Original Usenet thread from alt.ascii-art, started 16 Feb 2000.
ASCII Music Notation?
alt.ascii-art
· 25 messages · 16 Feb 2000 - 8 Mar 2000
Hi!
We were having a small discussion going in rec.music.compose on the
subject of ascii representation of sheet music, but we seem to be
a bit wanting for ascii artist (see below). Maybe there are music
enthousiasts here?
It's been suggested that the drawings below are too elaborate:
This tries to do too much. I wouldn't expect nice clef signs in
ASCII notation. Just a *representation* of clefs; merely putting
"g clef" in front of the staff would be fine with me. The
important thing is that the pitches and durations are
understandable.
but I don't think that's the case because the clefs are not the point.
Incidentally: `g clef' is just as wide as the elaborate symbol is, so
that doesn't really help. Note: as we have the aid of a full music
typesetter, the complexity of the symbols is no issue, only size and
feasibility (combination of symbols) are. The problem is: you seem
to need a height of at least 9 characters per staff, because of notes
on and between staff lines.
Anyway, I'm very much interesed in good alternatives, maybe someone
has something helpful to contribute; fine ascii example drawings can
be of much use!
Greetings,
Jan.
Michael Gula <mik...@MORESPAMerols.com> wrote:
>Since there are software developers in this forum, I thought this
>might be a good place to discuss this idea.
>
>Wouldn't it be nice if someone would develop a program that can
>easily create understandable music notation in ASCII format?
>Guitar tab folks make ASCII tab all the time, right?
>
>I've seen a lot of nice ASCII art. There must be a way to
>approximate a treble clef, bass clef, a staff, notes, stems, etc.
>using ASCII.
I've been thinking about this, and have even made some attempts.
We're developing a free music typesetter, GNU LilyPond (www.lilypond.org),
which has a versatile backend. If we would have an `ascii musical
character set', it should not be too hard to add ascii output.
It seemed easier to imagine than to achieve, however, to create a
workable character set. Here's a simple example of suggestive
ascii notation, as I would like to have it typeset by LilyPond:
What fingering do you use? Here's is mine:
$ echo "< c-1 e-2 g4 >" | lilypond --simple
.. yields..
4
2
1
-|x----------
-|x----------
-|x----------
|
|
But the problem is, lots of information is missing here, and it would
be too hard for a typsetting program to guess what can be omitted. If
you want to be able to include all information in ascii, it gets very
wide and big. That's why I gave up, until maybe an ascii artist helps
me further. See:
/\
| |
+----|-|---------------------------------------+----------------
/ | | | +----+----+----+----+ | +----+--
/ |----|/--------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|----|--
/ | /| | | | | | | | |
| |--/-|----b----r-----|----|----|----|----|-----|--r-----|----|--
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| |-|-(@)--------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|----|--
| | \ |/ | x| | x| | | | x|
| +----|---------------|---------|---------|-----+--------|-------
\ o/ x| x| x| x|
| --- --- --- ---
/ | | | x|
-| -x- -x- -x-
\
|
/
| +---------------|------------------------------+----------------
| | /^\ | |
| |--o |:--------|------------------------------|---|------------
| | / | | |
| |---/----------o|------------------R-----------|---|------------
\ | / | |
\ |-|-------b------------------------------------|--o|------------
\ | |
+----------------------------------------------+----------------
I should have nicer versions of the clefs, somewhere, but I can't seem
to find them now. But you should get the idea, it doesn't seem to be
useful for anything but the shortest of fragments.
--
Jan Nieuwenhuizen <jan...@gnu.org> | GNU LilyPond - The music typesetter
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jantien | http://www.lilypond.org
(Crossposted to rec.music.compose, dispite the fact that I'm showing that I know almost nothing about music notation :) On 16 Feb 2000 14:28:01 +0100, jan...@xs4.xs4all.nl (Jan Nieuwenhuizen) wrote: >Hi! > >We were having a small discussion going in rec.music.compose on the >subject of ascii representation of sheet music, but we seem to be >a bit wanting for ascii artist (see below). Maybe there are music >enthousiasts here? I'll take a whack at this. It's an interesting problem. I don't know much about music notation, though, so my ideas may not be worth all that much. >It's been suggested that the drawings below are too elaborate: I agree. You can save a lot of space with some thought. > This tries to do too much. I wouldn't expect nice clef signs in > ASCII notation. Just a *representation* of clefs; merely putting > "g clef" in front of the staff would be fine with me. The > important thing is that the pitches and durations are > understandable. > >but I don't think that's the case because the clefs are not the point. >Incidentally: `g clef' is just as wide as the elaborate symbol is, so >that doesn't really help. However, 'g clef' is much easier to write, even for a program. And, it is much easier to read than a blocky ascii picture. You can also write: g c l e f And only take up one line. >Anyway, I'm very much interesed in good alternatives, maybe someone >has something helpful to contribute; fine ascii example drawings can >be of much use! OK, from what I remember, we have whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, and rests of all of those. Plus, I've seen big arcs on the page (Whatever those are for) and sometimes notes are grouped together via lines, single, double, (triple?). And sometimes the lines are thick, sometimes thin. Something else tells me that sometimes you can have a note with a little dot next to it, which means 'an extra eighth' or 'an extra sixteenth' or somesuch. Soooooo.... Here's some ideas. Every note should fit on 1 row, and we should try to keep most things down to 3 columns at most. Whole note: (*) Half Note: ( ) Quarter Note: (*) | | | Eighth Note: ( ) | | | Of course, if my coloring or whatnot is off, change it to suit real music notation :) What next? Rests? I've always seen these as little black boxes above a line. I don't know how to distinguish between half, quarter, or whatnot, but here's my ideas: _ --*-- _ --~-- _ --^-- Just a thought. Now, to group these things together will be a bear. The I am going to assume the worst case scenario, which is that the thickness of the lines is important, and that there can be up to 3, all in different thicknesses. I'm going to hope a bit and say that if the lines are horizontal instead of slanted, everybody will still understand it. For the thick lines, we can use ###### because that looks thick. For the thin ones, ====== or ++++++. Basically, we need to determine between the thick lines, the thin lines, and the actual lines on the 'paper' we are drawing on. For the little dot, that's easy. Use a period. Now, those arcs. You can't do that without a LOT of trouble, especially in a program. I suggest something over the bar that looks somewhat like this: ______________________ / \ Can't think of another way. Lastly, the vertical lines on the bar. IIRC, there are thin ones and, at the ends, thick ones. We can't use | because that's in the notes, so I suggest ! or I, perhaps + or 1, whatever looks best. I personally prefer +. For the thick ones, just use 2 +'s. So, let's put that all together: ________ / \ ++--------|######|-----------------+ ++ g |======| + ++--------|------|######|----------+ ++ | |======| _ + ++-c------|------|------|----*-----+ ++ l (*). | | + ++-e-----------(*).-----|----------+ ++ f ( ) + ++---------------------------------+ I don't pretend that this is anything that could be played by anyone. It's just my all-encompassing example. A programmer may need to raise stuff above the 5 normal lines, to account for high notes. Dunno. Anyway, there's the spewings of someone who not only likes Ascii art, but also thinks about the limitations of outputting stuff from a program. --Wesley The only stupid question is the unasked question. And that's a good thing, because I hate stupid questions!
