Here we continue looking at how abc notation works. On the previous page we looked at the tune header; now we look at the body of the tune.
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We'll need it for reference so here it is again.
X:1 % tune number
T:Smash The Windows % title
T:Roaring Jelly % another title
M:6/8 % meter
L:1/8 % default note length
R:Jig % rhythm
K:D % key
After the header is the tune body, which is the actual melody and optionally chords. Let's start with the first line of abc code:
A | "D" DED F2A | "D" d2f "A" ecA |\
"G" G2B "D/F#" F2A | "Em" E2F "A7" GFE |
That may look confusing, but it's actually pretty easy once you get used to it:
The end result looks like the following:
In addition to viewing the sheet music, most abc software can also play back the tune. That's useful both for proofreading a tune you've written out and for learning a tune. Those of us who can't always tell what a tune sounds like from the written notation can use the playback to find out.
Here is the rest of the body of the tune.
A |\
"D" DED F2A | "D" d2f "A" ecA | "G" G2B "D/F#" F2A | "Em" E2F "A7" GFE |
"D" DED F2A | "D" d2f "D7" ecA | "G" gfe "A7" cAc | "D" d3 - d2 :|
(f/2g/2)|\
"D" a2f d2f | "D" f2g agf | "A7" gfe cAc | "A7" e2f gfe |
"D" a2f d2f | "D" f2g agf | "G" gfe "A7" cAc | "D" d3 - d2 ||
(f/2g/2)|\
"D" a2f d2f | "D" f2g agf | "A7" gfe cAc | "A7" e2f gfe |
"D" fed "A7" gfe | "D" agf "G" bag | "D" fgf "A7" edc | "D" d3 - d2 |]
You may notice that at the beginning of the A part and of B1 and B2 I took the lead-in notes and put them on their own lines. That's because it's easier to read the code when it's formatted neatly, which includes lining up the bar lines. Putting the partial measures on separate lines makes that easier.
Here's what an abc interpreter will produce from that code:
If you look over the sheet music and the code, you should be able to see the correspondence. Here are a couple more things worth noting.
On this page and the previous page we've looked at the components of an abc document. The following table provides a summary of the parts and how they fit together with some sample code fragments to illustrate.
The last page of this section looks at ways that you can use file headers to improve the formatting of notation produced by abc code, and that you can control what prints and what doesn't. Click on the Next Page arrow to learn about formatting.
abc Notation ◆ Intro ◆ Tune Header ◆ Tune Body ◆ Formatting
Tune Home ◆ The Tunes ◆ Tune List
abc: Help File ◆ Reference Card
Learning Tunes (By Ear & Reading)
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