Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 18:16:01 -0800 (PST) From: Winslow Yerxa Subject: abc tune files and Melody Assistant
Melody Assistant has been discussed here as a notation and sequencing program, one that can generate tab for any harmonica tuning.
It turns out it also reads ABC files.
What are ABC files? They've been discussed here briefly before, and they are an ASCII - pure text form of notating melodies which can be read visually as notation, and can also be read by certain software programs which then turn them into standard notation and can also play them back. There is a huge archive of fiddle tunes, folk music, and even classical music available free in ABC format. ABC was originally designed for single-line melodies, but someone has successfully notated a Beethoven symbphony in ABC!
Anyway, it turns out that Melody Assistant can read abc files, play them back, put them into standard notation - and add harmonica tab. This is a very useful tool for anyone who wants to learn the repertoire of American, Irish, Canadian, Scots and French traditional music available in this format.
Cool, eh?
For Melody Assistant, visit http://www.myriadonline.com
for the main abc site, visit http://www.gre.ac.uk/~c.walshaw/abc/
Band-in-a-box can also interface with abc files, thanks to Alf Warnock, a Canadian user and traditional musician, who has even figured out how to create databases of ABC tunes on a Palm Pilot. Check him out at
http://www.magma.ca/~warnock/
Winslow
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Find the one for you at Yahoo! Personals http://personals.yahoo.com
