The defining document for abc is the abc version 1.6 specification which can be found at http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc2mtex/abc.txt
. This document is a description of abc as interpreted by abc2midi.
An abc tune consists of a header followed by a body. Each line in theheader is a different field starting with a letter immediately followed by : and then the text of the field. The body of the tune contains linesof music, though it may also contain certain fields. The end of the tune ismarked by a blank line (so blank lines cannot appear within the tune headeror body).
Comments are allowed in both the header and the body. A comment starts with a % sign and continues to the end of the line. A comment may be on a line of its own or at the end of a line of abc.
X: is the reference number (each tune in a file should have a unique referencenumber). T: is the title of the tune, M: is the time signature, L: is theunit note length and K: is the key signature. Q: is the tempo field. Inthe above example the tempo is given as 120 quarter-notes per minute. X:must be the first field and K: must be the last field in the header.
Other fields may also appear in the header. Common ones are C: composer of the tune, D: discography, H: history of the tune, S: source, N: notes, Z: transcription note, A: area from which the tune comes, B: book and R: rhythm.
It is advisable to write the fields M:, L: and Q: in that order. Thereason for this is that M: can set up a unit note length which L:overrides and the tempo field Q: can be written in other forms thatdepend on unit note length. This order makes the meaning clear andunambiguous. The original abc specification gives a rule for computinga default value for the unit note length from the M: field. abc2midionly uses this rule for choosing a unit note length in the header ifthe L: field has been omitted.
The tempo is usually indicated with the Q: field command,eg. Q:1/4=180 which is interpreted as 180 quarter beats per minute.In compliance with the abc standard 2.0, you may alsoindicate the tempo using directives such as "lento","allegro", "vivace" etc.
(In the second tempo command, the 1/4=40 overrides the default1/4=59.)
第二个速度参数值，Q: "Adagio" 1/4=40，中1/4=40取代了默认值1/4=59。
The symbols M:C and M:C| give common time (4/4) and cut time (2/2)The symbol M:none omits the meter entirely (free meter).
参数值M:C 与 M:C| 分别代表节拍4/4 与2/2。
参数值M:none 表示自由节拍。
It is also possible to specify a complex meter, e.g. M:(2+3+2)/8, to make explicit which beats should be accented. The parentheses around the numerator are optional.
也可以指定复杂的节拍，例如M:(2+3+2）/8，用来明确地指出重音所在。
周围的括号可有可无。
Key Signature:
调号
The K: is made up of a base note A-G possibly followed by b for flat or# for sharp. This specifies a major key. A minor key can be specifiedby adding an m while Mixolydian and Dorian modes can be specified by addingMix and Dor respectively e.g.
The following table relates the number of sharps or flats you see on thestave to what is in the K: field :
下表是五线谱上升降号数目与K参数值的对照表:
7 sharps:
C# A#m G#Mix D#Dor
6 sharps:
F# D#m C#Mix G#Dor
5 sharps:
B G#m F#Mix C#Dor
4 sharps:
E C#m BMix F#Dor
3 sharps:
A F#m EMix BDor
2 sharps:
D Bm AMix EDor HP Hp
1 sharp:
G Em DMix ADor
0 sharps:
C Am GMix DDor
无升降号：
C调，A小调，G混合莉迪亚调式， D多利亚调式。
1 flat:
F Dm CMix GDor
2 flats:
Bb Gm FMix CDor
3 flats:
Eb Cm BbMix FDor
4 flats:
Ab Fm EbMix BbDor
5 flats:
Db Bbm AbMix EbDor
6 flats:
Gb Ebm DbMix AbDor
7 flats:
Cb Abm GbMix DbDor
（译者：上表应被视爲译文的一部分。）
As an extension, abc2midi also recognizes "Maj" for Major "Min" for Minor,"Phr" for Phrygian, "Lyd" for Lydian, "Aeo" for Aeolian and "Loc" forLocrian. Thus CMaj, EPhr, FLyd, AAeo and BLoc will all generate a stave with no sharps or flats. If you use one of these modes in the key signature, it is recommended that you add a comment giving the number of sharps or flats forthe benefit of other people who may not be familiar with modes. e.g.
The key signature may be followed by modifiers. A modifier consists of ^^, ^=, _ or __ followed by a-g. As an example, ^g means every a should be playedsharp unless otherwise marked in the music. This adds ^g to the existingkey signature. For exampleK: G ^c^g will produce a key signature similar to A major.
调号之后可以有“修饰符”。
修饰符可以是重升^^，升^，还原=，降号_或重降__，符号后面跟一个a到g的音级。
例如，^g表示每一个g音演奏时，除非乐谱中另有标注，应升半音。
例如K: G ^c^g调号代表一个类似A大调的调号。
Following the abc draft 2.0 standard, inserting the string exp in the key signature will cause abc2midi to override the existing key signature. ThusK: A exp _bwill remove the f,c and g sharps and put a b-flat instead. You may useboth upper and lower case letters as key modifiers since they aredistinguished by abcm2ps.
根据abc2.0版规范的草案，使用abc2midi时可以用exp字串来改变调子，效果是用新的变音记号取代原有的变音记号。
例如K: A exp _b 代表取消升f，c和g并加入降b。
变音记号后面的音级可以以大写或小写字母代表。
Another extension of the K: field is that it can include a clef specifier，an octave specifier and a transpose specifier e.g.K:G clef=soprano octave=-1 transpose=-1
The clef is recognized by typesetting programs such as yaps and abc2mpsand in some situations it will cause abc2midi to transpose the notesup or down by an octave. Recognized clefs are treble,bass, baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo and soprano. There are also variantsof these clefs; treble-8, tenor-8, treble+8 covering ranges which are anoctave below and an octave above the normal treble clef. Othervariants are not recognized at this time. No transposition isassumed for the bass clef since many abc files enter the noteswith all the commas.
常用的排版软件，例如yaps和abc2mps，可以辨认“谱号值”，但在某些情况下，谱号值会导致abc2midi软件将音符移调向上或向下一个八度。
公认的谱号值是treble, bass, baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo and soprano（这些谱号值大致是高音，低音，中音，男高音，女中音，次女高音和女高音）。
由这些谱号演绎出来的谱号有些也可接受，比如：treble-8高音-8，覆盖范围是低于正常高音谱号一个八度，与treble+8 高音+8，覆盖范围是高于正常高音谱号一个八度。
其它演绎出来的谱号目前不能使用。
出现低音谱号不意味已转调，因为许多abc文件输入音符时已加了所需的逗号。
The octave specifier is a convenience to make entering music easier.It allows the user to avoid repeatedly entering commas or apostropheswhen entering a sequence of low or high notes. Both yaps and abc2midiwill transpose the notes by the specified number of octaves during the parsing stage, e.g. the passage B,,, C,, D,, E,, F,, could be written more compactly as
I:octave=-2
B, C D E F
I:octave=0
Some instruments such as the Bb clarinet automatically transpose thewritten music. For example in the case of the clarinet, the music iswritten in the key of C but the instrument plays it in the key of Bb.For multivoiced tunes, the %%MIDI transpose indication is not that usefulsince it transposes all the voices by the specified amount. The transpose=n subcommand in the K: field tells abc2midi to transposea particular voice by n semitones without affecting how it appears inthe printed score. For example for the tune,
Voice 1 will be played one semitone lower than indicated.These transposition features are disabled for channel 10 whichis reserved for percussion instruments.
