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abcMIDI-2020.07.06.zip
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Seymour Shlien
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doc/midi2abc.1
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.TH MIDI2ABC 1 "1 January 2017"
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.SH NAME
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\fBmidi2abc\fP \- program to convert MIDI format files to abc notation
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.SH SYNOPSIS
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midi2abc \-f \fIinfile\fP [\-xa] [\-ga]
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[\-a \fIacbeats\fP] [\-m \fItime signature\fP]
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[\-ppu \fiparts per unit\fP] [\-aul \fidenominator of unit length\fP]
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[\-gu] [\-b \fIbars\fP] [\-Q \fItempo\fP] [\-u \fipulses\fP]
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[\-k \fIkey\fP] [\-c \fIchannel\fP] [\-obpl] [\-bpl \fibars\fP] [\-bps \fPbars\fP]
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[\-o \fIfilename\fP] [\-s] [\-sr \fiunits\fP] [\-sum] [\-nb] [\-nt]
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[\-splitvoices] [\-midigram] [\-mftext] [-mftextpulses] [\-nogr] [\-title \fistring\fP]
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[\-origin \fistring\fP]
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.SH DESCRIPTION
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\fImidi2abc\fP takes a MIDI format file and converts it to something as close
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as possible to abc text format. The user then has to add text fields not
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present in the MIDI header and possibly tidy up the abc note output.
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.PP
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The output of midi2abc is printed to the screen. To save it to a file, use
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the redirection operator, (e.g. \fImidi2abc \-f file.mid > file.abc\fP) or
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specify the output file using the \-o option.
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.PP
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Use only one or none of the options \-u \-gu, \-b and \-Q. Midi2abc normally
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converts the MIDI time units into quantum units normally corresponding to the
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abc 1/16th note or 1/32nd note. If none of these is present, the
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program will use the PPQN information in the MIDI header to compute the suitable
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conversion factor. For most MIDI files on the web, it is recommended to rely on
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the MIDI header information and not use any of the options other than
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the formatting options.
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.PP
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The program will extract the time signature information from the MIDI file
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if it is present. Otherwise it will assume 4/4 or you could specify it with
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\-m. option.
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.PP
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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 \-a
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option. The anacrusis is specified in half unit lengths, where the unit
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length is defined by the L: field. For example if L: 1/8, then a
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quarter note would be indicated by the value 4, (4 1/16 units).
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.SS OPTIONS
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.TP
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.B -a \fIacbeats\fP
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where acbeats specifies the anacrusis in half unit lengths.
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.TP
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.B -xa
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extract the anacrusis from file by finding the first strong note
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.TP
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.B -ga
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guess the anacrusis by minimizing the number of ties across bars
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.TP
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.B -m \fItime signature\fP
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time signature
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.TP
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.B -b \fIbars\fP
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number of bars wanted in output
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.TP
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.B -Q \fItempo\fP
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tempo in quarter\-notes per minute
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.TP
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.B -u \fipulses\fP
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Allows you to specify directly the number of midi pulses per
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abc time unit.
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.TP
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.B -ppu \fiparts per abc unit length\fP
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Normally, the smallest note unit that midi2abc can extract
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is half the L: unit length.This is called the quantum unit.
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Thus for L: 1/8, midi2abc can extract 1/16 notes but not 1/32 notes.
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You can change this by specifying \-ppu 4 for example. The number of parts
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should be a power of 2.
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.TP
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.B -aul \fidenominator of abc unit length\fP
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Normally midi2abc chooses a unit length of 1/8 or 1/16
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depending upon the time signature. For time signatures
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smaller than 3/4 the L: 1/16 is used and for larger time
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signatures L: 1/8 is used. You can specify the unit length
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to be used using this parameter. Thus \-aul 32 will cause
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midi2abc to use a unit length of 1/32 nd note.
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.TP
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.B -gu
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Tells midi2abc to estimate the number of midi pulses per abc
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time unit from the note duration or spacing in the MIDI file.
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.TP
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.B -gk
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Tells midi2abc to guess the key signature by minimizing
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the number of accidentals even if the key signature is
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already specified in the MIDI file. By default the key
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signature is the one specified in the MIDI file.
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If it is not specified, then the program guesses the
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key signature by minimizing accidentals.
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.TP
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.B -k \fIkey\fP
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key signature: \-6 to 6 sharps.
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.TP
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.B -c \fIchannel\fP
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select only this midi channel.
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.TP
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.B -f \fIinfile\fP
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input file in midi format
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.TP
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.B -o \fIoutput file\fP
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specifies the output abc file name.
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.TP
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.B -s
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do not discard very short notes.
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.TP
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.B -sr \fIquantum units\fP
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do not notate a short rest smaller than the specified size after a note. If the
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size (in quantum units) is zero, nothing is done. For larger values, the rest
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is absorbed into the preceding note. In other words, the preceding note
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is lengthened to include that rest.
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.TP
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.B -sum
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print a short summary of the input midi file.
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.TP
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.B -nb
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do not look for broken rhythms
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.TP
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.B -nt
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do not look for triplets
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.TP
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.B -obpl
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Print only one bar per line instead of 4. For complex music this
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improves the readability and avoids some problems with some abc
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to postscript converters. This option is deprecated.
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.TP
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.B -nogr
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(No note grouping.) Inserts a space between all notes. It makes
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a less pretty postscript file but it is easier to edit.