In article <88e8l1$33h$1...@xs4.xs4all.nl>, jan...@xs4.xs4all.nl (Jan Nieuwenhuizen) wrote: > > Hi! > > We were having a small discussion going in rec.music.compose on the > subject of ascii representation of sheet music, but we seem to be > a bit wanting for ascii artist (see below). Maybe there are music > enthousiasts here? [snip] > > I should have nicer versions of the clefs, somewhere, but I can't seem > to find them now. But you should get the idea, it doesn't seem to be > useful for anything but the shortest of fragments. Stave: ___|)___________________________________________________________ |___/____________________________________________________________ |__/|____________________________________________________________ |_/(|,\__________________________________________________________ |_\_|_/__________________________________________________________ | | | (_| | |________________________________________________________________ |__/___\_._______________________________________________________ |__\___|_._______________________________________________________ |_____/__________________________________________________________ |____/___________________________________________________________ ejm This is the very first "song" I played when I started learning to read music at the age of 5: ___|)________________________________________________________ |___/____________________________|___________________________|| |__/|_______/|____/|_____/|______|___________________________|| |_/(|,\____/_|___/_|____/_|______|___________________________|| |_\_|_/___|__|__|__|___|__|___|__|___________________________|| | | | () | () | () | | || | (_| -()- -()- -()- -()- | -()- -()- -()- -()- || |________________________________|__|__()_|__()_|__()__|_____|| |__/___\_._______________________|__|__|__|__|__|__|___|_____|| |__\___|.________________________|___\_|___\_|___\_|___|_____|| |_____/__________________________|____\|____\|____\|_________|| |____/___________________________|___________________________|| ejm Here we are at lesson one; making music is such fun! B flat: ___|)_________|___________ |___/___|______|____ |__/|___|-.__,-.________ |_/(|,\_|/___`-'______ |_\_|_/__________ | (_| ejm C clef: _,-.___________________________________________________________ ||___)__________________________________________________________ ||'==;__________________________________________________________ ||___)__________________________________________________________ |_`-'______________________________________________________ejm__ Granted, the black notes are difficult to distinguish from the white notes.... It would have to be taken for granted that people would know that D major was F# and C# and where those notes are on the stave. C# to D in 8th notes 4ter note rest: |/ ___|)______|/|/___|____________________________________________ |___/______/|/|__|_|/_______,-.____\____________________________ |__/|______/|____|/|/____(_)`-'____<____________________________ |_/(|,\_________/|/|_____|__|______(____________________________ |_\_|_/_________/|_______|_/____________________________________ | |/ (_| Hmmmm. Well, I tried... but it seems that your notes are a bit more successful Altering your bass clef: g minor: +---------------|---------------------(x)------+------------++ | ,-. | | | ( ) || |--o |:---|----|------------#(x)-----|--------|------------|| | / |) | (x) | | | || |---/---------(x)----|--------|----------------|------------|| | / | | | | || |-------|)-----------|-------------------------|------------|| | | || +----------------------------------------------+------------|| D major: /\ +----|-|--#------------------------------------+---------------- | |/ +----+----+----+----+ | +----+-- |----| --------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|----|-- | /| # \ | | | | | | \ | | |--/-|--------<------|----|----|----|----|-----|--<-----|----|-- | | | _ ( | | | | | | ( | | |-|-(@)-)------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|----|-- | \ | / | (x) | (x) | | | (x) +----|---------------|---------|---------|-----+--------|------- | (x) (x) (x) (x) (_| --- --- --- --- | | | (x) -(x)- -(x)- -(x)- Perhaps you can go on from there.... NOTE: I never pick up my mail from the yahoo address. If you are e-mailing and hit the reply button, add an "e" to "freent"; its absense is to stop the torment of automatic mailers. -- -#----- cq547@freene+.+oron+o.on.ca | llizard aka ejm \_|_/ _ _\,^%--- I REALLY _|K__|_ =#-(_X_)< \ should be practicing!! | \/ > |, ___>,^ ASCII-art and ASCII-animations /|\ ejm //| | http://www.crosswinds.net/~llizard/
On Yesterday, Wesley Clifford wrote:
: Every note should fit on 1 row, and we should try to keep most things
: down to 3 columns at most.
:
: Whole note: (*)
:
: Half Note: ( )
:
: Quarter Note: (*)
: |
: |
: |
:
: Eighth Note: ( )
: |
: |
: |
:
Breve / ? / lasts 8 beats - rarely used
|(_)|
Semibreve / whole note / lasts 4 beats
(_)
Minim / half note / lasts 2 beats
|
|
|
(_)
Crotchet / quarter note / lasts 1 beat
|
|
|
(@) - on the 'puter I'm using, '@' is more intense than '*'
Quaver / eighth note / lasts 0.5 beats
|\
|
|
(@)
Semiquaver / sixteenth note / lasts 0.25 beats
|\
|\
|
(@)
Demisemiquaver / 32th note / lasts 0.125 beats
|\
|\
|\
(@)
That should be enough notes to serve most needs
(unless you're a die-hard Chopin/Rachmaninov fan, in which case you'd
probably need:
Hemidemisemiquaver / sixty-fourth note / lasts 0.0625 beats
Semihemidemisemiquaver / (128th note?) / lasts 0.03125 beats
Demisemihemidemisemiquaver / (256th note?) / lasts 0.015625 beats
Hemidemisemihemidemisemiquaver / (512th note?) / lasts 0.0078125 beats
and therefore a higher resolution (so you could fit more sidebars onto
the note!))
Of course, one possible solution to the size problem is to scale the
score to a suitable resolution (if necessary taking a few hundred
columns), and then if possible print it off using a really small font
(I'm assuming here that people will make hard copies of the score using
laser/inkjet printers [or possibly a decent dot-matrix - an Epson FX-80
wouldn't do!] and not lineprinters [yes, they still exist - UWA has 2!])
: What next? Rests?
: _
: --*--
: _
: --~--
: _
: --^--
:
Four main types of rest (although they may be mis-named and/or the 2/4
beat rests muddled):
----|@@|----
Breve rest (8 beats) - a black box hovering in the middle of the line
----xxxx----
Semibreve rest (4 beats) - the lower half of the above
----""""-----
Minim rest (2 beats) - the upper half of a breve rest
>
)
Crotchet rest (1 beat) - essentially a right angle bracket sitting on
top of a closing parenthesis.
*---,
,'
/
Quaver rest (0.5 beats) - a fancy '7'
Smaller rests use a variation of the quaver rest.
Accidentals:
|/
|/|/
/|/|
/|
Sharp (similar to the hash # key [although not on this machine, where
it's more like =||= )
|
|_
|/
Flat (think of an italicised 'b', now push it up again so the bar is
vertical)
|
|/|
|/|
|
Natural (an elongated sharp with a few bits missing)
As for the staff/stave etc., I'll delegate that to someone else....
And as for the first 'song' I learnt on the piano:
"I am C...Mid-dle C....Left-Hand Right-Hand Mid-dle C..." <g>
Soon after followed by the likes of "Merrily we roll along" and "Lightly
Row" (the two ubiquitous tunes which until a few years ago appeared in
how-to-play books for practically every musical instrument!), not
forgetting the opening to Haydn's 94th (the final two bars
slightly modified to avoid hand changes/notes higher than G)
ObMicroAsciis:
-| -:=====.==
Upright piano Grand piano
(side view) (side view, lid closed, music stand folded into case)
(cheating? Nah, never, not me!)