Voice indication:声部标示Many multivoiced abc files now use the V: indication tospecify additional information such as the clef, name ofthe voice (to appear in the score). Furthermore, theV: indication may occur in the header (i.e. before thefirst K: indication), for the sole purpose of specifyingsuch information. Abc2midi, yaps and abc2abc now recognizesthe subfields octave=, clef= and transpose= in the V:field and treats them in the same manner as if they occurredin a K: field (as discussed above). Thus the V: field mayappear as
The V: field is also recognized in both the body and headerof the abc file. Note that not all abc applications may recognizethese extensions, so you use them at the risk that they may not be treated as expected in some cases. Also in the event thatthere is a conflicting indication in either the voice orkey signature field, eg. [V: 1 clef=transpose+8 octave=-1]the clef indication predominates.
These transposition features are disabled for channel 10which is reserved for percussion instruments.
请注意：留给打击乐器的第十通道，channel 10，没有换位的功能。
The Body of the Tune
主体部分
Following the header is the tune. This is a textual notation for the things you might see on a stave :
表头部分后面是曲子的主体部分，由五线谱上看到的东西的文字符号所组成。
Notes:
音符
A note consists of a pitch specifier followed by a length. Available pitch specifiers are : C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C D E F G A B c d e f g a b c' d' e' f' g' a' b'
在本文中音符包括音高标记与声音长度。
可用的音高标记从低到高爲：
C, D, E, F, G, A, B,C D E F G A Bc d e f g a bc' d' e' f' g' a' b'
This covers 4 octaves. abc2midi allows lower octaves to be reached by adding extra , characters and higher octaves to be reached by adding extra ' characters. However, this is not standard abc and may not be supported by other abc utilities.
You can raise or lower the pitch specifier a semitone by preceding it with ^ or _ respectively. The key signature and preceding sharps, flats and bar lines modify the default pitch in the same way as on a stave. Preceding a note with = generates natural pitch and ^^ and __ can be used for double sharp and double flat respectively.
Microtones are indicated by following a ^ or _ with a fraction. ^/C is played as one quarter tone (i.e. half a semitone) above C. _/C is played as one quarter tone (i.e. half a semitone) below C. ^^/4F is played as 1/4 of a semitone above F#. (The microtone always follows any accidentals.) In general a microtone offset is indicated by a fraction using the same convention as note length (described below). Abcmidi uses the same microtone syntax as abcm2ps. (See features.txt in the abcm2ps distribution.)
Note that unlike accidentals, microtones do not propagate across a measure. Microtones are implemented using the MIDI pitchwheel command. Since the pitchwheel affects all notes played on a specific channel, a microtone applied to any note in a chord specified by rectangular brackets, (eg. [ACE]) will apply to all the notes in the chord. Microtone accidentals override any sharpening or flattening induced by key signatures. To illustrate
K: G
^/F F ^^/2F F|
does the following. Even though the key of G major causes F to be sharp, the first note is F natural raised by half a semitone. This effects the next note in making it F natural instead of F#. The third note is F# raised by a half a semitone. The F# propagates to the last note making it also F#.
下面是微调，microtone，的一些特性。
演奏时，微调是使用MIDI pitchwheel指令来实现，其效果不能跨过小节綫。
由于pitchwheel会影响分配在一个通道，channel,的所有音符，所以方括号指定的和弦，如：[ACE]，中的任何音符被微调了则此和弦的所有音符都被微调。
微调记号取代了调号中所有的升降记号。
比如说
K: G
^/F F ^^/2F F|
代表下列这些音高。
虽然G大调中F音升半音，由于微调符号，第一个F是自然音高提高半个
半音，第二个F是自然音高，而不是F＃。
第三个音是F＃提高半个半音，升记号传播到最后一个音符，所以它也是F＃。
In accordance to the General MIDI recommendations the pitch range of the pitchwheel is set to plus or minus two semitones. Therefore abc2midi cannot go beyond this range.
Microtones may be placed between tied notes, producing a pitch bend effect. eg G- ^/G.
微调可以用于连音，产生滑音的效果，例如G- ^/G.
Microtones have been introduced fairly recently into abc2midi (Mar 2005); so far there is very little abc notated on the web which exploits this feature.
The length is in general specified by a fraction following the pitch specifier. However, the notation is made more concise by allowing much of the fraction to be omitted.
声音的长度由音高标记后面的“分数”来表示。
但是，通用符号常被简化了。
C - selects a note of 1 unit note length.C2 - selects a note of 2 unit note lengths.C/2 - selects a note of 1/2 unit note length.C3/4 - selects a note of 3/4 unit note length.
C/ is allowed as an abbreviation of C/2. C// is allowed as an abbreviation of C/4. However, this is not standard notation and is not allowed by all abc programs.
No space is allowed within a note, but space may be used to separate notes in the tune.
一个“音符”不能含有“空格”，但空格可以在音符之间以区分音符。
Rests are written by using 'z' as the pitch specifier.z3 - a rest of 3 unit note lengths.Multiple bar rests can be created using 'Zn' where n is the number of bars rest required. This is an extension to the standard syntax.
Placing a dot before a note causes it to be played staccato. (.e) Placing a M before a note indicates legato. (Me)Placing a H before a note indicates a fermata. (He)Placing a T before a note indicates that this note is trilled. (Te)Placing a R before a note indicates that this note is rolled. (Re)
Alternatively you may put !fermata! or !trill! before the note. Other decorations have not been implemented in this manner. The fermata may also be applied to a rest, (in order to handle multivoiced files).
Three notes of the same length can be turned into a triplet by prefixing them with (3. This has the effect of multiplying the note lengths by 2/3. A chord can be represented by bracketting the notes together within [ and ] e.g. [a2e2]. An older notation which is also supported is to use + symbols e.g. +a2e2+. The - symbol can be used to tie together notes of the same pitch e.g. a2-a; this is equivalent to a3.
From version 1.4 of abc2midi, the support of tuples and chords is extended to include general tuple notation (p:q:r , [ and ] for chords and a more flexible system of interpreting chords. (p:q:r means play the next r notes at q/p of their notated value. Thus (3:2:3 is equivalent to an ordinary triplet (3 .
It is possible in abc to write notes of different lengths within a chord e.g. [ab2] . In this case, abc2midi takes the length of the first note (or rest) in a chord is taken as the time before the next note is played. However, if the music is to be typeset, this notation should be avoided because the output will be ambiguous. Instead, the same effect can be achieved using tied notes e.g. [ab2] c is equivalent to [ab-] [bc]. A tie sign is always assumed to belong to the immediately previous note.
A run of 2 or more different notes may be grouped together in a slur. This usually means that the notes are to be played together as smoothly as possible. In typeset music, a slur looks very similar to a tie, but in abc, ( marks the start of a slur and ) marks the end. e.g. (abc) . abc2midi recognizes slurs, but they have no effect on the MIDI generated.
| is an ordinary barline
|| is a double barline
:| is "repeat last section".
|: is "repeat next section".
:: is "repeat last and next sections".
|1 or |[1 or | [1 is "first repeat ending".
:|2 or :|[2 or :| [2 is "second repeat ending".
|[1,3 is first and third ending
:|[2,4 is second and fourth ending
|] and [| are variants of ||.The notation :: is short for :| followed by |: .
A tune with different ending for the first, second and third repeats has the general form:|: common body of tune |1 first ending :|2 second ending :|3 third ending ||
You may also use this notation to indicate that the first ending is played on the first and third repeat. For example |:common body of tune|1,3 first ending :|2 second ending :|4 forth ending|(The last variant ending should not end with a :|. In other words, this will not work correctly. |: ... |[1,2 :|.)
