| 1 | <HTML> |
| 2 | <HEAD><TITLE> |
| 3 | Specifying chords |
| 4 | </TITLE></HEAD> |
| 5 | <BODY> |
| 6 | <P> |
| 7 | <A HREF="music.html"><-- previous page</A> |
| 8 | |
| 9 | <A HREF="index.html">Table of Contents</A> <A HREF="noteattr.html">next page --></A> |
| 10 | </P> |
| 11 | |
| 12 | <H2> |
| 13 | Specifying chords |
| 14 | </H2> |
| 15 | <H3> |
| 16 | Staff and voice |
| 17 | </H3> |
| 18 | <P> |
| 19 | The description of the music for one voice begins with the staff and voice |
| 20 | number, followed by a colon. For example: |
| 21 | <BR><PRE> |
| 22 | 3 1: |
| 23 | </PRE><BR> |
| 24 | indicates that the remainder of the line contains musical information for voice |
| 25 | 1 of staff 3. If the "voice" number is omitted, voice 1 is assumed. Thus |
| 26 | <BR><PRE> |
| 27 | 3: |
| 28 | </PRE><BR> |
| 29 | is equivalent to the previous example. |
| 30 | Both the staff and voice can be given as a list. This may be useful if |
| 31 | several staffs have the same notes, or multiple voices on a staff have the |
| 32 | same notes. For example: |
| 33 | <BR><PRE> |
| 34 | 1-4 2: // voice 2 of staffs 1, 2, 3, and 4 |
| 35 | 1,2,4: // voice 1 of staffs 1, 2, and 4, |
| 36 | 1,3,6-7 1-2: // voices 1 and 2 on staffs 1, 3, 6 and 7 |
| 37 | 5-8 1,2: // voices 1 and 2 on staffs 5, 6, 7, and 8 |
| 38 | </PRE><BR> |
| 39 | </P> |
| 40 | <P> |
| 41 | If you want notes to go to one voice on some staffs |
| 42 | and a different voice on others, |
| 43 | this can be specified using an ampersand. For example: |
| 44 | <BR><PRE> |
| 45 | 1 1 & 3 2: |
| 46 | </PRE><BR> |
| 47 | will cause the music to go to voice 1 of staff 1 as well as to voice |
| 48 | 2 of staff 3. Various styles can be combined: |
| 49 | <BR><PRE> |
| 50 | // Voices 1 and 2 on staff 2, |
| 51 | // as well as voice 2 on staff 4 |
| 52 | // and voice 1 on staffs 6, 7, and 9 |
| 53 | 2 1-2 & 4 2 & 6-7,9 1: |
| 54 | </PRE><BR> |
| 55 | </P> |
| 56 | <P> |
| 57 | It is possible to have up to |
| 58 | 40 |
| 59 | <A HREF="param.html#staffs">staffs</A> |
| 60 | and up to |
| 61 | <A HREF="param.html#vscheme">three voices per staff.</A> |
| 62 | While there can be voice crossings, in general voice 1 should be the "top" |
| 63 | voice, voice 2 the "bottom" voice, and voice 3 the "middle" or "extra" voice. |
| 64 | With the first two voices, Mup tries hard to avoid any "collisions" |
| 65 | between notes, rests, and other things. Since voice 3 is an extra voice, |
| 66 | there are some cases when overlap with the other voices |
| 67 | is basically unavoidable, but there are some techniques |
| 68 | discussed later that let you |
| 69 | <A HREF="chrdattr.html">tweak placement</A> |
| 70 | when necessary. |
| 71 | </P> |
| 72 | <P> |
| 73 | As an alternative to this voice-at-a-time input style, there is |
| 74 | also a chord-at-a-time input style, which will be covered |
| 75 | <A HREF="altinp.html">later.</A> |
| 76 | </P> |
| 77 | <H3> |
| 78 | Chord duration information |
| 79 | </H3> |
| 80 | <P> |
| 81 | The rest of the line contains a list of chords, with a semicolon at the |
| 82 | end of each chord. Each chord has a |
| 83 | <A NAME="duration">time value.</A> |
| 84 | The time values of all |
| 85 | the chords in the line must add up to the |
| 86 | <A HREF="param.html#time">time signature.</A> |
| 87 | Time values are given as follows: |
| 88 | <TABLE BORDER=4> |
| 89 | <TR> |
| 90 | <TD><B>Input</B></TD> <TD><B>Meaning</B></TD> |
| 91 | </TR> |
| 92 | <TR> |
| 93 | <TD>1/4</TD> <TD>quadruple whole (not valid for notes)</TD> |
| 94 | </TR> |
| 95 | <TR> |
| 96 | <TD>1/2</TD> <TD>double whole</TD> |
| 97 | </TR> |
| 98 | <TR> |
| 99 | <TD>1</TD> <TD>whole</TD> |
| 100 | </TR> |
| 101 | <TR> |
| 102 | <TD>2</TD> <TD>half</TD> |