--
Ben Norwood - the (ex-)Mad Biologist From Hell
http://www.bigfoot.com/~bdn95/
bdn95 _@/" bigfoot.com
oooops!!! I didn't notice all the extra end spaces. Sorry about that.
Altering your bass clef:
g minor:
+---------------|---------------------(x)------+------------++
| ,-. | | | ( ) ||
|--o |:---|----|------------#(x)-----|--------|------------||
| / |) | (x) | | | ||
|---/---------(x)----|--------|----------------|------------||
| / | | | | ||
|-------|)-----------|-------------------------|------------||
| | ||
+----------------------------------------------+------------++
D major:
/\
+----|-|--#------------------------------------+---------------
| |/ +----+----+----+----+ | +---+--
|----|---------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|---|--
| /| # \ | | | | | | \ | |
|--/-|--------<------|----|----|----|----|-----|--<-----|---|--
| | | _ ( | | | | | | ( | |
|-|-(@)-)------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|---|--
| \ | / | (x) | (x) | | | (x)
+----|---------------|---------|---------|-----+--------|------
| (x) (x) (x) (x)
(_| --- --- --- ---
| | | (x)
-(x)- -(x)- -(x)-
g minor again:
/ /\ |
|+----|-|----|----------------------------------+-----|------++
|| |/ |) + +----+----+----+ | | ||
||----|---------------|\---|----|----|----|-----|---( )------||
|| /| | `-' | \ | | | | | | ||
||--/-|----|)----/----|----|----|----|----|-----|---( )------||
|| | | _ / | | | | | | | ||
||-|-(@)-)------------|--(x)----|----|----|-----|---( ).-----||
|| \ | / | | (x) | | ||
|+----|---------------|-------(x)---------|-----+------------||
|| | (x) (x) | ||
|| (_| | ||
|| | ||
|| | ||
|| | ||
|| | ( ). ||
|+---------------|-----------------------(x)----+----|-------++
|| ,-. | | | ( ). ||
||--o |:---|----|-----------------#(x)- |------|----|-------||
|| / |) | (x) | | | | ||
||---/---------(x)------|-----------|----|------|----( ).----||
|| / | | |____| | | ||
||-------|)-------------|-----------------------|----|-------||
|| | | ||
|+----------------------------------------------+----( ).----++
\ |
Perhaps you can go on from there....
NOTE: I never pick up my mail from the yahoo address. If you
are e-mailing and hit the reply button, add an "e" to "freent";
its absense is to stop the torment of automatic mailers.
--
-#----- cq547@freene+.+oron+o.on.ca
| llizard aka ejm
\_|_/ _ _\,^%--- I REALLY
_|K__|_ =#-(_X_)< \ should be practicing!!
| \/ >
|, ___>,^ ASCII-art and ASCII-animations
/|\ ejm //| | http://www.crosswinds.net/~llizard/
x-posted to rec.music.compose Jan Nieuwenhuizen wrote: > > Hi! > > We were having a small discussion going in rec.music.compose on the > subject of ascii representation of sheet music, but we seem to be > a bit wanting for ascii artist (see below). Maybe there are music > enthousiasts here? > > It's been suggested that the drawings below are too elaborate: > > This tries to do too much. I wouldn't expect nice clef signs in > ASCII notation. Just a *representation* of clefs; merely putting > "g clef" in front of the staff would be fine with me. The > important thing is that the pitches and durations are > understandable. > > but I don't think that's the case because the clefs are not the point. > Incidentally: `g clef' is just as wide as the elaborate symbol is, so > that doesn't really help. Note: as we have the aid of a full music > typesetter, the complexity of the symbols is no issue, only size and > feasibility (combination of symbols) are. The problem is: you seem > to need a height of at least 9 characters per staff, because of notes > on and between staff lines. > > Anyway, I'm very much interesed in good alternatives, maybe someone > has something helpful to contribute; fine ascii example drawings can > be of much use! > > Greetings, > > Jan. > > Michael Gula <mik...@MORESPAMerols.com> wrote: > >Since there are software developers in this forum, I thought this > >might be a good place to discuss this idea. > > > >Wouldn't it be nice if someone would develop a program that can > >easily create understandable music notation in ASCII format? > >Guitar tab folks make ASCII tab all the time, right? > > > >I've seen a lot of nice ASCII art. There must be a way to > >approximate a treble clef, bass clef, a staff, notes, stems, etc. > >using ASCII. > > I've been thinking about this, and have even made some attempts. > We're developing a free music typesetter, GNU LilyPond (www.lilypond.org), > which has a versatile backend. If we would have an `ascii musical > character set', it should not be too hard to add ascii output. > > It seemed easier to imagine than to achieve, however, to create a > workable character set. Here's a simple example of suggestive > ascii notation, as I would like to have it typeset by LilyPond: > > What fingering do you use? Here's is mine: > > $ echo "< c-1 e-2 g4 >" | lilypond --simple > .. yields.. > > 4 > 2 > 1 > -|x---------- > -|x---------- > -|x---------- > | > | > > But the problem is, lots of information is missing here, and it would > be too hard for a typsetting program to guess what can be omitted. If > you want to be able to include all information in ascii, it gets very > wide and big. That's why I gave up, until maybe an ascii artist helps > me further. See: > > /\ > | | > +----|-|---------------------------------------+---------------- > / | | | +----+----+----+----+ | +----+-- > / |----|/--------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|----|-- > / | /| | | | | | | | | > | |--/-|----b----r-----|----|----|----|----|-----|--r-----|----|-- > | | | | | | | | | | | | > | |-|-(@)--------------|----|----|----|----|-----|--------|----|-- > | | \ |/ | x| | x| | | | x| > | +----|---------------|---------|---------|-----+--------|------- > \ o/ x| x| x| x| > | --- --- --- --- > / | | | x| > -| -x- -x- -x- > \ > | > / > | +---------------|------------------------------+---------------- > | | /^\ | | > | |--o |:--------|------------------------------|---|------------ > | | / | | | > | |---/----------o|------------------R-----------|---|------------ > \ | / | | > \ |-|-------b------------------------------------|--o|------------ > \ | | > +----------------------------------------------+---------------- > > I should have nicer versions of the clefs, somewhere, but I can't seem > to find them now. But you should get the idea, it doesn't seem to be > useful for anything but the shortest of fragments. I thought about this once, and I realize is isn't very easy. I'll give it a crack at a small staff. Moderato _________________________________________________________________________\ |:____|\_________b___/______.____.__|__________._______.---.__.____________:| |:____|/__4____|.____$______|____|__|__________|\__-,__|___|__|\_______..__:| |:___/|___4____'`____/______|____|__|__________|___/___|___|__|\___""______:| |:__('|)___________________@|___(|__|__#( )___@|._____@|__@|_@|____________:| "| mp / Here we have a treble clef, time signature, then the key signature is two flats; e and b. I'm not sure how understandable that B flat is. After that, a quarter rest, a quarter note, a half note, a bar line, then a whole note, sharp. At which point it changes to mezzo piano. then a dotted eigth note, then an eight rest, then two joined eigth notes. Then a sixteenth note, half rest and finally a whole rest finishing with a repeat. _ Allegro /.