For multivoice abc files, you should be careful that the different voices share the same repeat structure. When switching voices (assuming they are interleaved) abc2midi does not cache the repeat state.
Printed music commonly misses out a start repeat at the beginning of a tune. abc2midi will try to fix up things if you miss out a start repeat in single voice music. Where a tune starts with an anacrusis, abc2midi will always fix a repeat to start at the anacrusis rather than the first barline. It is recommended that you use matching start and end repeats rather than rely on this behaviour. Missing start repeats are not supported in multiple voice music. Also, abc2midi does not allow nested repeats. However, you can use the more versatile part notation to achieve multiple repeats.
It is not unusual to see music where a repeat does not coincide with the end of a bar and the number of beats is not quite correct if the piece is played exactly as written. A human player usually knows enough to correct the mistake themselves, but abc2midi will play exactly what is written, so care needs to be taken that this is corrected when the piece is transcribed to abc.
节奏参数值与附点音符
Rhythm field and Broken Rhythm Notation
R:hornpipe causes notes written in straight time to be played in dotted time. The symbol > can be used to achieve a similar effect. For 4/4 time this is applied to the 1/8 notes. For 2/4 time this is applied to the 1/16 notes. a>b is notated as a3/2b/2 but played as a4/3b2/3.
The symbols <>><<>>><<< have similar meanings:a<bis notated as a/2b3/2 but played as a2/3b4/3.a>>b is notated and played as a7/4b/4.a<<b is notated and played as a/4b7/4.a>>>b is notated and played as a15/8b/8.a<<<b is notated and played as a/8b15/8.
These times may be adjusted for < and > using the %%MIDI ratio command described later.
符号<和>的效果可以用%%MIDI ratio 指令改变。
如何使用将在以后的章节解释。
Beware that attempting "advanced" use of these symbols may mean your abc is not portable between different abc programs. If the notes on either side of the symbol are different lengths, this is reported as an error. If a and b are not simple notes, or if there are other complications, then it is safer to write the note lengths directly.
Anything in quotes is a guitar chord e.g. "A" "Gm" "B7" "Bm7" "D#aug" "Bbdim7". Guitar chords must use upper case A-G followed by optional # or b, then the name of a chord type e.g. "m", "aug", "7". abc2midi currently recognizes the following chord names :m, 7, m7, maj7, M7, 6, m6, aug, +, aug7, dim, dim7, 9, m9, maj9, M9, 11, dim9, sus, sus9, 7sus4, 7sus9, 5You can also add your own; see the %%MIDI chordname command below.
abc2midi automatically generates an accompaniment from the guitar chords. There are a number of default chord/fundamental rhythms for common time signatures which this uses, or you can set up your own.
Lower case a-g followed by optional # or b will generate a single note, the fundamental, only.
小写字母a～g，如有需要跟着＃或b记号，代表单音，不是和弦。
The chord notation also allows chords such as "G/B" or "G/b". The note following the / is interpreted in one of two ways: If the note following / does not exist as part of the given chord, it is added to the chord below the root note of the chord (G in the above example). If the note following / does exist in the chord, then the notes of the chord are re-arranged so that it becomes the lowest pitch note of the chord. This is known as an inversion of the chord. It does not matter whether the note following the / is upper or lower case. They are both treated the same.
This notation has been extended so that finger numbers "1" "2" "3", "4" or "5" are allowed. abc2midi ignores these, but a typesetting program might support them.
You may find some abc tunes that abuse this notation and use quotes for things that are not guitar chords. Usually these are tunes which have been typeset but never played by a computer. If you don't want to just delete things in quotes, you can insert one of the characters _, ^, @, < or > after the first quote e.g. "_Chorus" "_Very Loud". This causes abc2midi to ignore the following text. However, typesetting programs should recognize the first character as telling them where to print the following text.
Another extension is to allow musical instructions to appear in exclamation marks e.g. !pizzicato! abc2midi currently supports the following : !ppp! !pp! !p! !mp! !mf! !f! !ff! !fff!Default volume is equivalent to !f!.
The !breath! instruction causes the note to be played half length followed by a rest of half its length (just like staccato).
!breath! 演奏该音符的一半长度，休止另一半长度。
The !arpeggio! instruction affects the next chord and introduces a larger delay between the onset of each note in the chord. (See the text preceding %%MIDI chordattack in this file for more explanations.)
!arpeggio! 下一个和弦琶音演奏。
The !crescendo(! and !crescendo)! delineate the start and end of a crescendo. Alternatively, you can use !<(! and !<)!. Abc2midi does not implement a gradual loudness increase, but instead increases the loudness at the start and end of the crescendo by a fixed amount. (See %%MIDI beatmod and %%MIDI deltaloudness for more information.)
The !diminuendo(! and !diminuendo)! behave similarly but reduce the loudness. These instructions have not been implemented in yaps.
!diminuendo(! 和 !diminuendo)! 指定渐弱的范围。
!ped! and !ped-end! press and release the sustain pedal on the piano. (The notes following !ped! and preceding !ped-end! are held. This effect applies to all instruments besides the piano.)
!ped! 和 !ped-end! 指定踏下延音踏板的范围。
A line of music may contain any number of notes, barlines and guitar chords. Spaces may be used to separate these.
乐曲中每一行由音符，小节綫，与和弦组成。
组成成分之间可以以空格分开。
Some abc fields may appear within the body of the abc tune :
有些abc 参数可能出现在abc 曲谱的主体中，表列如下：
K: - change key 转调
L: - change unit note length 换单位音符长度
M: - change meter 换拍子
Q: - change tempo 换速度
P: - part label 分段
V: - voice label 声部
w: - words to be matched syllable by syllable to notes 歌词
Each field must be on a line by itself.
每个参数必须独自在一行上。
Part Notation
乐段
A part label must be a single character in the range A - Z. e.g. P:A. A parts specifier in the header can be used to define the MIDI output as some combination of the specified parts e.g.P:ABACABA
You can use ( )<number> to repeat a part a specified number of times e.g. P:A(AB)6 is equivalent to P:AABABABABABAB. If there are no brackets, just the last part is repeated, so P:AAB3 is equivalent to P:AABBB. Dots may be inserted into the part specifier to make it easier to read e.g P:A.AB.AC
If there is no parts specifier, the output is simply the parts (or just the unlabelled music) in the order in which it appears in the tune body.
如果曲子表头没有乐段参数值，乐曲由乐段按照在曲子出现的顺序组成。
You may if you wish have multiple voices sounding concurrently within each part. These are indicated with V:N to indicate voice number N.e.g.
V:1
<music for voice part 1>
V:2
<music for voice part 2>
and so on.
A part label implicitly starts with V:1, as does the K: field which starts the tune body, so you are not allowed to place a part label within a voice. The duration of each of the voice parts must be the same for them to synchronize correctly; abc2midi will warn you if they are not! From version 1.7 onwards, abc2midi allows any voice apart from voice 1 to be completely omitted from a part.
If no field appears after the first K:, whatever follows is assumed to belong to voice 1 (the default voice). The V: field is an extension to abc 1.5.
如果在第一个调号，K:，参数后没有声部，V:，参数，则后续的乐曲属于声部1（默认声部）。
The lines between one V:N field and the next V: field define a region belonging to voice N. Within a part, you may have more than one such region for each voice. The music for voice N within a part is all the voice N regions taken in sequence.