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.TP
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.B -bpl \finbars\fP
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Print nbars of music on every line followed by a backslash.
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.TP
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.B -bps \finbars\fP
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When nbars have been printed (including those lines joined by
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a backslash continuation) go to a new line (with no backslash).
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.TP
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.B -splitvoices
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This parameter handles polyphonic chords by
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splitting an entire voice into multiple voices. (A polyphonic
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chord is a chord composed of notes that do not start
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or end at the same time.) Normally, midi2abc joins the
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longer notes to the notes in the following chord using ties.
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Here is an example: [Bd-]d [Bd-]d|. This should
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be separated into two voices ideally Bz Bz and d2 d2. However,
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the separation is not unique. Bz d2 and d2 Bz are also ok.
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.TP
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.B -midigram
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When this option appears, all other options are ignored and
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no abc file is produced. Instead a list of all notes in the
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MIDI file are printed in a fixed format. Each line represents
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a pair of MIDI note on/off event. The line contains the
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on/off time of the note, its track number, channel number,
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midi pitch and midi velocity. The last record indicates
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the duration of the MIDI file in MIDI pulse units. The
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output is designed to go into a graphical user interface
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which will produce a graphical representation (piano roll).
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.TP
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.B -mftext
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When this option appears, all other options are ignored and
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no abc file is produced. Instead a list of all the MIDI
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commands are printed. The output is designed to go into
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a graphical user interface provided by runabc.tcl.
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.TP
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.B -mftextpulses
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Same as -mftext except the time units is in midi pulses.
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.TP
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.B -title \fistring\fP
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Replaces the default title field following T: with
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the given string.
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.TP
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.B -origin \fistring\fP
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Adds an O: field with the given string.
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.TP
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.B -stats
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Extracts the characteristics of the given midi file. They include
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ntrks - the number of tracks, ppqn - pulses per quarter note,
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timesig - time signature, keysig - key signature, program - mapping
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between channel number and midi program, npulses - length of the
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midi file in pulses, tempocmd - number of times the tempo has
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been specified, pitchbends - number of pitchbends, pitchbendin -
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number of pitchbends in each of the channels, programcmd - number of
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times the midi program has been revised, progs and progsact - the
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programs used and the number of pulses these programs used, drums -
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the drum numbers that were used, drumhits - the number of times
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each of those drums were hit, pitches - the number of times the
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11 pitch classes (C C# etc...) were activated and a few other
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complex variables. These characteristics are used in other
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applications such as midiexplorer. More details are available
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in the file midi2abc-stats.txt included in the doc/ folder
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of the abcmidi distribution package.
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.SS FEATURES
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* The key is chosen so as to minimize the number of accidentals.
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Alternatively, the user can specify the key numerically (a positive number
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is the number of sharps, a negative number is minus the number of flats).
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.PP
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* Note length can be set by specifying the total number of bars or the
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tempo of the piece. Alternatively the note length can be read from the file.
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However, by default it is deduced in a heuristic manner from the inter-note
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distances. This means that you do not have to use the MIDI clock as a
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metronome when playing in a tune from a keyboard.
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.PP
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* Barlines are automatically inserted. The user specifies the number of
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measures in the anacrusis before the first barline and the time signature.
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.PP
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* The program can guess how the length of the anacrusis,
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either by looking for the first strong note or minimizing the number of
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notes split by a tie across a barline.
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.PP
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* Where a note extends beyond a bar break, it is split into two tied notes.
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.PP
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* The output has 4 bars per line.
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.PP
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* Enough accidental signs are put in the music to ensure that no pitch
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errors occur if a barline is added or deleted.
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.PP
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* The program attempts to group notes sensibly in each bar.
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.PP
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* Triplets and broken rhythm (a>b) are supported.
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.PP
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* Chords are identified.
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.PP
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* Text information from the original MIDI file is included as comments.
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.PP
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* The \-c option can be used to select only 1 MIDI channel. Events on
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other channels are ignored.
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.SS LIMITATIONS
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midi2abc does not ...
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.PP
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* Supply tune title, composer or any other field apart from X: , K:, Q:, M:
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and L: - these must be added by hand afterwards, though they may have been
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included in the text of the MIDI file.
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.PP
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* Support duplets, quadruplets, other esoteric features.
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.PP
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* Support mid-tune key or time signature changes.
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.PP
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* Deduce repeats. The output is just the notes in the input file.
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.PP
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* Recover an abc tune as supplied to abc2midi. However, if you want to
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do this, "midi2abc \-xa \-f file.mid" comes close.
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.SH "SEE ALSO"
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abc2ps(1), abc2midi(1), abc2abc(1)
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.SH AUTHOR
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James Allwright <J.R.Allwright@westminster.ac.uk>
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.SH SUPPORTED
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Seymour Shlien <fy733@ncf.ca>
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.SH VERSION
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This man page describes midi2abc version 2.91 from March 09 2008.
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.SH COPYRIGHT
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Copyright 1999 James Allwright
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.PP
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midi2abc does not work correctly if lyrics are embedded in
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the same track as the notes. If you are producing the MIDI
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file using abc2midi, use the \-STFW option to ensure that the
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lyrics are put in a separate track.
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.PP
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midi2abc is supplied "as is" without any warranty. It
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is free software and can be used, copied, modified and
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distributed without fee under the terms of the GNU General
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Public License.
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