\ ______________________|_________|\_______|""--.---.-.___________________,-._ |:_/"\_.______,,____|___|____|____|________|____|___|__`-.__/__,-._,<|@___`-|_ |:___/_'_3____^^____|_,<|_.__|__,<|__-,__,<|____|___|____|_/=/_`-'_`"|@_____|_ |:__/____4___#____,-|_`"'____|__`"'__/___`"'__,<|__@|____|__/________|______|_ |:_/______________`-' ,='____|________________`"'_______@|___________'________ ff '=' mf Here: Bass Clef, time signature, C and F sharp. Really, that's the best I can think of for a sharp ON a line. Half note and dotted quarter note slurred. Notes ON lines will get a little messy and large, mabye you could add a parenthesis onto a space note (like so (@| ) to make them same size if you like. After that, bar line, eighth note, eigth rest, four connected eigth notes. A whole note with a natural accidental, and a fermata. Then an upside down quarter note chord and half note. Well, this is the best stuff I could come up with, mabye you like it, come up with better ideas for certain objects, whatever. I know there's probably dozens of things I've left out, but I've covered everything I can think of at the moment. Here's hoping you'll find some use from these suggestions. -- /\----------------------------------+---------------------/\ / From the crazy mind of Shaun Mead.|____________________/ \ / Got ICQ? Reach me at 26586042. | Are grapes following \ ( BEWARE THE MONSOON! Check out | you to work? You may ) \ http://www.rctm.homepage.com | be hallucinating. / \ shaun.mead(at)ns.sympatico.ca | - Mad Magazine / \/----------------------------------+---------------------\/
Ben Norwood wrote: > [snip of good notes] > Crotchet rest (1 beat) - essentially a right angle bracket sitting on > top of a closing parenthesis. > > *---, > ,' > / > > Quaver rest (0.5 beats) - a fancy '7' > > Smaller rests use a variation of the quaver rest. > > Accidentals: > > |/ > |/|/ > /|/| > /| > > Sharp (similar to the hash # key [although not on this machine, where > it's more like =||= ) > > | > |_ > |/ > > Flat (think of an italicised 'b', now push it up again so the bar is > vertical) > > | > |/| > |/| > | > > Natural (an elongated sharp with a few bits missing) These are nice, but a little difficult to use on spaces AND lines. Yes, it's an awkward little tune. But I'm just trying to fit everything in.... _ /.\ / /\ | |+----|-|----|----------------------------------+----------|-++ || |/ |) + +==+-+ | | || ||----|---------------|\-----------|--|-|-------|--------( )-|| || /| | `-' | \ \ | | | \ | ___ | || ||--/-|----|)----/----|------<-----|--|-|----<--|--"""---( )-|| || | | _ / | ( | | | ( | | || ||-|-(@)-)------------|------_||_--|(x)-|-------|--------( )-|| || \ | / | -++-(x) | | || |+----|---------------|-------||--------|-------+------------|| || | (x) (x) | || || (_| | || || | _ || || | /.\ || || | || || | ( ) || |+---------------|-----------------------(x)----+------------++ || ,-. | _||_ | \ | ( ) || ||--o |:---|----|----------------_||_(x)|---<--|------------|| || / |) | (x) `-' || | | ( | || ||---/---------(x)------|-----/-------|--|------|----( ) ----|| || / | | / +==+ | || ||-------|)-------------|-----------------------|------------|| || | || |+----------------------------------------------+----( ) ----++ \ flat naturals halfnoterest wholenoterest sharps 16thnoterest | +----------||----------------------------------+- | | _||_ | |------------------------------_||_---`-'------|-- | ___ || `-' | |---------------"""----__--------------/-------|---- | | '--' / | |--|)------|-------------------_||_------------|---- | || -++- | +-----------|-------------------||-------------+---- Is that everything? NOTE: I never pick up my mail from the yahoo address. If you are e-mailing and hit the reply button, add an "e" to "freent"; its absense is to stop the torment of automatic mailers. -- ^^^7^^^^7^%=== llizard aka ejm cq547@freene+.+oron+o.on.ca ASCII-ar+ and ASCII-anima+ions http://www.crosswinds.net/~llizard/
In article <crZq4.24$kD3...@sapphire.mtt.net>, Shaun Mead <sha...@ns.sympatico.caREMOVE, CAPITALIZED, TEXT> wrote: >I thought about this once, and I realize is isn't very easy. I'll give it a >crack at a small staff. > > Moderato > _________________________________________________________________________\ > |:____|\_________b___/______.____.__|__________._______.---.__.____________:| > |:____|/__4____|.____$______|____|__|__________|\__-,__|___|__|\_______..__:| > |:___/|___4____'`____/______|____|__|__________|___/___|___|__|\___""______:| > |:__('|)___________________@|___(|__|__#( )___@|._____@|__@|_@|____________:| > "| mp / >Here's hoping you'll find some use from these suggestions. Thanks for all who sent in suggestions! (Too bad a few of them were signed, we can't use those.) Over the weekend I've prepared a first minimal version of an ascii backend to LilyPond. There are now two ascii staff sizes; height 5 and 9 character. For each size, there's a font of ascii characters: mf/as5.af an mf/as9.af. The LilyPond music typesetter generates the AsciiScript typesetting recipe. This AsciiScript is then plotted by a simple external program: scripts/as2text.scm. Lots of work still needs to be done. I haven't had the time to get the placement of most characters right. The ascii font files are to be considered very much work-in-progress, but you can already have a look if you want. You can pick up a copy of GNU LilyPond at: ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/pub/GNU/LilyPond/v1.3/lilypond-1.3.25.tar.gz or see http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/hanwen/lilypond Greetings, Jan. Here are some results: $ echo "\time 4/4; g''1 g2 g4. g8" | lilypond -f as -i init-as5.fly - | as2text GNU LilyPond 1.3.25.jcn1 [..] Parsing... [..] Interpreting music...[3]elapsed time: 0.08 seconds Preprocessing elements... [./afm/as5.afm][./afm/as-number1.afm] Calculating column positions... [0] paper output to <stdout>... |\ ----|/------------------|--------------------------| ---/|-------------------|-|----------|--------|\---| --/-|_---4--------------|-|----------|.-------|-)--| -|-/|-\--4-O------------|o|---------*|-------*|----| --\_|_/-----------------|--------------------------| *_| lily $ lilypond -f as -i init-as.ly standchen-as9.ly [...] paper output to standchen-as9.as... $ as2text standchen-as9 as2text - LilyPond version 1.3.25.jcn1 _ Moderato / \ | / /-------|/---------___-------------------------------------------- || | ' ) | ||-----/|------------(---------------------------|----------------|\ || / | | .___)__ | __ | \ ||---/--|---|)---------\-----###################-|--\-----|\------| | || | .+._ _ | | | | | | | \ | | ||--|-(-|--|-------/-|-------|-----|---|---|---|-|--------|--|----| / || \__|_/ /__|_ | | | | | | | | || | ||------|---------___|_------|-|)(*)---|-(*)---|-|--------|-/-|)(*) || *_| | | | | | | | | || (*) -(*)-(*)-(*)-(*) | -(*) -(*) || | . | . | | | | . || --| -- | -- | | |)*) || (*) (*) (*) | . || | || . . . | || | || | | ||----___----------___----|----------------------|------------------------- || / \ . ' ) | | | | ||---\*---|----------(----|-------------\--------|-----|-------------\----| || / . .___) | < | | < | ||------/-----------------|-------------(--------|-----|-------------(----| || / | _ (O) | | | ||----/-----|)-----/-|----|----------------------|-|---|------------------| || _/ /__|_ | | |)(O) | \|----------------___|_---|----------------------|-----|------------------| | | --| -- | | | (O) -- | | | |)(O) lily -- Jan Nieuwenhuizen <jan...@gnu.org> | GNU LilyPond - The music typesetter http://www.xs4all.nl/~jantien | http://www.lilypond.org