在声部参数记号V:N和下个声部参数记号之间的乐曲段落属于第N个声部。
The M:, L: and K: fields in the header apply to all voices. After the header, these fields apply only to the voice in which they appear. In previous versions of abc2midi, an L:, for example, would affect everything after it appeared up until the next L:, regardless of what voice changes there were.
The Q: tempo field should only appear in voice 1 and applies to all voices.
“速度”，Q:，参数值仅能出现在第一个声部中，但通用于所有声部。
The U: abbreviation field has limited use here. You can specify an abbreviation such as
U: P = !trill!
and then in the body, eg. |DGAPF|, P will be replaced with !trill! Only letters between H and Z can be used. Furthermore, you can not redefine reserved letters such as H (fermata), L (unit length), M (mordent) , R (roll) , T (trill).
“缩写”，U:，参数用法说明如下，假如有参数值
U: P = !trill!
则乐曲内涵中的 P是!trill!的缩写，|DGAPF|等于|DGA!trill!F|。
请注意，缩写须用H 到 Z之间的大写且没有特定意义的字母。
有特定意义的字母如H (fermata), L (unit length), M (mordent) , R (roll) , T (trill)等，不可使用。
Adding Lyrics to a Tune
如何爲曲子加上歌词
The w: field (lower case w) in the body of a tune supplies a line of lyrics to be matched syllable by syllable to the last line of notes. These are usually printed below the notes if the abc is typeset.
abc2midi uses these to generate karaoke MIDI files. A karaoke MIDI file can contain more than one set of lyrics in separate voices; an example is shown at the end of this section. By default the lyrics are embedded in the same MIDI track as the notes. If the runtime parameter -STFW is included, then the lyrics will be placed in separate and adjoining MIDI tracks. When the karaoke MIDI file is played using an appropriate player program, the lyrics appear on the screen with the current syllable highlighted.
Within the lyrics, the following symbols may be used :
<space> break between words
-break between syllables within a word
|advance to next bar
_indicates last syllable is to be held for another note
*indicates a one note rest for the singer.
~appears as a space but connects syllables each side into one.
\- appears as - in the output
\continuation character. Next w: field is part of the same line.
A rest is not matched by any lyrics. A tied note e.g. d2-d2 is treated as 2 notes (or however many parts it is written as), despite the fact that it only plays as a single note.
休止符不能与歌词相配。
同音连线的音，比如 d2-d2，配以歌词时应分开来算。
abc2midi ignores space characters if they occur either (a) between the end of a word/syllable and a hyphen or underscore or (b) between a hyphen or underscore and the beginning of a word/syllable. However, some software incorrectly treats a hyphen as a separate word if there is a space between it and the previous syllable, so, for example, you should write go-ing and not go - ing to ensure that your abc is portable between programs.
Here are some examples taken from http://abc.sourceforge.net/standard/abc2-draft.html
w: syll-a-bleis aligned with three notes
w: syll-a--bleis aligned with four notes
w: syll-a -ble(equivalent to the previous line)
w: time__is aligned with three notes
w: of~the~dayis treated as one syllable (i.e. aligned with one note) but appears as three separate
words
gf|e2dc B2A2|B2G2 E2D2|.G2.G2 GABc|d4 B2
w: Sa-ys my au-l' wan to your aul' wan\
w: Will~ye come to the Wa-x-ies dar-gle?
(保留原文不需翻译)
Note that the continuation character is used in a rather strange manner. One w: field and all continuations will match one line of music, whether or not the line of music ends with a continuation character. You can think of the \ in a music line dividing that line into sections and \ in a w: field further dividing these section into sub-sections.
It is possible for a music line to be followed by several w: fields. This can be used together with the part notation to create verses. The first w: field is used the first time that part is played, then the second and so on. If the tune uses repeats, these must be placed at the end of a line of music in order to make sure that the start of a w: field matches up with the repeat.
BarFly stress modelsIf you include the run time parameter -BF in execution string, abc2midi will attempt to apply the BarFly stress model on the tune if it recognizes the rhythm designator (eg. R: jig) and if the time signature also matches the associated meter. There are two different implementations of the stress model which have different effects. (See %%MIDI ptstress below for more details.) You can specify the implementation to use by following the -BF flag with either the numeral 1 or 2. If you do not specify a model, the program will use model 2. More details can be found on http://ifdo.ca/~seymour/runabc/abcguide/abc2midi_guide.html
abc2midi supports a number of commands of the form%%MIDI commandEach of these should appear on a line by itself; however there is now provision to pass the MIDI command in an inline I: field (see CHANGES file, March 25 2005 entry.) All of them are allowed within the abc tune body. By using these in combination with the part notation, one can, for example, play a part transposed or in a different key. The idea behind this syntax is that other programs will treat it as a comment and ignore it.
选择第n个通道，n从1到16.
%%MIDI program [c] n MIDI 第n个音色，program，在第c个通道，channel
selects program n (in the range 1-128) on channel c. If c is not given, the program is selected on the current melody channel. Most modern tone generators follow the General MIDI standard which defines the instrument type for each program number. These instrument types are listed at the end of this document. Note that for multivoiced files, the program command is placed in the track associated with the voice previously declared. If the %%MIDI indications affect channels in other tracks, it is recommended that they are placed in the first track or first declared voice. See the note in the CHANGES file for the date January 1 2005.
效果应用于在第c个通道（channel）中的MIDI 第n个音色(program)。
数目n从1到128。
如果c没给，则是指当前的通道。
大多数现代声音合成器遵循“通用MIDI标准”来设定MIDI 音色号码与对应的乐器名称。
详表列于本指南的末尾。
对于多声部乐曲，一个声部上的音色指令只影响该声部。
如果%% MIDI指令需要影响多个声部，它们应被放置在第一个声部。
（见2005年1月1日更改文件，the CHANGES file for the date January 1 2005。）
%%MIDI beat a b c n
拍子的相对强度
controls the way note velocities are selected. The first note in a bar has velocity a. Other "strong" notes have velocity b and all the rest have velocity c. a, b and c must be in the range 0-127. The parameter n determines which notes are "strong". If the time signature is x/y, then each note is given a position number k = 0, 1, 2 .. x-1 within each bar. Note that the units for n are not the unit note length. If k is a multiple of n, then the note is "strong".
increments by n (or decrements if n is negative) the velocities a, b and c described above. It is also used in implementing crescendo and diminuendo (eg. !<(!, !crescendo(! etc.)
将“%%MIDIbeat a b c k”指令中设立的强度a, b 和 c各增加n度(假如n是负数，代表减少)。
%%MIDI nobeataccents
没有强拍
For instruments such as church organ that have no greatly emphasized beat notes, using this will force use of the 'b' velocity (see %%MIDIbeat) for every note irrespective of position in the bar. This allows dynamics (ff, f, etc) to be used in the normal way.
所有的音的强度都是“%%MIDIbeat a b c k”指令中的b。
通常用于教堂风琴之类的乐器。
%%MIDI beataccents
恢复强拍
Revert to emphasizing notes the the usual way. (default)
恢复执行“%%MIDIbeat a b c k”指令
%%MIDI deltaloudness n
改变强度
where n is a small positive number. By default the crescendo and dimuendo instructions modify the beat variables a, b, and c by 15 velocity units. This instruction allows you to change this default.
