Page under construction (about 90% completion)
Following the V12.0 of PocketPipes , the whole tutorial is under review for a better conformance to abc standard and tries also to conform to some dialects found on the web (non standard features)
This guide is based on file examples, to understand the general ABC notation, and how PocketPipes applies the notation to bagpipe tunes.
The header
Usual command lines at the beginning of the file, before the lines containing the music notes.
The order is important for X and K.
| X:1 | Mandatory. (first line of the header, usually 1, can be n) |
| T:Text | Title |
| C:Text | Composer (optional). It is a good practice, can be Trad also… |
| R:Text | Rhythm (optional). March, Slow Air, Jig … for instance |
| S:Text | Source (optional), displayed on the footer of the sheet music |
| I:linebreak $ | (optional) To specify the char to end the staves. Can be ! also. |
| M:x/y | The meter value (mandatory) – May change within a tune Defines the default note length if there is no L: line If x/y < 0.75 the default note length is 1/16th else 1/8th |
| Q:n | n is the numerical value of the beat of the note 1/y of the M line May change within a tune If there is no Q line, PocketPipes tries to set a beat conforming to the R line if any |
| Q:1/y=n | Same as previous but the reference note of the beat is forced |
| L:1/y | To specify the default note length (optional) otherwise the default note length comes from M: line |
| K:Hp | Mandatory. Key for Bagpipe tunes with C# and F# PocketPipes supports alternate keys (HP, Hp-Ab, Hp-Db,Eb,Ab,Db) The last line of the header |
ABC Comments
| % ……. | General comment line for ABC |
| %{ Text } | Displayed comment ( it appears as annotation on the pdf score). Non standard abc |
| %! ………. | Special lines for PocketPipes ABC extensions, does’nt interfear with standard ABC syntax |
Keys & Notes
Keys (the K: command)
HP or Hp scale for bagpipes tunes, the most common
Hp-Ab scale with C natural
Hp-Db scale with C natural and F natural
Eb, Ab,Db scales (breton notation)
Accidentals
To obtain c or f natural without using the special keys above, ABC allows to force a note to natural with the = sign just before, as shown here
Notes and multipliers
The notes are defined by the Hp scale. To obtain the whole range (whole note to 1/64 th note) the standard uses multipliers.
For instance if the 1/8 note is the default note, c2 represents a c quater note, c8 a c whole note. The multiplier is just after the letter that identifies the note.
This example shows the different multipliers.
Two double dotted notes length are allowed. Triple dotted notes length are not supported.
Reminder: dotted note (note length x 1.5) and double dotted (note length x 1.75)
Staves
The notes are displayed on the staves.
Usually a new line in the file corresponds to a new staff in ABC format. However you can decide to explicitly mark the end of staff. So in this case simply use the ! character to identify the end of a staff.
You can change the default ! with the I:linebreak command in the header.
Annotations on the staves: A text within « ……… » will appear on the staff at the place it appears. It can be a chord that is usually written like « G » for instance. Or anything else.
Positional characters are considered:
- Text on top « ^…… »
- Text on bottom « _….. »
- Text after item « >….. »
- Text before item « <…… »
Meters – Time signature
The M:x/y command gives the time signature x/y. It specifies:
- the duration of the bars (aka measures) -> x notes of 1/y length
- the implicit default note length of the score. The rule fixed by the ABC standard is: If x/y < 0.75 the default note is 1/16th else 1/8th. Most of meters have 1/8th note for default note length. So keep in mind that the default note length is often different of 1/y length. If you want or need to specify another default note length you have to add a L: 1/y command line.
New M: commands may appear during the musical flow.
Beats
The beat of the tune is in relation with the meter.
Simple time signatures
The beat is given for the 1/y note with M:x/y meter. For instance 1/4 note with a 3/4 signature.
The value n of the beat is given by Q:n
Compound time signatures
For 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8 meters (ternary beats) the beat is relative to the dotted quarter note.
For 6/16, 9/16 or 12/16 meters (ternary beats) the beat is relative to the dotted 1/8 note.
The value of the beat is n/3, given by Q:n. This is due to the fact that n is the « beat for the 1/8 or 1/16 note ».
Defining a specific note for the beat
If you want to set the beat to a specific note, the Q: command can take other forms:
Q:1/2=n, or Q:1/4=n or Q:1/8=n or Q:1/16=n, that sets the reference note for the beat and the value of the beat
Bar lines
Here is a panel of different bar lines that appear on the staves
Repeats and endings
ABC standard repeats using repeat bars and [1 [2 or |1 |2
Non standard ABC repeat – PocketPipes extension (2 of 2 repeat)
Rests
Note equivalent rests and multi-measure rests
Beams and ties
Beams
From Wickipedia « a beam is an horizontal or diagonal line used to connect multiple consecutive notes to indicate rhythmic grouping »
Only notes shorter than 1/4 note can be beamed.
PocketPipes draws diagonal beams. Any bar line breaks the beam. To indicate beamed notes just group them ie cd/2e/2 . A space breaks the beam. A secondary or third beam may exist depending on the length of the notes.
Ties
Bagpipe notes are implicitly tied, due to the constant blowing. Grace notes and embellishment act as separators. However in some cases tying has to be explicit:
- To play long note
- To indicate clearly that a note spans beyond a bar line
In these cases tying applies to the same note. The character « – » is used to tie notes ie « c-c » (simple example)
Tuplets
A tuplet is a group of notes that is played with a different time subdivision than expected from the current time signature. PocketPipes interprets 3 different tuplets, displaying a bow over the group with a number:
- duplet: Two notes in the time of three – Binary rhythm inside ternary beat « (2 »
- triplet: Three notes in the time of two – Ternary rhythm inside binary beat « (3 »
- quadruplet: Four notes in the time of three – Binary rhythm inside ternary beat « (4 »
Grace notes and embellishments
To add simple or complex embellishments the syntax is: « { ..Note_list..} » just before the note in all cases.
Few examples:
Broken rhythms
A broken rhythm is used to replace a regular rhythm with a more « dynamic » sequence.
For instance replace two eighth notes with a sixteenth followed by a dotted eighth. The abc allows to write this using < or > between the two notes.
Example showing standard writing (1st staff) and the same in broken writing (2nd staff)