| 103 | </TR> |
| 104 | <TR> |
| 105 | <TD>4</TD> <TD>quarter</TD> |
| 106 | </TR> |
| 107 | <TR> |
| 108 | <TD>8</TD> <TD>eighth</TD> |
| 109 | </TR> |
| 110 | <TR> |
| 111 | <TD>16</TD> <TD>sixteenth</TD> |
| 112 | </TR> |
| 113 | <TR> |
| 114 | <TD>32</TD> <TD>thirty-second</TD> |
| 115 | </TR> |
| 116 | <TR> |
| 117 | <TD>64</TD> <TD>sixty-fourth</TD> |
| 118 | </TR> |
| 119 | <TR> |
| 120 | <TD>128</TD> <TD>128th</TD> |
| 121 | </TR> |
| 122 | <TR> |
| 123 | <TD>256</TD> <TD>256th</TD> |
| 124 | </TR> |
| 125 | </TABLE> |
| 126 | |
| 127 | </P> |
| 128 | <P> |
| 129 | Any of these time values can be followed by one or more dots, to indicate |
| 130 | a dotted note. Each dot increases the time value by 50% of the preceding |
| 131 | note or dot. |
| 132 | </P> |
| 133 | <P> |
| 134 | It is also possible to specify time as two or more times to be added together. |
| 135 | For example, 2+8 would indicate the time of a half note plus the time of |
| 136 | an eighth note, or in other words, a half note tied to an eighth note. |
| 137 | The expression can also include subtractions, like 2.-16. When subtractions |
| 138 | are present, it isn't clear what time values you want Mup to use, |
| 139 | so it will start with the largest possible time value and add enough |
| 140 | additional chords to add up to the total. For example, if you were to use |
| 141 | 1-4, indicating a whole note minus a quarter note, |
| 142 | Mup will use a dotted half note, even though there are a number of |
| 143 | other ways to represent that total time, such as a half note tied to a |
| 144 | quarter note. |
| 145 | </P> |
| 146 | <P> |
| 147 | If a time value is not specified for the first chord in a measure for a |
| 148 | given voice, the default timeunit value |
| 149 | is used. You can set the default value using the |
| 150 | <A HREF="param.html#timeunit">"timeunit" parameter</A> |
| 151 | as described in the |
| 152 | <A HREF="param.html">"Parameters" section.</A> |
| 153 | If that parameter is not set, the default is the denominator (bottom |
| 154 | number) of the |
| 155 | <A HREF="param.html#time">time signature.</A> |
| 156 | For chords after the first, if a time value is not specified, the time |
| 157 | value for the previous chord is used. |
| 158 | </P> |
| 159 | <H3> |
| 160 | Notes, rests, or spaces |
| 161 | </H3> |
| 162 | <P> |
| 163 | <A NAME="letter">There are three kinds of "chords."</A> |
| 164 | The first type consists of one or more |
| 165 | pitches, given by the letters "a" through "g". |
| 166 | <A NAME="pitchpar">Parentheses</A> |
| 167 | can be placed around the pitch if you want |
| 168 | the note to be printed in parentheses. |
| 169 | (If the pitch is modified by an |
| 170 | <A HREF="chordinp.html#acc">accidental</A> |
| 171 | or |
| 172 | <A HREF="chordinp.html#oct">octave,</A> |
| 173 | which will be |
| 174 | discussed later, those must also be included inside the parentheses.) |
| 175 | <A NAME="restspc">The second is a rest, which</A> |
| 176 | is designated by the letter r. The third type is a "space," designated |
| 177 | by the letter s. Space is basically |
| 178 | a placeholder that takes up time, but doesn't print anything. It is useful |
| 179 | when a certain voice only has notes during part of the measure. It can also |
| 180 | be useful for specifying "pickup" measures to account for the time before |
| 181 | the first note in the measure. For example: |
| 182 | <BR><PRE> |
| 183 | // a pickup measure |
| 184 | 1: 2.s;8.c;16d; |
| 185 | bar |
| 186 | 1: e;g;e;c; |
| 187 | endbar |
| 188 | </PRE><BR> |
| 189 | <IMG SRC="mugex9.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR> |
| 190 | </P> |
| 191 | <P> |