Jan Nieuwenhuizen wrote: > > In article <crZq4.24$kD3...@sapphire.mtt.net>, > Shaun Mead <sha...@ns.sympatico.caREMOVE, CAPITALIZED, TEXT> wrote: > > >I thought about this once, and I realize is isn't very easy. I'll give it a > >crack at a small staff. > > > > Moderato > > _________________________________________________________________________\ > > |:____|\_________b___/______.____.__|__________._______.---.__.____________:| > > |:____|/__4____|.____$______|____|__|__________|\__-,__|___|__|\_______..__:| > > |:___/|___4____'`____/______|____|__|__________|___/___|___|__|\___""______:| > > |:__('|)___________________@|___(|__|__#( )___@|._____@|__@|_@|____________:| > > "| mp / > > >Here's hoping you'll find some use from these suggestions. > > Thanks for all who sent in suggestions! (Too bad a few of them were signed, > we can't use those.) Over the weekend I've prepared a first minimal > version of an ascii backend to LilyPond. There are now two ascii staff > sizes; height 5 and 9 character. For each size, there's a font of ascii > characters: mf/as5.af an mf/as9.af. The LilyPond music typesetter > generates the AsciiScript typesetting recipe. This AsciiScript > is then plotted by a simple external program: scripts/as2text.scm. > > Lots of work still needs to be done. I haven't had the time to get the > placement of most characters right. The ascii font files are to be > considered very much work-in-progress, but you can already have a look > if you want. > > You can pick up a copy of GNU LilyPond at: > > ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/pub/GNU/LilyPond/v1.3/lilypond-1.3.25.tar.gz > > or see > > http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/hanwen/lilypond (snip) Hey, looks like you actually used some of my suggestions! Although I downloaded it and still haven't got a clue on god's green earth how to even _start_ the program. Looks nice anyway. -- /\----------------------------------+---------------------/\ / From the crazy mind of Shaun Mead.|____________________/ \ / Got ICQ? Reach me at 26586042. | Are grapes following \ ( BEWARE THE MONSOON! Check out | you to work? You may ) \ http://www.rctm.homepage.com | be hallucinating. / \ shaun.mead(at)ns.sympatico.ca | - Mad Magazine / \/----------------------------------+---------------------\/
In article <KkGs4.96$gz3...@sapphire.mtt.net>, Shaun Mead <sha...@ns.sympatico.caREMOVE, CAPITALIZED, TEXT> wrote: > > > > You can pick up a copy of GNU LilyPond at: > > > > ftp://ftp.cs.uu.nl/pub/GNU/LilyPond/v1.3/lilypond-1.3.25.tar.gz > > > > or see > > > > http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/hanwen/lilypond > (snip) > Hey, looks like you actually used some of my suggestions! Yes, well the biggest probem is the pitch on the 5 char staff. I feel the 9 char staff is too big to be of real use. Maybe, for black notes, we could go ---------------|-- -------|---|---|-- ---|---|--x|--*--- --x|--*----------- ------------------ but it's currently not possible to have different note heads (*,x) for similar notes. I hope to pull a trick somehow. However, the white notes are even more tricky. You made some elaborate attempts, but they're not so cute (imo), rather difficult to read and not easily interchangeable ------------|---|-- --------|---|-,-|-- ---|--,-|--O|-`-'-- --O|--`-'---------- ------------------- That's why I'm a bit tempted to go ---------------|-- -------|---|---|-- ---|---|--o|--�--- --o|--�----------- ------------------ for now. > Although I downloaded it and still haven't got a clue on god's green > earth how to even _start_ the program. Looks nice anyway. Thanks. What operating system do you use? What you donwloaded, are the sources to the program. You did unpack the .tar.gz archive, didn't you? If you're running Windows, it may be a bit difficult to get it compiled. The latest binary available is for version 1.2.0, iirc. This may be addressed shortly. In any case, in the directory `lilypond-1.3.25/mf/' you find some files, that contain my efforts for all musical characters so far: lilypond-1.3.25/mf/as5.af, lilypond-1.3.25/mf/as9.af, and lilypond-1.3.25/mf/as-number4.af you can have a look at those without running the program. Don't hesitate to ask for further instructions, though! Greetings, Jan. -- Jan Nieuwenhuizen <jan...@gnu.org> | GNU LilyPond - The music typesetter http://www.xs4all.nl/~jantien | http://www.lilypond.org
Jan Nieuwenhuizen wrote: > Shaun Mead wrote: > > > > Moderato > > _________________________________________________________________________\ > > |:____|\_________b___/______.____.__|__________._______.---.__.____________:| > > |:____|/__4____|.____$______|____|__|__________|\__-,__|___|__|\_______..__:| > > |:___/|___4____'`____/______|____|__|__________|___/___|___|__|\___""______:| > > |:__('|)___________________@|___(|__|__#( )___@|._____@|__@|_@|____________:| > > "| mp / > > >Here's hoping you'll find some use from these suggestions. > > Thanks for all who sent in suggestions! (Too bad a few of them were signed, > we can't use those.) Why not? Surely these things are more like "fonts" than ordinary pictures?! I don't see anybody mentioning the artists behind their figlet banners... -- (, http://www.ludd.luth.se/~vk/cgi/asciichat/ /|__--__ . __--__ |\ '__ /|\ _{ _ `.' / `.,_ _________ | _________ _,.' (/ `. / ||``._.' ASCII ART CHAT! `---'|:||,/ .' /| /|:| \ .' /\ \ __ __ _ `/|'\' ` `,/ /`,\ \ \ / /__ _ _ ___ _ _ (_)__ __ _ /,'\ \ .'.' /| \ V / -_) '_/ _ \ ' \| / _/ _` | |\ `.`. ,' / / | \_/\___|_| \___/_||_|_\__\__,_| | \ \ `, - `- -- `-'- -ejm-------------------------------------VK-- -`-' -- -' -
Veronica Karlsson <aci...@earthling.net> wrote: > Jan Nieuwenhuizen wrote: > > Thanks for all who sent in suggestions! (Too bad a few of them were signed, > > we can't use those.) > > Why not? Surely these things are more like "fonts" than ordinary > pictures?! I don't see anybody mentioning the artists behind their > figlet banners... I would also see no problem with these. I don't think that you wouldn't give credits for the artist in the README or any similar place which is common to GNU software AFAIK. Or isn't there a Contributers-List already there where you can add the people? *scratches* To make it no problem at all - those who added their tag to their sugguestions should also add their comments on this, so that there won't be a judgement on that topic without mentioning their optinions... Have fun! -- Gerfried Fuchs <URL:mailto:alf...@innocent.com> <URL:http://alfie.ist.org/alfie/>
