Hi all,
This message is long. If you don't have a couple of minutes, don't start
reading. You've been warned. :)
Before I get into the main topic, can someone tell me how to modify
variables of length in TeX, e.g., \staffbotmarg? Apparantly \setlength is a
LaTeX macro, and until my copy of "The TeXbook" comes in, I'm left with
abusing my email solicitation privileges.
Down to business. I have found PMX to be a valuable improvement over
MusiXTeX in terms of time-efficiency, which after all is designed to be one
of its features. A major drawback for me has been a seeming incompatibility
with the macros defined for tablature by the package tabdefs.tex, which
works well but was originally designed for MusiXTeX.
The basic question is one of finding a way to enforce organized horizontal
spacing for non-note entries in the staves using existing commands. I would
not ask that PMX be edited to accomodate any changes. I've already spoken
with Don Simons and he's been most informative, but from here I'd prefer to
find a solution without having to consult him too heavily.
Those macros defined in tabdefs which make the necessary instrument
declarations can certainly be implemented through the PMX code. The problem
lies in placing the actual numbers on the bars. The problem is due to the
fact that PMX enforces a (very useful) logical metering by assigning each
note or rest a basic time value. The macros for placing numbers on the
tablature's six-lined staff are mainly \tab and \chotab, which of course can
be implemented into the .pmx file as a Type 1 command (see p. 15 of the PMX
manual). In MusiXTeX, these macros can be entered in the same vertical plane
as the notes in the instruments that come above, so the horizontal spacing
follows naturally. For example, the \tab macro might be used in conjunction
with a quarter note on the next instrument as follows:
\notesp\tab40&\ql d\en
and a chord (using \chotab, which provides a non-spacing number, in
conjunction with \tab) may be written as follows:
\notesp\chotab40\chotab25\tab18&\zql d\zqp l\qup q\en
The problem I see with PMX's format for input is that there is no way to
specify the horizontal spacing of the numbers on the tab staff inside of a
PMX block, that is, to associate a basic time value with the numbers on the
staff (be they representative of notes or representative of chords).
So, does anyone see any ideas about getting around this? Or a way to get
started thinking about it? Keep in mind that the goal is to retain PMX's
time-saving capabilities while integrating these macros, so
On a personal note, tablature for notatiting my own music is redundant. If
I'm able to notate the song, I already know how to play it. It serves
instead to facilitate reading of the music for others, and in fact to
facilitate the piece being used at all in many cases, since by my
observation a great many guitar players depend heavily on tablature,
especially for complicated pieces. Hey, we're only human, folks. :-)
Thanks for your time,
Mike
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
