Dan Flath wrote:
>
> I am a rank newcomer to music typesetting. I want to type in only the
> melody line from a piano score, then print only that melody line - but
> transposed into a different key (to facilitate piano/wind intrument duets
> with my children.) What is the simplest way to do this? Thanks for your
> guidance.
>
ABC2MTeX is the simplest. PMX and M-Tx are almost as simple for this
job, but allow you to grow to bigger scores -- more instruments, two or
even three staves per instrument, lyrics included. Judge for yourself.
Here is `Silent Night' in M-Tx, coded in C major (it is easiest to code
in C major if you wish to transpose) but transposed down to B flat major.
You could have put in bar lines, but they are not required. The blanks
and open lines are required.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Silent Night
Style: Singer
Meter: 6/8
Systems: 2
%% Ar K-1-2
( g.a ) g e4d ( g8.a ) g e4d d4+,d bd c,c gd
a,a ( c8.b ) a ( g.a ) g e4d a4,a ( c8.b ) a ( g.a ) g e4d
d+,d ( f8.d ) b c4d ed ( c8.g ) e ( g.f ) d c2d
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here it is in PMX (as you can see, the notation for the notes themselves
is practically identical)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 1 6 8 6 8 0.00000 0 1 2 20 0
0
./
Tt
Silent Night
Ar K-1-2 ( g84.a ) g e4d ( g8.a ) g e4d d4+,d bd c,c gd
a,a ( c8.b ) a ( g.a ) g e4d a4,a ( c8.b ) a ( g.a ) g e4d
d+,d ( f8.d ) b c4d ed ( c8.g ) e ( g.f ) d c2d /
-----------------------------------------------------------------
And here it is in ABC2MTeX. (You could have put in blanks, but
they are not required). Transposition is done interactively.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
X: 1
T: Silent Night
L: 1/8
M: 6/8
K: C
G3/2A/2GE3|G3/2A/2GE3|d2dB3|c2cG3|
A2Ac3/2B/2A|G3/2A/2GE3|A2Ac3/2B/2A|G3/2A/2GE3|
d2df3/2d/2B|c3e3|c3/2G/2EG3/2F/2D|C6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Differences in philosophy: PMX and M-Tx let note values, pitch, octave
depend on the previous note, on the grounds that they change little
in the typical melody. E.g. `g' means the closest g, up or down.
In ABC2MTeX these are absolute: G is in the first octave above middle
C, g in the second; G3/2 means one and a half beats in the counting unit
(which you specify in L: 1/8).
Hope this helps.
Dirk Laurie (author of M-Tx :-)
