly.dial.pipex.com
# Posted on February 3rd 2003 by rggately
Re: ABC
I forgot to mention that PC users can run it under Ardi's Executor
# Posted on February 3rd 2003 by rggately
Re: ABC
Thanks rg for that info! I'll have to get the Ardi Executor and play around with it. Don't see why the Macs should have all the goodies
# Posted on February 4th 2003 by lazyhound