Jan Nieuwenhuizen <jan...@xs4.xs4all.nl> wrote: > Yes, well the biggest probem is the pitch on the 5 char staff. I feel > the 9 char staff is too big to be of real use. It also seems to me so. But maybe for some people this can also be useful, like for lynx/w3m enhanced web-pages :) > Maybe, for black notes, we could go > > ---------------|-- > -------|---|---|-- > ---|---|--x|--*--- > --x|--*----------- > ------------------ It isn't really obvious which is the one between the lines - should it be the x below the line or the * above the line... > but it's currently not possible to have different note heads (*,x) for > similar notes. I hope to pull a trick somehow. However, the white notes > are even more tricky. You made some elaborate attempts, but they're not > so cute (imo), rather difficult to read and not easily interchangeable > > > ------------|---|-- > --------|---|-,-|-- > ---|--,-|--O|-`-'-- > --O|--`-'---------- > ------------------- I think that's a quite good approach. Maybe you should try to do the black notes also this way? But that really seems tricky to me. I can't come up with anything useful, sorry. > That's why I'm a bit tempted to go > > ---------------|-- > -------|---|---|-- > ---|---|--o|--�--- > --o|--�----------- > ------------------ > > for now. Watch out! � isn't ASCII - it wouldn't look like you think (the degree-character) on other person's displays. Maybe a non-ascii version is the only way to go. But than you would loose quite sure the people in the us who are using only ascii and nothing else (AFAIK). You could make some checks for what the display is able to show (depends on the library you are using, ncurses, slang or anything...). But that wouldn't really help you with those displays that can display only us-ascii. So I would forget about that approach - at least as long you don't have a decent version for us-ascii. > Thanks. > What operating system do you use? What you donwloaded, are the > sources to the program. You did unpack the .tar.gz archive, > didn't you? According to her headers s/he is using Win98 :) > If you're running Windows, it may be a bit difficult to get it > compiled. The latest binary available is for version 1.2.0, iirc. > This may be addressed shortly. Maybe using the cygwin-tools? Has one tried it? Does it depend on any special libraries? Have fun [in a GNU-world ;] -- Gerfried Fuchs <URL:mailto:alf...@innocent.com> <URL:http://alfie.ist.org/alfie/>
In alt.ascii-art Gerfried Fuchs <alf...@innocent.com> wrote:
: Jan Nieuwenhuizen <jan...@xs4.xs4all.nl> wrote:
:> Yes, well the biggest probem is the pitch on the 5 char staff. I feel
:> the 9 char staff is too big to be of real use.
: It also seems to me so. But maybe for some people this can also be
: useful, like for lynx/w3m enhanced web-pages :)
:> Maybe, for black notes, we could go
:>
:> ---------------|--
:> -------|---|---|--
:> ---|---|--x|--*---
:> --x|--*-----------
:> ------------------
:> ------------|---|--
:> --------|---|-,-|--
:> ---|--,-|--O|-`-'--
:> --O|--`-'----------
:> -------------------
How about:
_____.____________________.________________
_____|___|___.____________|___|___.________
____O|__n|___|___|_______X|__v|___|___|____
________Y___O|__n|___________^___X|__v|____
________________Y____________________^_____
Maybe " instead of Y
--
,-, Henry Segerman
|/
|.--, /\ | /|/\,--, ,
/| | \/ | / | /\ | |/
' `--'\/|/ | \/ `--'|
/|
uewJ363S hJu3H `-'
In article <slr...@pc9601.sie.siemens.at>, Gerfried Fuchs <alf...@innocent.com> wrote: >> >> ---------------|-- >> -------|---|---|-- >> ---|---|--x|--*--- >> --x|--*----------- >> ------------------ > > It isn't really obvious which is the one between the lines - should it >be the x below the line or the * above the line... Too bad. It's quite clear here. We'll have to try something else. > According to her headers s/he is using Win98 :) > >> If you're running Windows, it may be a bit difficult to get it >> compiled. The latest binary available is for version 1.2.0, iirc. >> This may be addressed shortly. > > Maybe using the cygwin-tools? Has one tried it? Does it depend on any >special libraries? Yes, that has been tried (by me :-) It works, but compiling LilyPond on Windows is not for the faint of heart. You quite some additional stuff. There's no handy and standard way to distribute binary packages either. Hopefully this all gets a bit easier when Cygnus uses rpm for their distribution. Jeffrey Reed has a page up at http://home.austin.rr.com/jbr/jeff/lilypond/ but is't getting a bit stale. > Have fun [in a GNU-world ;] Thanks. The same to you, and anyone else who wants to join. Greetings, Jan. -- Jan Nieuwenhuizen <jan...@gnu.org> | GNU LilyPond - The music typesetter http://www.xs4all.nl/~jantien | http://www.lilypond.org
In alt.ascii-art Henry Segerman <sjo...@sable.ox.ac.uk> wrote:
: How about:
: _____.____________________.________________
: _____|___|___.____________|___|___.________
: ____O|__n|___|___|_______X|__v|___|___|____
: ________Y___O|__n|___________^___X|__v|____
: ________________Y____________________^_____
: Maybe " instead of Y
More ideas:
-----.--------------------.----------------
-----|---|---.------------|---|---.--------
----(|--,|---|---|-------X|--v|---|---|----
--------`'--(|--,|-----------^---X|--v|----
----------------`'-------------------^-----
_____.____________________.________________
_____|___|___.____________|___|___.________
____(|__,|___|___|_______X|__v|___|___|____
________`'__(|__,|___________^___X|__v|____
________________`'___________________^_____
-----.-----------------------.-------------------
----_|----|----.------------_|----|----.---------
---(_|--,-|---_|----|------(X|--,v|---_|----|----
--------`-'--(_|--,-|-----------`^'--(X|--,v|----
------------------`-'---------------------`^'----
_____._______________________.___________________
_____|____|____._____________|____|____._________
___(_|__,-|____|____|______(X|__,v|____|____|____
________`-'__(_|__,-|___________`^'__(X|__,v|____
__________________`-'_____________________`^'____
This last one looks clearest to me.
--
,-, Henry Segerman
|/
|.--, /\ | /|/\,--, ,
/| | \/ | / | /\ | |/
' `--'\/|/ | \/ `--'|
/|
uewJ363S hJu3H `-'
Henry Segerman (sjo...@sable.ox.ac.uk) wrote: | _____._______________________.___________________ | _____|____|____._____________|____|____._________ | ___(_|__,-|____|____|______(X|__,v|____|____|____ | ________`-'__(_|__,-|___________`^'__(X|__,v|____ | __________________`-'_____________________`^'____ | This last one looks clearest to me. I believe the primary problem with all the proposals is that the staff lines take up too much of the narrow contrast-bandwidth afforded by ASCII characters. Perhaps you should consider trying to reduce this effect somehow. For example, rather than using dash or underscore, use something small like a dot. Or simply increase the white space around every note. Here's what I mean: ................................................. .....|....|..................|....|.............. ...(_|..,-|....|....|......(X|..,v|....|....|.... ........`-'..(_|..,_|...........`^'..(X|..,v|.... ..................`_'.....................`^'.... ____ . __ ________________ . __ _____________ __ _| _ | __ . __ ____ _| _ | __ . __ ___ __ (_| ,-| _| __ | ____ (X| ,v| _| _ | ___ _______ `-' (_| ,_| _________ `^' (X| ,v| ___ _________________ `_' ___________________ `^'____ -- Keith W. Blackwell ** If sending email, please edit the return address (remove "NO.UCE.PLEASE."). ** Or use (without the spaces): < keith . blackwell @ agilent . com > . ** My employer has nothing to do with this posting. ** By the way, I rarely participate in this group, so excuse any fox paws.