渐强与渐弱符号的默认强度改变是15度。
这个指令将改变度改爲n度。
%%MIDI beatstring <string of f, m and p>
强弱拍序列
This provides an alternative way of specifying where the strong and weak stresses fall within a bar. 'f' means velocity a (normally strong), 'm' means velocity b (medium velocity) and 'p' means velocity c (soft velocity). For example, if the time signature is 7/8 with stresses on the first, fourth and sixth notes in the bar, we could use the following %%MIDI beatstring fppmpmp
以一个序列来指定小节中各拍子的强弱，'f' 代表“%%MIDIbeat a b c k”指令中的a (强), 'm'代表b (中强) ， 'p' 代表c (弱)。
例子：拍子是7/8，则“%%MIDI beatstring fppmpmp”代表第一拍强，第四与第七拍中强。
%%MIDI transpose n
转调n
transposes the output by the specified number of semitones. n may be positive or negative.
转调n个半音，n可以是正值或负值。
%%MIDI rtranspose n
再转调n
Relative transpose by the specified number of semitones. i.e. %%MIDI transpose a followed by %%MIDI rtranspose b results in a transposition of a+b. %%MIDI transpose b will result in a transposition of b semitones, regardless of any previous transposition.
sets the fraction of the next note that grace notes will take up. a must be between 1 and b-1. The grace notes may not sound natural in this approach, since the length of the individual grace notes vary with the complexity of the grace and the length of the following note. A different approach (which is now the default) assumes that the grace notes always have fixed duration specified by a fraction of the unit length. To use the other approach you would specify,
where b specifies how many parts to divide the unit length specified by the L: field command. For example if b = 4 and L: = 1/8, then every grace note would be 1/(8*4) or a 32nd note. Time would be stolen from the note to which the grace note is applied. If that note is not long enough to handle the grace then the grace notes would be assigned 0 duration.
Defines how to play a guitar chord called "name". n1 is usually 0 and n2, n3 to n6 give the pitches of the other notes in semitones relative to the root note. There may be fewer than 6 notes in the chord, but not more. If "name" is already defined, this command re-defines it. Unlike most other commands, chordname definitions stay in effect from where they are defined to the end of the abc file. The following illustrates how m, 7, m7 and maj7 could be set up if they were not already defined.
sets up how guitar chords are generated. The string is a sequence made of z's, c's f's and b's for rests, chords, fundamental and fundamental plus chord notes respectively. This specifies how each bar is to be played. An optional length is allowed to follow the z's, c's, f's and b's e.g. czf2zf3. If the abc contains guitar chords, then abc2midi automatically adds chords and fundamentals after encountering the first guitar chord. It keeps using that chord until a new chord is specified in the abc. Whenever the M: field isencountered in the abc, an appropriate default string is set :
设定吉他和弦如何演奏。
“小节组成”字符串是由z，c，f和b字母组成，分别代表：休息，和弦，主音，主音以外的音。
这个字符串指定了每个小节应如何弹奏。
每个字母后面可以有数字代表长度，例如czf2zf3。
如果abc曲子使用吉他和弦，abc2midi软件在第一个吉他和弦出现时自动使用和弦和主音。
这个和弦一直使用到下一个新的和弦出现。
每个M:参数值有个对应的默认字符串，如下：
For 2/4 or 4/4 time default is equivalent to :
2/4 or 4/4拍子对应的默认字符串是
%%MIDI gchord fzczfzcz
For 3/4 time default is equivalent to :
3/4拍子对应的默认字符串是
%%MIDI gchord fzczcz
For 6/8 time default is equivalent to :
6/8拍子对应的默认字符串是
%%MIDI gchord fzcfzc
For 9/8 time default is equivalent to :
9/8拍子对应的默认字符串是
%%MIDI gchord fzcfzcfzc
Please note, that the default gchord string is reissued any time a time signature change is specified in the body of the music. This means if one of the bars has an extra beat you included a M: declaration before and after the measure, the gchord string would be reset to the default string for that time signature and not the one that you had declared. It is necessary for you to send another %%MIDI gchord declaration after the time signature in order to set this back the way you want it. This is one of the changes introduced into abc2midi so that the accompaniment track always follows the meter of the music for the regular time signatures.
The gchord command has been extended to allow you to play the individual notes comprising the guitar chord. This allows you to play broken chords or arpeggios. The new codes g,h,i,j,G,H,I,J reference the individual notes starting from the lowest note of the chord (not necessarily the root in the case of inverses). For example for the C major chord, g refers to C, h refers to E and i refers to G. For a gchord command such as,%%MIDI gchord ghih . Abc2midi will arpeggiate the C major guitar chord to CEGE. The upper case letters G,H,I, and J refer tothe same notes except they are transposed down one octave. Note for the first inversion of the C major chord (indicated by "C/E"), E would be the lowest note so g would reference the note E.
Like other gchord codes, you may append a numeral indicating the duration of the note. The same rules apply as before. You can use any combination of the gchord codes, (fcbghijGHIJz).
这些新代码，字母后面也都可以有数字指定音符长度。
Another recent extension to gchords is the presence of gchords in separate voices. Here is an example:
Sets the MIDI instrument for the chord notes to be n. If the command includes the string octave=n where n is a number between -2 and +2, then the chord notes will be shifted n octaves from its usual position, eg. (%%MIDI chordprog 32 octave=1). Any other descriptors will be ignored, eg (%%MIDI chordprog 0 Acoustic Piano).
Sets the MIDI instrument for the bass notes to be n. If the command includes the string octave=n where n is a number between -2 and +2, then the bass note will be shifted n octaves from its usual position. eg. (%%MIDI bassprog 32 octave=-1).
Sets the volume (velocity) of the chord notes at n.
指定演奏和弦音符的响度，以速度(velocity)来代表。
%%MIDI bassvol n
低音响度码
Sets the volume (velocity) of the bass notes at n. There is no correspondingmelodyvol command since there are 3 velocity values for melody, set using thebeat command.
Turns on guitar chords (they are turned on by default at the start of atune).
使用吉他和弦。
（曲子开始时吉他和弦是开啓的，这是默认设定。）
%%MIDI gchordoff
关闭吉他和弦指令
Turns off guitar chords.
不使用吉他和弦
%%MIDI fermatafixed
延音一个单位长度
Directs abc2midi to expand a fermata by one unit length. Thus HC3 becomes C4.
设定延音，fermata，延长一个单位长度，例如HC3 变成 C4。
%%MIDI fermataproportional
延音一个同样长度
This is the default. A fermata doubles the length of a note so HC3 becomes C6.
设定延音，fermata，延长一个同样长度，例如HC3 变成 C6. - 这是默认设置。
%%MIDI droneon
开啓背景低音
This turns on a continuous drone used in bagpipe music. The drone consists of two notes (by default A, and A,,) played on a bassoon at a MIDI loudness (velocity) 80. If you can configure the drone sound， use the %%MIDI drone command described below.
This sets up a drum pattern. The string determines when there is a drum beat and the drum program values determine what each drum strike sounds like. e.g. %%MIDI drum d2zdd 35 38 38 100 50 50 The string may contain 'd' for a drum strike or 'z' for a rest.
By default a voice starts with no drum pattern. Like gchord, a command %%MIDI drumon is needed to enable the drumming. The drum pattern is repeated during each bar until a %%MIDI drumoff is encountered.
The %%MIDI drum command may be used within a tune to change the drum pattern. This command places the drum sounds on channel 10 and assumes your tone generator complies with the General Midi standard - if it does not, then you may hear tones instead of drum sounds. (Note the old method of using the instruction !drum! and !nodrum! is being deprecated.)
