tkabc - a GUI for ABC notation

Hello people,

Jean-Fran�ois Moine released today a new version of this (yet another) excellent software: tclabc, a multiplataform tcl/tk library to manipulate ABC files, which includes a GUI music notation editor called tkabc. (Its interface available in 6 different languages.)

From the ChangeLog:
<<<
---- Version 1.0.6 - 06/08/08 ----

Swedish translation (from Jonas Petersson - GUI).
1/4 and 3/4 sharps and flats added (GUI).
Get and set microtone accidentals (LIB).
Align the ABC parser with abcm2ps-5.0.2 (PARSER).
>>>

The relevant point here is that the quartertone (Tartini-Couper) accidentals are now supported by the editor (not for MIDI playback still -- use abc2midi instead). This allows to obtain scores for temperaments like 12-, 17-, 19-, 24- and 31-EDO, for instance.

Further information:
http://moinejf.free.fr/tclabc.html
Download:
http://moinejf.free.fr/
ScreenShot:
http://moinejf.free.fr/sample.gif

While tkabc is still young and a little unstable, it provides a very nice graphical interface to create, edit, play and display ABC files. Its keystrokes can be customized by editing the file `~/.tkabcrc'.

Here is my customized .tkabcrc file, with convenient keystrokes:

http://br.geocities.com/hfmlacerda/abc/_tkabcrc.txt

Save it as .tkabcrc in your home directory.

Then run tkabc.tcl, type `f' to define your preferences and finally press `OK' to save them.

Regards,
Hudson

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Whoa! How would this work with microabc?

-C.

At 12:25 PM 8/8/2006, you wrote:
>Hello people,
>
>Jean-François Moine released today a new version of this (yet another)
>excellent software: tclabc, a multiplataform tcl/tk library to
>manipulate ABC files, which includes a GUI music notation editor called
>tkabc. (Its interface available in 6 different languages.)
>
> From the ChangeLog:
> <<<
>---- Version 1.0.6 - 06/08/08 ----
>
>Swedish translation (from Jonas Petersson - GUI).
>1/4 and 3/4 sharps and flats added (GUI).
>Get and set microtone accidentals (LIB).
>Align the ABC parser with abcm2ps-5.0.2 (PARSER).
> >>>
>
>The relevant point here is that the quartertone (Tartini-Couper)
>accidentals are now supported by the editor (not for MIDI playback still
>-- use abc2midi instead). This allows to obtain scores for temperaments
>like 12-, 17-, 19-, 24- and 31-EDO, for instance.
>
>Further information:
>http://moinejf.free.fr/tclabc.html
>Download:
>http://moinejf.free.fr/
>ScreenShot:
>http://moinejf.free.fr/sample.gif
>
>While tkabc is still young and a little unstable, it provides a very
>nice graphical interface to create, edit, play and display ABC files.
>Its keystrokes can be customized by editing the file `~/.tkabcrc'.
>
>Here is my customized .tkabcrc file, with convenient keystrokes:
>
>http://br.geocities.com/hfmlacerda/abc/_tkabcrc.txt
>
>Save it as .tkabcrc in your home directory.
>
>Then run tkabc.tcl, type `f' to define your preferences and finally
>press `OK' to save them.
>
>Regards,
>Hudson
>
>--
> '-------------------------------------------------------------------.
>Hudson Lacerda <http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/hfmlacerda/>
>*Não deixe seu voto sumir! http://www.votoseguro.org/
>*Apóie o Manifesto: http://www.votoseguro.com/alertaprofessores/
>
> == THE WAR IN IRAQ COSTS ==
>http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182
> .-------------------------------------------------------------------'
>--
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________________
>O Yahoo! está de cara nova. Venha conferir!
>http://br.yahoo.com
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>

Carl Lumma escreveu:
> Whoa! How would this work with microabc?
> > -C.

Hi Carl and all there.

microabc package includes a program (abc2alias) which converts ``pure'' ABC to microabc Sagittal aliases. It can also (although with several limitations) split chords as multiple temporary voices, to manage the pitchbend MIDI issue.

Indeed, I used tkabc to compose that minuet in 19-EDO I posted here (19 only needs the conventional accidentals). microabc was used to get microtuned MIDI files.