| 192 | If all voices contain spaces, no space is actually taken up on output. |
| 193 | Most of the time, this will be what you want. For example, |
| 194 | when you are using space for a pickup, the |
| 195 | space is just to add up to a measure, and you don't want any actual blank space |
| 196 | at the beginning of the piece. Once in a while, however, you |
| 197 | may want space to actually be allocated on output, perhaps |
| 198 | to be able to allow space for some special notation. In that case, |
| 199 | you prefix the "s" with a "u" to indicate an uncollapseable space. |
| 200 | </P> |
| 201 | <P> |
| 202 | If a given voice is omitted for a particular measure, |
| 203 | Mup defaults to a measure of space. |
| 204 | </P> |
| 205 | <H4> |
| 206 | Measure duration |
| 207 | </H4> |
| 208 | <P> |
| 209 | <A NAME="measdur">There is a special duration of "m," which means an entire measure.</A> |
| 210 | It can only be used with a rest, space, or "rpt" (repeat). For example: |
| 211 | <BR><PRE> |
| 212 | 1 1: mr; |
| 213 | 1 2: ms; |
| 214 | </PRE><BR> |
| 215 | </P> |
| 216 | <P> |
| 217 | A measure rest looks like a whole rest, but is centered in the measure. |
| 218 | It should be used when a whole measure is a rest, regardless of the time |
| 219 | signature. |
| 220 | However, if you want to force use of a symbol other than the whole rest |
| 221 | symbol, you can specify a duration before the mr, and the rest symbol for that |
| 222 | duration will be drawn instead. |
| 223 | <BR><PRE> |
| 224 | 4mr; // use a quarter rest symbol |
| 225 | 1/4mr; // use a quadruple whole rest symbol |
| 226 | 2.. mr; // use a double-dotted half rest |
| 227 | </PRE><BR> |
| 228 | </P> |
| 229 | <P> |
| 230 | Using "m rpt" will cause the |
| 231 | measure repeat symbol to be printed, indicating |
| 232 | the measure is just like the previous measure. Measures repeats |
| 233 | will automatically be numbered, unless the |
| 234 | <A HREF="param.html#nummrpt">numbermrpt parameter</A> |
| 235 | is set to n. If there is more than one voice, you only need to |
| 236 | specify the mrpt on voice 1. If you do specify other voices as well, |
| 237 | they must be either a mrpt or ms. |
| 238 | <BR><PRE> |
| 239 | 1: c;d;e;f; |
| 240 | bar |
| 241 | |
| 242 | // another measure just like the first |
| 243 | 1: m rpt; |
| 244 | bar |
| 245 | |
| 246 | // the space between m and rpt is optional |
| 247 | 1: mrpt; |
| 248 | bar |
| 249 | </PRE><BR> |
| 250 | <IMG SRC="mugex10.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR> |
| 251 | </P> |
| 252 | <H4> |
| 253 | Accidentals |
| 254 | </H4> |
| 255 | <P> |
| 256 | <A NAME="acc">Each pitch letter in a chord may be followed by an accidental.</A> |
| 257 | Valid accidentals are: |
| 258 | <TABLE BORDER=4> |
| 259 | <TR> |
| 260 | <TD><B>Input</B></TD> <TD><B>Meaning</B></TD> |
| 261 | </TR> |
| 262 | <TR> |
| 263 | <TD><TT>#</TT></TD> <TD>sharp</TD> |
| 264 | </TR> |
| 265 | <TR> |
| 266 | <TD><TT>&</TT></TD> <TD>flat</TD> |
| 267 | </TR> |
| 268 | <TR> |
| 269 | <TD><TT>x</TT></TD> <TD>double sharp</TD> |
| 270 | </TR> |
| 271 | <TR> |
| 272 | <TD><TT>&&</TT></TD> <TD>double flat</TD> |
| 273 | </TR> |
| 274 | <TR> |
| 275 | <TD><TT>n</TT></TD> <TD>natural</TD> |
| 276 | </TR> |
| 277 | </TABLE> |
| 278 | |
| 279 | </P> |
| 280 | <P> |
| 281 | The accidental can be placed inside |
| 282 | parentheses if you want it to be printed |
| 283 | within parentheses. |
| 284 | </P> |
| 285 | <H4> |
| 286 | Octave |
| 287 | </H4> |
| 288 | <P> |
| 289 | <A NAME="oct">An octave indicator may be specified after the pitch letter</A> |
| 290 | or optional accidental. |
| 291 | The octave can be specified in either of two ways: |
| 292 | absolute or relative. A number from 0 to 9 is |