In both the gchord and drum commands, the standard note length of a single note f,c,z or d is not set by the L: command. Instead it is adjusted so that the entire gchord string or drum string fits exactly into one bar. In other words the duration of each note is divided by the total duration of the string. This means that, for example, the drum string "dd" is equivalent to drum string "d4d4". You cannot currently specify fractions directly (eg. C3/2) as done in the body of the music, but it is still possible to express complex rhythms. For example, to indicate a rhythm such as （3ddd d/d/d/d/, you would write the string "d4d4d4d3d3d3d3".
where the pitch of the note is notated using abc notation and midipitch is a number between 35 and 81 inclusive referring to the above table. This command is used if you are notating a drum track, i.e. a voice played on channel 10. Rather than being forced to use the note corresponding to the desired percussion instrument, (for example C (MIDI pitch 60) for hi bongo), you can change the mapping to use a more convenient pitch，for example to access bass drum 1 (MIDI pitch 36) you would require the note C,, which is awkward to display in common music notation. You can change the mapping to say _D using%%MIDI drummap _D 36. An example is provided in the file CHANGES (November 6 2005).
The %%MIDI drum line can sound quite monotonous if it is repeated each bar. To circumvent this problem a new MIDI command， %%MIDI drumbars n ，where n is a small number will spread out the drum string over n consecutive bars. By default drumbars is set to 1 maintaining compatibility with existing abc files. You should take care that the drumstring is evenly divisible between the drumbar bars. Also the time signature should not change between bars in a drumbar unit. (Sample abc file in CHANGESJune 24 2008.)
本指令使打击乐模式每 n小节重复一次，（先前打击乐模式每小节重复一次）。
参数n默认值是1。
需确定打击乐模式可以每 n小节重复一次，而且，拍子在这n小节中不能改变。
（参看：CHANGES June 24 2008。)
%%MIDI gchordbars n
吉他和弦单位小节数 n
This command spreads the gchord string over n consecutive bars of equal length. The gchord string should be evenly divisible by n or else the gchords will not work properly. A sample abc file is found in CHANGES March 17 2009.
本指令使吉他和弦模式每 n小节重复一次，（先前吉他和弦模式每小节重复一次）。
需确定吉他和弦模式可以每 n小节重复一次，而且，拍子在这n小节中不能改变。
（参看：CHANGES March 17 2009。)
%%MIDI control [bass/chord] n1 n2
MIDI音调发生器调整[bass/chord] n1 n2
This generates a MIDI control event. If the word "control" is followed by "bass" or "chord", the event will be applied to the bass or chord channel, otherwise it will be applied to the current channel. n1 and n2 are numbers in the range 0-127. Generally, n1 selects a control parameter and n2 is the value to which it is set. A couple of examples : %%MIDI control 7 50 will set the main volume of the channel to 50 ; %%MIDI control 10 0will set the pan parameter (left/right balance) to 0. See the manual for your MIDI tone generator to find out what control events are supported.
此指令用来调整MIDI音调发生器。
如果参数"bass"或"chord"存在，则低音或和弦通道（channel）会受到调整，否则是当前的通道会受到调整。
参数 n1和n2的范围在0-127之间，n1代表受调整的功能而n2是新设置的值。
至于那些功能可受调整，请参见MIDI音调发生器手册。
一些使用例子：
%%MIDI control 7 50 将通道的主音量设置于50; %%MIDI control 10 0将声像参数（即左/右平衡）设置为0
%%MIDI portamento [bass/chord] n
开啓滑音[bass/chord] n
This will turn on the MIDI portamento controller and set the speed of sliding between pitches to n. Like %%MIDI control, if the word portamento is followed by "bass" or "chord", the event will be applied to the bass or chord channel, otherwise it will be applied to the current channel. The parameter n should be between 0 and 63. Large values imply a slow transition between pitches. I have found the resulting effect to be rather wierd, especially for large pitch intervals.
byte><low byte>This generates a pitchbend event on the current channel, or on the bass or chord channel as specified. The value given by the following two bytes indicates the pitch change.
This is a somewhat obscure option to support early music without barlines. Normally, an accidental applied to one note e.g. ^c will apply to every note at the same point in the scale until the end of the bar (so C,, C, C c c' would all be sharpened). This option turns off this behaviour, so that an accidental applies only to the next note. It should be used in the header of any tune requiring this behaviour.
这个指令已很少用到，用来支持早期没有小节綫的音乐。
通常，当一个升降符号应用到一个音符后，比如^ C，则同一小节内，所有同名字的音符，即C,, C, C c c'等等也都会受到同样改变。
这个指令关闭这种行为，让一个升降符号仅适用于下一个音符。
使用这个指令时应该在乐曲的“表头”部分列出。
%%MIDI barlines
使用小节綫
This turns off the effect of %%MIDI nobarlines in the middle of a tune. This is the default behaviour assumed at the start of every tune.
停止%%MIDI nobarlines 指令的功能。
每个曲子开头的默认设置是使用小节綫。
%%MIDI ratio n m
附点音符比例n m
This sets the ratio of note lengths in broken rhythm (e.g. a>b). The default behaviour is for note a to sound for twice as long as note b. This can be achieved with %%MIDI ratio 2 1and hornpipes are commonly played with approximately this ratio. However, for other musical styles, a different ratio may be appropriate. If you are using abc2midi to export music to another program for printing, then you may wish to use a ratio of 3:1 which is how hornpipes are usually notated. This can be achieved with %%MIDI ratio 3 1
这个指令设置附点音符（例如a> b）前后两音长度的比率。
默认值是a音符听起来是b音符的两倍长。
即%%MIDI ratio 2 1 。
通常hornpipe以大约这个比率演奏。
然而，对于其他的音乐风格，不同的比率可能较合适。
要注意，当使用abc2midi软件输出hornpipe曲子到其它软件以进行打印时，不妨使用比率为3：1，%%MIDI ratio 3 1 ，因爲hornpipe记谱一般是用这个比率。
Arpegiation:
琶音：
With version 1.54 Dec 4 2004 of abc2midi, notes in chords (eg. [FAc]) are not played in the same instant but offsetted and shortened by 10 MIDI time units. Thus the first note in the chord (eg. F) is played for the full indicated time, the second note (eg. A) starts 10 MIDI units later and is shortened by the same amount and the third note starts another 10 MIDI units later and is shortened by another 10 units. This introduces an "expressivo" option and avoids the heavy attack. (This does not apply to gchords or multivoiced chords.)
The amount of the delay and shortening may be configured by the MIDI command %%MIDI chordattack n .where n is a small number. If n is zero, then abc2midi should behave as in earlier versions. The delay n is in MIDI time units where there are 480 units in a quarter note beat. The program may not run correctly if n is too large and there are short chords.
上述的延迟和缩短的量可以由下列MIDI指令设置
%%MIDI chordattack n
和弦延迟 n
其中n是一个小数目。
如果n为0，则abc2midi表现与早期版本相同。
参数n的单位是MIDI时间单位，每个四分音符有480 MIDI时间单位。
如果n过大，此指令可能无法正常运行。
%%MIDI randomchordattack n
和弦随机延迟 n
where n is a small number. This is similar to above, except the delay of each note in the chord varies randomly between 0 and n-1. Therefore each chord is played differently.
where x and y are two numbers. This command controls the articulation of notes and chords by placing silent gaps between the notes. The length of these gaps is determined by x/y and the unit length specified by the L: command. These gaps are produced by shortening the notes by the same amount. If the note is already shorter than the specified gap, then the gap is set to half the length of the note. The fraction x/y indicates a note duration in the same manner as specified in the abc file. The actual duration is based on the unit length specified by the L: field command. It is recommended that x/y be a fraction close to zero. The denominator, y does not need to be a power of 2. Trimming is disabled inside slurs as indicated by parentheses. You can turn off all note trimming by setting x to 0, eg 0/1. By default, note trimming is turned off at the beginning of a tune or voice command.