Now one can use also the quartertone accidentals to write microtonal music in other scales (e.g 24, 31), in a visual graphical environment.

Cheers,
Hudson

========

P.S.
There are other GUI programs which can export ABC (but not microtonal):
- noteedit
- denemo
And there are several IDEs to edit ABC:
- ABCedit
- runabc
- jedABC
- flabc

http://abcplus.sourceforge.net/
http://www.lautengesellschaft.de/cdmm/
http://denemo.sourceforge.net/
http://ifdo.pugmarks.com/~seymour/runabc/top.html

I am told that a non-free program called ``Harmony Assistant'' is able to export ABC.

CMN (CommonMusic Notation) is another free program with impressive features for contemporary music (including microtonalism). The music is represented by using LISP commands. CMN is integrated with CM (CommonMusic).

http://commonmusic.sourceforge.net/doc/cm.html
http://ccrma.stanford.edu/software/cmn/cmn/cmn.html

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> Jean-François Moine released today a new version of this (yet another)
> excellent software: tclabc, a multiplataform tcl/tk library to
> manipulate ABC files, which includes a GUI music notation editor called
> tkabc. (Its interface available in 6 different languages.)

Wow... I was just looking for something like this.

I haven't delved into microABC yet, but I was able to download the abc
binary package (it's called abcm2ps, which is confusing to me!), and
compile and install tclabc, in < 5 minutes.

I was then stuck with how to get more than one staff in the window,
but Hudson's helpful preference file fixed that.

Woohoo!

Of course, the tcl gui leaves much to be desired, but it's quick and
dirty and platform-ambiguous.

Thanks for this.

-Chris

c.m.bryan wrote:
[Quoting Hudson]
>> Jean-Fran�ois Moine released today a new version of this (yet another)
>> excellent software: tclabc, a multiplataform tcl/tk library to
>> manipulate ABC files, which includes a GUI music notation editor called
>> tkabc. (Its interface available in 6 different languages.)
> > > Wow... I was just looking for something like this.
> > I haven't delved into microABC yet, but I was able to download the abc
> binary package (it's called abcm2ps, which is confusing to me!), and
> compile and install tclabc, in < 5 minutes.

ABC = a text-based musical notation
abcm2ps = a musical typesetter which generate PS files from ABC
(there are other similar tools: abc2ps, jcabc2ps, abctab2ps...)
tclabc = a tcl extension (library) to handle ABC
tkabc = a tcl/tk GUI for tclabc

> > I was then stuck with how to get more than one staff in the window,
> but Hudson's helpful preference file fixed that.

tkabc assumes some knowledge of ABC and misses several features, thus I created that keystroke (Shift-E) to edit the ABC code with Emacs. That way, I can take advantage of both approaches: GUI and text.

> > Woohoo!
> > Of course, the tcl gui leaves much to be desired,

Yes. By the other hand, there are many convenient features not present in any other GUI music editor I have seen so far. For instance:

With 'b' you insert a barline. Then, you can change the barline type with Page{Up|Down} (or arrows, with my .tkabcrc file). The meter can be changed is a similar way, using Shift for the denominator. Ditto for the key signature (the music is transposed). To add a new symbol (for instance, key change), Shift-R access 'raw-edit'. Edit the field (e.g. 'key 4') and then hit Insert.

Due to such features (and despite the missing features), I find tkabc interface far better to use than, for instance, NoteEdit interface.

> but it's quick and
> dirty and platform-ambiguous.

?

Several keystrokes are Emacs-like: Ctrl-Space to insert a mark, Ctrl-x-Ctrl-x to jump to the mark, F10 to access the menu, Ctrl-w to cut, Ctrl-y to paste, Esc-w to select...

Maybe on other plataforms something can be different.

> > Thanks for this.
> > -Chris
> > > > Yahoo! Groups Links
> > > > > > > > -- '-------------------------------------------------------------------.
Hudson Lacerda <http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/hfmlacerda/>
*N�o deixe seu voto sumir! http://www.votoseguro.org/
*Ap�ie o Manifesto: http://www.votoseguro.com/alertaprofessores/

== THE WAR IN IRAQ COSTS ==
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