| 293 | used to specify an absolute octave. Octaves run from C up to B. Octave 4 is |
| 294 | the octave starting on middle C. Octave 3 is the octave below that, etc. |
| 295 | A relative octave is specified by one or more plus or minus signs, and |
| 296 | indicates that number of octaves above or below the default octave. For |
| 297 | example: |
| 298 | <BR><PRE> |
| 299 | c // c in the default octave |
| 300 | e++ // e two octaves above default octave |
| 301 | f#--- // f# three octaves below default octave |
| 302 | b&6 // b flat in octave 6 |
| 303 | </PRE><BR> |
| 304 | </P> |
| 305 | <P> |
| 306 | The default octave can be set using the |
| 307 | <A HREF="param.html#defoct">"defoct" parameter,</A> |
| 308 | which is described in the |
| 309 | <A HREF="param.html">"Parameters" section.</A> |
| 310 | If that parameter is not |
| 311 | set, the default octave is the octave containing the note associated with |
| 312 | the middle line of the staff, based on the current |
| 313 | <A HREF="param.html#clef">clef.</A> |
| 314 | In other words, the default octaves are: |
| 315 | <TABLE BORDER=4> |
| 316 | <TR> |
| 317 | <TD><B>Clef</B></TD> <TD><B>Octave</B></TD> |
| 318 | </TR> |
| 319 | <TR> |
| 320 | <TD>frenchviolin</TD> <TD>5</TD> |
| 321 | </TR> |
| 322 | <TR> |
| 323 | <TD>8treble</TD> <TD>5</TD> |
| 324 | </TR> |
| 325 | <TR> |
| 326 | <TD>treble</TD> <TD>4</TD> |
| 327 | </TR> |
| 328 | <TR> |
| 329 | <TD>soprano</TD> <TD>4</TD> |
| 330 | </TR> |
| 331 | <TR> |
| 332 | <TD>mezzosoprano</TD> <TD>4</TD> |
| 333 | </TR> |
| 334 | <TR> |
| 335 | <TD>alto</TD> <TD>4</TD> |
| 336 | </TR> |
| 337 | <TR> |
| 338 | <TD>treble8</TD> <TD>3</TD> |
| 339 | </TR> |
| 340 | <TR> |
| 341 | <TD>tenor</TD> <TD>3</TD> |
| 342 | </TR> |
| 343 | <TR> |
| 344 | <TD>baritone</TD> <TD>3</TD> |
| 345 | </TR> |
| 346 | <TR> |
| 347 | <TD>bass</TD> <TD>3</TD> |
| 348 | </TR> |
| 349 | </TABLE> |
| 350 | |
| 351 | </P> |
| 352 | <H3> |
| 353 | Shorthand notations |
| 354 | </H3> |
| 355 | <P> |
| 356 | <A NAME="shorthnd">If a chord is omitted, the values for the previous chord are reused. This</A> |
| 357 | works for pitches, rests, and spaces. For normal, |
| 358 | <A HREF="param.html#stlines">5-line staffs,</A> |
| 359 | the pitches for the first chord of every measure |
| 360 | must always be specified, since there is no previous chord. |
| 361 | </P> |
| 362 | <P> |
| 363 | Putting all these things together, here are some examples: |
| 364 | <BR><PRE> |
| 365 | // Two eighth notes, each b#, followed by an eighth |
| 366 | // note d, eighth note e, and half note e, with the |
| 367 | // last 3 notes being in the next higher octave. |
| 368 | 1 1: 8b#; ; d+; e+; 2; |
| 369 | |
| 370 | // Whole note C-E-G chord in default octave |
| 371 | // for voice 2 of staff 1 |
| 372 | 1 2: 1ceg; |
| 373 | |
| 374 | // Four quarter notes on staff 2, voice 1. |
| 375 | // The last is in the octave above the default octave. |
| 376 | 2: 4g; a; b; c+; |
| 377 | </PRE><BR> |
| 378 | <IMG SRC="mugex11.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR> |
| 379 | </P> |
| 380 | <P> |
| 381 | For |
| 382 | <A HREF="param.html#stlines">1-line staffs,</A> |
| 383 | it is never necessary to specify a pitch, since all notes |
| 384 | go on the single staff line. You can, however, specify a pitch if you wish. |
| 385 | The pitch will be ignored for the purposes of printing, but will be |
| 386 | used for |
| 387 | <A HREF="midi.html">MIDI output.</A> |
| 388 | If you don't specify a pitch, it is arbitrarily set to middle C. |
| 389 | </P> |
| 390 | <HR><P> |
| 391 | <A HREF="music.html"><-- previous page</A> <A HREF="index.html">Table of Contents</A> <A HREF="noteattr.html">next page --></A> |
| 392 | </P> |
| 393 | </BODY></HTML> |