To avoid the problem of breaking up a music line in order to place a %%MIDI command, for example,
A2 B2|\
%%MIDI drumon
C2 D2|
you can place the MIDI instruction inside an info field using the following syntax.
A2 B2|[I:MIDI= drumon] C2 D2|
The '=' following the MIDI is very important. The info field syntax allows you to place several MIDI commands in one inline block, for example [I: MIDI = program 73 MIDI=chordprog 29] (Spaces are optional.) Other examples can be seen in the file CHANGES the March 25 2005 entry.
在MIDI后面的“=”不可漏掉。
在I: 参数值中可以有多个指令，例如[I: MIDI = program 73 MIDI=chordprog 29]，其他例子请参看CHANGES March 25 2005。
Another recent extension is the allowance of drum patterns in separate voices. Here is an example:
fifth_centsThis command allows you to change the temperament of the scale. Octave_cents specifies the size of an octave in cents of a semitone or 1/1200 of an octave. Fifth_cents specifies in the size of a fifth (normally 700 cents). For example: %%MIDI temperament 1200.5 698.0 will produce a slightly stretched scale with narrowed fifths. More details on linear tempered scales can be found on the site http://www.xs4all.nl/~huygensf/scala/
The pitch of each note is modified using a MIDI pitchbend command to comply with the scale. In order to handle chords, each note of the chord must be played on a different MIDI channel.
The normal musical scale has a temperament of%%MIDI temperamentlinear 1200 700but to avoid unnecessary pitchbends you should restore to the normal temperament using the command %%MIDI termperamentnormal
quantizes the pitches of the notes using the comma53 system where an octave is divided into 53 equally spaced tones.
此指令设定使用comma53系统来量化音高，该系统将一个八度分为53个等间隔的音。
%%MIDI makechordchannels n
和弦通道数目n
If you are not modifying the temperament or inserting microtones you can ignore this command.
假如不需改变音阶的大小，也没有引入微调的话，可以忽视这个指令。
Normally in voice chords containing microtones e.g. [_/CE_/G] will not be handled correctly because all the notes in the chord are played on the same MIDI channel. If you include the above command where n here is 2, then two separate channels will be allocated for playing the other two notes in this chord. These separate channels will be used whether the pitches of the notes are bent or not. Once you allocate those channels with this command, they are no longer available and since there are only 16 MIDI channels you can easily run out. Furthermore, you need to allocate chordchannels for any other voices which may have in voice chords.
The channel allocation process will automatically propogate the program assignment (musical instrument) to the other chordchannels, so be sure you set the program before using this command. If you need to change the program assignments, you can find out the channel numbers that were assigned by running abc2midi in verbose mode using the -v command in the execution string.
This command loads file filename into abc2midi which contains the Phil Taylor stress parameters and puts abc2midi in the mode where it applies these stress parameters on every note. This model runs in opposition to the standard beat model, so the MIDI beat, beatstring, beatmod commands become ineffectual. This also means that the dynamic indications !f! !pp! etc. do not work any more.
参数filename 是个档案名字，此档案含有泰勒节拍，Phil Taylor stress parameters。
此指令要求abc2midi执行该档案中的泰勒节拍。
此指令与MIDI的标准节拍指令是不相容的，此指令执行时，下列指令都失效，beat，beatstring， beatmod，!f! ，!pp! 等等。
There are two different implementations of the stress model. Model 1 modifies the note articulation and takes control of the MIDI trim parameters too. To revert back to the standard model, put the command %%MIDI beataccents. Model 2 modifies both the onset and ending of each note allowing a musical beat to expand or contract in time. However, the length of a musical measure should be preserved. Note if you using model 2, which is the current default, you must include -BF as one of the runtime parameters of abc2midi.
The model divides a bar into equal segments. For each segment, a loudness or MIDI velocity is specified and a duration multiplier is specified. If a note falls into a specific segment, it assumes the velocity of that segment and its duration is modified accordingly. If the note overlaps more than one segment, then the note assumes the average of those segment values.
The input file specifies the number of segments and the loudness and duration multipliers for each segment. The file has the following format:
8
110 1.4
90 0.6
110 1.4
90 0.6
110 1.4
90 0.6
110 1.4
90 0.6
where the first value is the number of segments and each line specifies the velocity and duration multiplier of the specific segment. The velocity is limited to 127 and the duration is a decimal number. The note durations is modified by varying the gap between notes, so it is not possible to extend a note. This preserves the regular tempo of the music. The program scales, the note duration indications by dividing it by the maximum value which here is 1.4.
where n is either 1 or 2, selects the stress model implementation.
参数n是1或 2，设定用第一或第二种方法实现泰勒节拍模型。
%%MIDI expand m/n
扩张m/n
This command causes all the following notes be lengthened by the amount factor m/n so that they overlap the next note. Thus the next note is started at the proper time, but the previous note ends after the beginning of the note. This overlap causes a nice effect for particular MIDI instruments such as choir voices. The %%MIDI expand function behaves in the opposite manner as the %%MIDI trim function.
Since many MIDI devices do not support this function, use of this command is not recommended. The command changes the tuning of a single note using the "universal system exclusive messages". k is the MIDI pitch being retuned (a number between 0 to 127) and pitch is a floating point number representing the pitch's new value in MIDI pitch units.
This command defines how to bend a particular note following the !bend! decoration. The pitch of the note shifts up or down as the note is playing. n1 is the velocity of the pitch change and n2 is the acceleration (how fast the velocity changes). The bend is accomplished by modifying the MIDI pitchwheel where the 8192 is the neutral. Minimum and maximum values are 0 and 16383 correspond to two semitones shifts in either directions. The velocity and acceleration may be positive or negative.
This command is a more general way for defining how a note is bent. It can also apply with !shape! decoration discussed later. The note is split into n equal segments corresponding to each of the n1, n2, etc values. The n1, n2, ... values are the increments (or decrements if they are negative) which are added to the pitchwheel value. Thus %%MIDI bendstring 1000 1000 -500 -500 .will split a note into 4 parts and the pitchwheel values in each part will be 9192, 10192, 9692, and 9192.
This command defines how the m th MIDI controller changes for the note following the !shape! decoration. The note is divided into n segments where n is the number of values following the m or controller number. n1, n2, n3, ... are the values for controller m in each segment. This allows you to shape the sound of the note. For example, by changing the modwheel or the expression. All the values m, n1, n2 are numbers between 0 and 127.
If you are creating an abc file with many tunes, abc2ps and abcm2ps allows you to declare certain settings that apply to all tunes by placing them at the beginning of the file prior to the start of the tune. Abc2midi provides this feature but presently only to a limited extent. The following MIDI commands will change the defaults for all tunes if they are placed outside of any tune.
All other MIDI commands placed outside of a tune will be ineffective and return a warning message "cannot handle this MIDI directive here" (For more details see CHANGES, May 06 2005 entry.)Any of these defaults can be changed as many times as you like provided that they are occur outside a tune which is usually delineated by a X: reference number and a blank line.
