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ABC is a Low Level Language which uses the computer keyboard
to write down music, it uses letters, so it's call ABC. The codes can be
recognised by a piece of computer software and turned into sounds - even
music. |
Each tune can be saved as a very small file. |
There are lots of sites on the internet where you can find these tunes
and download them onto your own computer. |
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ABC is not very intuitive so the next step is to turn
ABC
into a language which musical instruments can understand, that is called MIDI. |
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You could find out more
about ABC at
Steve Mansfield's excellent tutorial site. |
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MIDI is more sophisticated and can be used to create sounds
from different instruments, with several parts. |
| ABC is very simple and can by used with the oldest of
computers. |
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There are many (probably thousands) of tunes which are written in this form. |
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MIDI
stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface |
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With the correct software ABC
format can be played on your
computer and turned into sheet music, which can then be printed out.
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You can use screen based keyboards to input your own
sounds. |
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If you have a MIDI instrument you can connect to the
computer and play directly into the programme. |
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At this point I must mention
another factor - sound cards |
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The sound and
sound quality you get from ABC and MIDI files depends very much on the
quality of your sound card. |
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Neither of the above music
languages actually make sounds, they are simple instructions which tell the
sound card in your computer what to do |
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Although most
cards these days are quite good you should not expect to get music that
sounds natural from them. |
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So the next step is to turn
your music into a format which you can send to others without it changing. |
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This also means
that if you send MIDI files to someone else you don't really know what it
will sound like on their computer. |
| I have looked
around on the internet to find the best free software to do all the tasks
associated with getting music to play on a computer |
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The industry has been
through several generations of sound formats, constantly looking to get
better quality with smaller files. |
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Step 1- Install
ABC NAVIGATOR |
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Currently the best format is
MP3, so you may like to change your MIDI files into MP3 Format. |
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Step 2 - Install
ANVIL STUDIO |
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Step 3 - Create a folder on your computer to store the files
you will download - perhaps in My Music. |
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Step 4 - Go to the
Tune Finder
site and type
in the name of a tune, wait while it searches and then download the file you want. |
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You normally have a choice of file types you can download |
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ABC is the ABC file you
can play on ABCNavigator |
MIDI is the midi file you will be able to play on ANVIL:
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PDF is a musical score you can print out. |
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Note all MIDI files seem to be called GET TUNE.MID, so you will have to change
the file name when you down load it. |
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If you have
completed Step 1 & 2 you should only need to click on the files for them to
start playing. |
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