IMHO I think abc is an excellent, efficient means of "transporting" tunes. That seems like what you were all after in the beginning. And it is a refreshing change from the multi-megabyte, bloated files for other things in the "wintel" world!
Phil Taylor wrote: > Ulf wrote: > > >My conclusion: > > > >abc is good for people who (1) are very experienced in the use of a computer, > >(2) who can do the necessary intellectual abstractions in their mind and type > >in the tune at the same time (3) who use sheet music - both reading and > >writing, and who write a lot of musical notes and therefore have a big sheet > >music output. > > I see what you are getting at, but I have to disagree to some extent. > > (1) is true if you are going to use a text editor + abc2ps + ghostscript or > abc2midi + midi player. On the other hand, the GUI based programs (abc2win, > abcMus, BarFly) are no more difficult to use than any other program, and > complete beginners should have no more trouble learning how to use them > than they would with MS-Word. > > (2) is certainly true. However, the intellectual abstraction involved is > no greater than it is when learning to write and read staff notation. For > complete beginners abc is actually easier, since you don't have to spend > lots of time counting "E G B D F" up the staff to figure out where the note > should go - if you know the name of the note you want to write, you know the > answer already. > > (3) I know lots of people who work primarily with the abc itself, and rather > rarely print out the sheet music. Quite a lot of them don't read music very > well, and use abc as a means of acquiring new tunes. > > Of course no one should think that they can get away with using abc as a > substitute for staff notation. In the end you are going to have to learn > how to read the dots, but it can serve as an easy introduction to the > concepts of musical notation. > > Phil Taylor > > To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: >http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