其他的MIDI指令不能置于曲子外，否则会产生下列错误讯息"cannot handle this MIDI directive here" "这个MIDI指令不能用于此处。
" (参看档案CHANGES, May 06 2005。)
Voice Splitting
分割声部
Abcm2ps allows a voice to separate into two or more voices in a specific bar using the symbol '&'. This feature now works in abc2midi. Abc2midi places the split voice into a separate MIDI track with intervening rests. When a voice splits, the new voice inherits the program number (musical instrument) from the parent voice.
Compatibility with proposed abc standard version 2.0
abc 2.0 标准中的新条例
The proposed standard introduces a new copyright field using the syntax%%abc-copyright (c) Copyright John Smith 2003
新的abc 2.0 标准中有个版权参数值，如下例:
%%abc-copyright (c) Copyright John Smith 2003
Abc2midi now inserts this in the MIDI file in the form of a metatext copyright tag. Changes were made to the event_specific function in store.c to process the copyright information. It is also copied into the Karaoke track (if it is created) as as @T field.
If you want to typeset your abc, there are some more features of abc syntax that you need to know:
以下是将abc文件印成乐谱时必须知道的一些事项：
If 2 notes appear consecutively with no space between them, they will be grouped together under the same beam. A space between them prevents them sharing a beam.
A new line of stave music is generated by the newline at the end of a line of abc music. To suppress this, put a \ character at the end of the abc music line.
An abc music line should end either at a bar line or at the space between two notes which indicates they do not share a beam. This is true whether or not the abc line ends with a \ character.
在abc曲谱中，不论是否在行尾用到\ 符号来连接两行，每一行必须以小节綫或两音符间的空格终结。
Error Messages and Warnings
错误信息与警告信息
abc2midi attempts to perform various checks on the abc and reports any problems via error and warning messages:
软件abc2midi 会检查abc 文件，如发现问题时会以错误信息或警告信息来回报该问题：
A warning message indicates there is something strange in the abc - possibly an error or possibly non-standard usage.
警告信息表示文件中有些奇怪的地方，可能是文法错误或不是标准的写法。
An error message means that abc2midi thinks there is definitely an error in the abc and the MIDI generated may not be correct.
错误信息表示文件中有错误，产生的MIDI会是不正确的。
In a small number of cases, an error may cause abc2midi to stop. This is usually either because it has run out of memory or because there is some problem with reading or writing a file.
Bar counting and checkingConventionally bars are numbered starting from one. If the first bar is incomplete (anacrusis), then it is counted as zero. Abc2ps and abcm2ps follows this convention but abcMIDI does not. All bars are counted starting from zero and furthermore if there is an incomplete bar just before a repeat (:| |: or ::), the bar count is not incremented. It is difficult to change this convention since abcMIDI assigns a number to the bar ahead when it sees a bar line. It would be necessary to introduce some look ahead for the first bar in the tune.
If abc2midi reports a problem in a specific bar, you can use yaps with the -k option (for print bar numbers) to locate this bar. If you use another program such as abc2ps, then the bar number in the displayed or printed version may be one unit higher.
The most common error seems to be a missing beat or having an extra beat in a bar. In the vicinity of a repeat, abc2midi tries to complete the first bar using the incomplete bar at the end of the repeat. If the first bar can be completed, then no warning is reported. The first bar may be complete the first time the section is played but incomplete in the second repeat. Complications occur when the left repeat symbol (|:) is missing and abc2midi has to assume it is at the beginning. More complications occur when there is a key change after the repeat or the music is split into parts A,B,C, etc. Yaps does the bar checking differently when it encounters repeats so that it may not resolve as many incomplete bars and report more warnings.
The bar checking is present for providing warnings. For some music, an extra beat may be intentional and it is not marked by a meter change. If you are only printing the music, there is probably no problem; however, if you are producing a MIDI file and there is guitar (gchord) accompaniment then a break or missing beat might be noticeable.
小节核对的目的仅在提出警告。
有些曲子，额外的节拍是故意的。
如果只是打印乐谱，可能没有问题。
但如果是要产生一个MIDI文件，有吉他和弦（gchord）伴奏，则节拍错误或不规则就会相当明显。
General MIDI Program Number/Instrument Name
通用MIDI音色号码与对应的乐器名称
（译者：下表应被视爲译文的一部分。）
1. Acoustic Grand Piano
2. Bright Acoustic Piano
3. Electric Grand Piano
4. Honky-tonk Piano
5. Electric Piano 1
6. Electric Piano 2
7. Harpsichord
8. Clavi
9. Celesta
10. Glockenspiel
11. Music Box
12. Vibraphone
13. Marimba
14. Xylophone
15. Tubular Bells
16. Dulcimer
17. Drawbar Organ
18. Percussive Organ
19. Rock Organ
20. Church Organ
21. Reed Organ
22. Accordion
23. Harmonica
24. Tango Accordion
25. Acoustic Guitar (nylon)
26. Acoustic Guitar (steel)
27. Electric Guitar (jazz)
28. Electric Guitar (clean)
29. Electric Guitar (muted)
30. Overdriven Guitar
31. Distortion Guitar
32. Guitar harmonics
33. Acoustic Bass
34. Electric Bass (finger)
35. Electric Bass (pick)
36. Fretless Bass
37. Slap Bass 1
38. Slap Bass 2
39. Synth Bass 1
40. Synth Bass 2
41. Violin
42. Viola
43. Cello
44. Contrabass
45. Tremolo Strings
46. Pizzicato Strings
47. Orchestral Harp
48. Timpani
49. String Ensemble 1
50. String Ensemble 2
51. SynthStrings 1
52. SynthStrings 2
53. Choir Aahs
54. Voice Oohs
55. Synth Voice
56. Orchestra Hit
57. Trumpet
58. Trombone
59. Tuba
60. Muted Trumpet
61. French Horn
62. Brass Section
63. SynthBrass 1
64. SynthBrass 2
65. Soprano Sax
66. Alto Sax
67. Tenor Sax
68. Baritone Sax
69. Oboe
70. English Horn
71. Bassoon
72. Clarinet
73. Piccolo
74. Flute
75. Recorder
76. Pan Flute
77. Blown Bottle
78. Shakuhachi
79. Whistle
80. Ocarina
81. Lead 1 (square)
82. Lead 2 (sawtooth)
83. Lead 3 (calliope)
84. Lead 4 (chiff)
85. Lead 5 (charang)
86. Lead 6 (voice)
87. Lead 7 (fifths)
88. Lead 8 (bass + lead)
89. Pad 1 (new age)
90. Pad 2 (warm)
91. Pad 3 (polysynth)
92. Pad 4 (choir)
93. Pad 5 (bowed)
94. Pad 6 (metallic)
95. Pad 7 (halo)
96. Pad 8 (sweep)
97. FX 1 (rain)
98. FX 2 (soundtrack)
99. FX 3 (crystal)
100. FX 4 (atmosphere)
101. FX 5 (brightness)
102. FX 6 (goblins)
103. FX 7 (echoes)
104. FX 8 (sci-fi)
105. Sitar
106. Banjo
107. Shamisen
108. Koto
109. Kalimba
110. Bag pipe
111. Fiddle
112. Shanai
113. Tinkle Bell
114. Agogo
115. Steel Drums
116. Woodblock
117. Taiko Drum
118. Melodic Tom
119. Synth Drum
120. Reverse Cymbal
121. Guitar Fret Noise
122. Breath Noise
123. Seashore
124. Bird Tweet
125. Telephone Ring
126. Helicopter
127. Applause
128. Gunshot
This reference written 1995-1998 by James Allwright