In article <8940on$17t$1...@fcnews.fc.hp.com>, Keith Blackwell <kei...@homemail.NO.UCE.PLEASE.com> wrote: >Henry Segerman (sjo...@sable.ox.ac.uk) wrote: >| _____._______________________.___________________ >| _____|____|____._____________|____|____._________ >| ___(_|__,-|____|____|______(X|__,v|____|____|____ >| ________`-'__(_|__,-|___________`^'__(X|__,v|____ >| __________________`-'_____________________`^'____ > > >| This last one looks clearest to me. > > >I believe the primary problem with all the proposals is that the staff >lines take up too much of the narrow contrast-bandwidth afforded by ASCII >characters. Perhaps you should consider trying to reduce this effect >somehow. For example, rather than using dash or underscore, use something >small like a dot. Or simply increase the white space around every note. >Here's what I mean: > >................................................. >.....|....|..................|....|.............. >...(_|..,-|....|....|......(X|..,v|....|....|.... >........`-'..(_|..,_|...........`^'..(X|..,v|.... >..................`_'.....................`^'.... How would you write dotted notes? > >____ . __ ________________ . __ _____________ >__ _| _ | __ . __ ____ _| _ | __ . __ ___ >__ (_| ,-| _| __ | ____ (X| ,v| _| _ | ___ >_______ `-' (_| ,_| _________ `^' (X| ,v| ___ >_________________ `_' ___________________ `^'____ To my eyes it's harder to tell whether these are on lines or spaces. > >-- >Keith W. Blackwell > >** If sending email, please edit the return address (remove "NO.UCE.PLEASE."). >** Or use (without the spaces): < keith . blackwell @ agilent . com > . >** My employer has nothing to do with this posting. >** By the way, I rarely participate in this group, so excuse any fox paws. -- My CD "Kabala": http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fields/cd.html Matt Fields DMA http://listen.to/mattaj TwelveToneToyBox http://start.at/tttb For spammers: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~fields/uce.htm More for spammers (thank you, NMSU!): http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/meep
On Thu, 24 Feb 2000 23:22:51 GMT, fie...@login.itd.umich.edu (Dr.Matt) wrote: > >How would you write dotted notes? > How about: >>................................................. >>.....|....|..................|....|.............. >>...(_|:.,-|....|....|......(X|:.,v|....|....|.... >>........`-':.(_|:.,_|...........`^':.(X|:.,v|.... >>...................`_':...................`^':... > OK, so it's not exactly clear... Nevermind :) --Wesley The only stupid question is the unasked question. And that's a good thing, because I hate stupid questions!
On Fri, 25 Feb 2000 09:17:32 +0100, Lars Lundgren <d95...@dtek.chalmers.se> wrote: >On 24 Feb 2000, Keith Blackwell wrote: > >Wouldnt this be a tiny bit clearer? (just replacing _ by -) > >--------.-----------------.------ >-------_|----|-----|------|------ >------(_|--,-|---,v|----(X|--------- >-----------`-'---`^'-------------- >--------------------------------- Yes, it is. I added an upper line to the first note though. It looks better to me that way. Dunno. --Wesley The only stupid question is the unasked question. And that's a good thing, because I hate stupid questions!
On 24 Feb 2000, Keith Blackwell wrote: > Henry Segerman (sjo...@sable.ox.ac.uk) wrote: > | _____._______________________.___________________ > | _____|____|____._____________|____|____._________ > | ___(_|__,-|____|____|______(X|__,v|____|____|____ > | ________`-'__(_|__,-|___________`^'__(X|__,v|____ > | __________________`-'_____________________`^'____ > > > | This last one looks clearest to me. > > > I believe the primary problem with all the proposals is that the staff > lines take up too much of the narrow contrast-bandwidth afforded by ASCII > characters. Wouldnt this be a tiny bit clearer? (just replacing _ by -) --------.-----------------.------ --------|----|-----|------|------ ------(_|--,-|---,v|----(X|--------- -----------`-'---`^'-------------- --------------------------------- /Lars L
In article <f3jt4.5$dV....@news.itd.umich.edu>, Dr.Matt wrote: >In article <8940on$17t$1...@fcnews.fc.hp.com>, >>................................................. >>.....|....|..................|....|.............. >>...(_|..,-|....|....|......(X|..,v|....|....|.... >>........`-'..(_|..,_|...........`^'..(X|..,v|.... >>..................`_'.....................`^'.... > > >How would you write dotted notes? ................................................. .....|....|..................|....|.............. ...(_|o.,-|....|....|......(X|o.,v|....|....|.... ........`-'o.(_|o.,_|...........`^'o.(X|o.,v|.... ..................`_'o....................`^'o... Not the nicest possible look, but the distinctive shape makes it obvious that the dots are in fact there. -- Ilmari Karonen - http://www.sci.fi/~iltzu/ "Do you replace the battery with a grapefruit when your car won't start, just in case that's the problem?" -- Sam Holden in comp.lang.perl.misc
> On Fri, 25 Feb 2000 09:17:32 +0100, Lars Lundgren > <d95...@dtek.chalmers.se> wrote: > > >On 24 Feb 2000, Keith Blackwell wrote: > > > >Wouldnt this be a tiny bit clearer? (just replacing _ by -) > > > >--------.-----------------.------ > >-------_|----|-----|------|------ > >------(_|--,-|---,v|----(X|--------- > >-----------`-'---`^'-------------- > >--------------------------------- I still think that double spacing is the way to go. All the notes can be created the same way. / /\ | |+----|-|----|----------------------------------+-----|------++ || |/ |) | +====+ | | || ||----|--------------------|-----------|----|---|---( ).-----|| || /| | `-' |\ | `-' | | | | || ||--/-|----|)----/----|-\--|------/----|----|---|---( ).-----|| || | | _ / | | / | | | | || ||-|-(I)-)------------|--(x)----_|_|_--|----|---|---( ).-----|| || \ | / | _|_|_(x) | | || |+----|---------------|----------|-|--------|---+------------|| || | (x) (x) | || || (_| | || || | || || | || || | || || | ( ). || |+---------------|-----------------------(x)----+----|-------++ || ,-. | _|_|_ | | ( ). || ||--o |:---|----|-------------_|_|_(x)- |------|----|-------|| || / |) | (x) | | | | | | || ||---/---------(x)------|-----------|----|------|----( ).----|| || / | | |____| | | || ||-------|)-------------|-----------------------|----|-------|| || | | | || |+----------------------------------------------+----( ).----++ \ | and with regards to the signature thing, what is wrong with having the signature if it doesn't get in the way of reading the notes? NOTE: I never pick up my mail from the yahoo address. If you are e-mailing and hit the reply button, add an "e" to "freent"; its absense is to stop the torment of automatic mailers. -- -#----- cq547@freene+.+oron+o.on.ca | llizard aka ejm \_|_/ _ _\,^%--- I REALLY _|K__|_ =#-(_X_)< \ should be practicing!! | \/ > |, ___>,^ ASCII-art and ASCII-animations /|\ ejm //| | http://www.crosswinds.net/~llizard/
don't send, do not want Jan Nieuwenhuizen wrote: > > In article <slr...@pc9601.sie.siemens.at>, > Gerfried Fuchs <alf...@innocent.com> wrote: > >> > >> ---------------|-- > >> -------|---|---|-- > >> ---|---|--x|--*--- > >> --x|--*----------- > >> ------------------ > > > > It isn't really obvious which is the one between the lines - should it > >be the x below the line or the * above the line... > > Too bad. It's quite clear here. We'll have to try something else. > > > According to her headers s/he is using Win98 :) > > > >> If you're running Windows, it may be a bit difficult to get it > >> compiled. The latest binary available is for version 1.2.0, iirc. > >> This may be addressed shortly. > > > > Maybe using the cygwin-tools? Has one tried it? Does it depend on any > >special libraries? > > Yes, that has been tried (by me :-) It works, but compiling LilyPond > on Windows is not for the faint of heart. You quite some additional > stuff. There's no handy and standard way to distribute binary > packages either. Hopefully this all gets a bit easier when Cygnus > uses rpm for their distribution. > > Jeffrey Reed has a page up at > > http://home.austin.rr.com/jbr/jeff/lilypond/ > > but is't getting a bit stale. > > > Have fun [in a GNU-world ;] > > Thanks. The same to you, and anyone else who wants to join. > Greetings, > > Jan. > > -- > Jan Nieuwenhuizen <jan...@gnu.org> | GNU LilyPond - The music typesetter > http://www.xs4all.nl/~jantien | http://www.lilypond.org
Many People Wrote [and I snipped]:
In some decades, I find three kinds of ASCII music:
1. That intended to be played by a program such as POLYPHON.EXE after the
ASCII has been compiled (or not) by such as MAKEPOLY.EXE. It's code, in which
a few characters do all the work.
