Midi To Abc Notation Program For Mac

16-09-2021 admin

midi2abc: program to convert MIDI format files to abc notation

Command to display midi2abc manual in Linux: $ man 1 midi2abc

Runabc is a user interface supporting abc music notation software Runabc is a graphic user interface to the abcMIDI, abc2svg and abcm2ps packages which normally run in a command window. In addition it contains numerous tools for editing and processing and analyzing abc and midi files. Runabc has been included in the sourceforge abc music project.
Download the latest version of MuseScore for Mac - Music notation program. Read 19 user reviews of MuseScore on MacUpdate.

AbcMIDI is a package of programs developed by James Allwright for processing ABC music notation files. It consists of several programs: abc2midi, abc2abc, yaps, and midi2abc.

NAME

midi2abc - program to convert MIDI format files to abc notation

SYNOPSIS

midi2abc -f infile [-xa] [-ga][-a acbeats] [-m time signature] [-ppu parts per unit] [-aul denominator of unit length][-gu] [-b

bars] [-Q tempo] [-u pulses][-k key] [-c channel] [-obpl] [-bpl bars] [-bps bars][-o filename] [-s] [-sr units] [-sum] [-nt][-splitbars] [-splitvoices] [-midigram] [-mftext] [-nogr] [-title string][-origin string]

DESCRIPTION

midi2abc takes a MIDI format file and converts it to something as closeas possible to abc text format. The user then has to add text fields notpresent in the MIDI header and possibly tidy up the abc note output.

The output of midi2abc is printed to the screen. To save it to a file, usethe redirection operator, (e.g. midi2abc -f file.mid > file.abc) orspecify the output file using the -o option.

Use only one or none of the options -u -gu, -b and -Q. Midi2abc normallyconverts the MIDI time units into quantum units normally corresponding to theabc 1/16th note or 1/32nd note. If none of these is present, theprogram will use the PPQN information in the MIDI header to compute the suitableconversion factor. For most MIDI files on the web, it is recommended to rely on the MIDI header information and not use any of the options other thanthe formatting options.

The program will extract the time signature infromation from the MIDI fileif it is present. Otherwise it will assume 4/4 or you could specify it with-m. option.

If the tune has an anacrusis, you can use either the -ga or -xa option to estimate the its length. Alternatively, you can specify its value using the -aoption. The anacrusis is specified in half unit lengths, where the unitlength is defined by the L: field. For example if L: 1/8, then aquarter note would be indicated by the value 4, (4 1/16 units).

OPTIONS

-splitvoices: This parameter like above handles polyphonic chords bysplitting an entire voice into multi voices.
-midigram: When this option appears, all other options are ignored andno abc file is produced. Instead a list of all notes in theMIDI file are printed in a fixed format. Each line representsa pair of MIDI note on/off event. The line contains theon/off time of the note, its track number, channel number,midi pitch and midi velocity. The last record indicatesthe duration of the MIDI file in MIDI pulse units. Theoutput is designed to go into a graphical user interfacewhich will produce a graphical representation (piano roll).
-mftext: When this option appears, all other options are ignored andno abc file is produced. Instead a list of all the MIDIcommands are printed. The output is designed to go intoa graphical user interface provided by runabc.tcl.
-title string: Replaces the default title field following T: withthe given string.
-origin string: Adds an O: field with the given string.

FEATURES

* The key is chosen so as to minimize the number of accidentals. Alternatively, the user can specify the key numerically (a positive numberis the number of sharps, a negative number is minus the number of flats).

* Note length can be set by specifiying the total number of bars or the tempo of the piece. Alternatively the note length can be read from the file.However, by default it is deduced in a heuristic manner from the inter-note distances. This means that you do not have to use the MIDI clock as a metronome when playing in a tune from a keyboard.

* Barlines are automatically inserted. The user specifies the number ofmeasures in the anacrusis before the first barline and the time signature.

* The program can guess how the length of the anacrusis,either by looking for the first strong note or minimizing the number ofnotes split by a tie across a barline.

* Where a note extends beyond a bar break, it is split into two tied notes.

* The output has 4 bars per line.

* Enough accidental signs are put in the music to ensure that no pitcherrors occur if a barline is added or deleted.

* The program attempts to group notes sensibly in each bar.

* Triplets and broken rhythm (a>b) are supported.

* Chords are identified.

* Text information from the original MIDI file is included as comments.

* The -c option can be used to select only 1 MIDI channel. Events on other channels are ignored.

LIMITATIONS

midi2abc does not ...

* Supply tune title, composer or any other field apart from X: , K:, Q:, M:and L: - these must be added by hand afterwards, though they may have beenincluded in the text of the MIDI file.

* Support duplets, quadruplets, other esoteric features.

* Support mid-tune key or time signature changes.

* Deduce repeats. The output is just the notes in the input file.

* Recover an abc tune as supplied to abc2midi. However, if you want todo this, 'midi2abc -xa -f file.mid' comes close.

AUTHOR

James Allwright <J.R.Allwright [at] westminster.ac.uk>

SUPPORTED

Seymour Shlien <seymour.shlien [at] crc.ca>

VERSION

This man page describes midi2abc version 2.91 from March 09 2008.

COPYRIGHT

midi2abc is supplied 'as is' without any warranty. Itis free software and can be used, copied, modified anddistributed without fee under the terms of the GNU General Public License.