Follows a clip from a compilable file GOLLYWOG.SNG:
*
Debussy, Claude. "golliwogg's cake-walk," from the Children's Corner
Suite. London: United Music Publishers Ltd, 1918, 1968, P.D.
D. & F. 7188 (VI)
Transcribed for GrigaSoft Productions' Polyphonic Music Compiler v.1.10
Transcription file (C) 1991 by Dennis M. Hammes.
*
* NB: SIG= function is not implemented in MAKEPOLY.EXE v.1.10. *
* SIG= -b -e -a *
* allegro giusto *
t4896
*1*
v1o3 l16 >b- a-32r. b- f32r. b-32r. a- f8 e- <b4
v2o2 >b- a-32r. b- f32r. b-32r. a- f8 e- <b4
v3o1 r2 r2
*3*
v1o3 r a- f e- <b4 r a- f e- <b8 >g32r. r2
v2o2 r a- f e- <b4 r a- f e- <b8 >b-32r. r2
v3o1 r2 r4 r8 <b-32r. r2
*6*
v1o3 r8 <b-32r. r8 b-32r32 b-32r32 r8 b-32r. r8 b-32r.
v2o2 <b-32r. >g32r. <b-32r. >g32r. <b-32r. >g32r. <b-32r. >g32r.
v3o1 e-32r. >f32r. <e-32r. >f32r. <e-32r. >f32r. <e-32r. >f32r.
...(about 16 pages).
Here, r=rest, the 13 notes are given by their letter names and + or - for
sharp or flat, and the quantity by 1,2,4,8,16,32,etc. v=voice (the prog will
play three tones simultaneously on the PC speaker), o=octave, adjusted in the
line by <=octave down, >=octave up. The spacing is ignored by the compiler;
it allows the author /barely/ to make out where the notes go when he's writing
them. *Brackets non-complied comments (gotta have or get lost).*
It's too bad the old programs no longer work because our new machines are
too fast and timechopping actually cuts some of the octaves out of the
resulting music. Sounded pretty dang good at 8MHz in 1989, just tolerable at
40MHz, and utterly impossible at 333MHz. Would have to rewrite and recompile
the player to manage timeslicing differently, i.e., on the realtime clock not
the CPU clock.
Still better would be to rewrite and compile so that such a file drove a
modern sound card -- and this is essentially what such progs do today whether
they use this sort of code or other.
Point is that this sort of ASCII text is essentially impossible to sightread
on the piano (been there).
2. Drawing ASCII pictures of traditional sheet music. As a musician, I can
report that all the attempts in the thread are (sorry, really) unuseable as
readable music notation, though many elements do work or can be tweaked. But
traditional sheet music is also a code. Thus the trick is to develop an
/ASCII code/ that looks enough like sheet music as to be pretty
self-explanatory, as ASCII just won't draw the pictures as commercially
printed (hand-authored music is often not immediately legible to any but the
guy who wrote it because his code differs in degree from the commercial
standard).
One /can not/ use different symbols for "note on a line" and "note on a
space." Thus, one /must/ use the hyphen for the line so the note symbol lands
on not above the line, and one /must/ have a blank line between lines so the
symbol can land in the space. Means doublespacing, and that gets large in a
hurry. Point is that it's already hard enough to read the existing 1.5" high
double staff in commercially-printed music, so one can't well spread the
pictures of the notes much vertically so that they have the proportions of
printed music in the ASCII staff; the symbol is too broken up to be
immediately legible, and the idea is to be decoding the /music/, not spending
one's time decoding the /pictures/.
(Tablature is much easier as there are no spaces, and notes can be indicated
by duration numbers alone -- which might not be a bad idea for sheet music,
either, save that it will look "even less like music." As a code, however...)
If you accept the doublespacing, many of the offered symbols will work, but
they must be kept as simple as possible, one ASCII character wherever
possible. May I suggest d\\=16th, d\=8th, d=quarter, o=half, O=whole.
Clefs are G:, C:, F:. Sharps are # or + (+ is better because simpler) and
flats are - (this is code, and one is stuck with the codes on the keyboard;
drawing a picture of sheet music e.g. thus: bd=flatted quarter, confuses the
code). Extant code puts the accidental before the note, so +d\ is a sharped
8th, -d a flatted 4ter.
Dynamics are simple enough if coded: <, >, ^, u (medium accent), z (code:
szforzando), . (stacatto or time-dot). f, ff, p, mp, etc. already exist.
While doublespacing spreads the screen picture and nothing can be done about
it (you'll go snowblind looking at the whitespace, and that's that), one can
set any printer to print, say, 12 lines/inch instead of 6, and squeeze down
the vertical spacing w/o losing legibility.
3. Drawing "real" sheet music. Several progs do this today and author MIDI
or WAV files in the process. Of course, it's no longer "ASCII" music, it's
standard-code sheet music. CakeWalk Studio PRO is probably the best
all-around, though SoundForge gives more detailed control over WAV generation
(MIDI sound quality is entirely up to the sound card it's being played, not
written, on). Unfortunately for the sometime-artist, these progs are plain
spendy, running around $400 for the fuller packages.
For composers who want to "trade notes" in e-mail, method #2 is the only one
that offers any promise. Once originated, useage will quickly modify it to a
standard form (happened with traditional notation, too). But you can /not/
expect a composer to spend his time drawing pictures; he'll use a code, and
the faster the better, reading it the same way.
For drawing ASCII art involving music but not intended to be music, you can
pretty much do what you want.
--
>^,,^<
The number you have reached is imaginary.
Rotate your screen 90 degrees and reconnect.
http://blitz.org/fishhook/
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