ABC File Headers

Headers used by LOTRO
X: Number identifying the tune within the file. LOTRO only supports one tune per file, so put any number here
T: Name of the tune. Shown in an emote to you in LOTRO and shown in the music manager app
M: Meter. This can be expressed numerically (4/4, 3/4, 6/8) or as C or C| for common and cut time.
L: Length of a note. This is the default length of any note specified in the ABC file and is used as the basis for all doubling, halving, etc. It should be specified in numeric format: 1/8, 1/4, 1, etc.
Q: Tempo, in normal format: 1/4=100. For some reason, LOTRO seems to feel like it's playing a little slow, so you may want to increase this number. Tempo and meter also interact in unusual ways. A song in C time will play faster in C| time even with the same specifier for a note length.
K: Key, specified like a tablature chord: C, Eb, Amin, Bbmin, etc. The standard supports modal key signatures (very useful for traditional folk music), but I don't know if LOTRO supports that.

Key Sig Major Minor Mix Dor Phr Lyd Loc
Ion Aeo

7 sharps: C# A#m G#Mix D#Dor E#Phr F#Lyd B#Loc
6 sharps: F# D#m C#Mix G#Dor A#Phr BLyd E#Loc
5 sharps: B G#m F#Mix C#Dor D#Phr ELyd A#Loc
4 sharps: E C#m BMix F#Dor G#Phr ALyd D#Loc
3 sharps: A F#m EMix BDor C#Phr DLyd G#Loc
2 sharps: D Bm AMix EDor F#Phr GLyd C#Loc
1 sharp : G Em DMix ADor BPhr CLyd F#Loc
0 sharps: C Am GMix DDor EPhr FLyd BLoc
1 flat : F Dm CMix GDor APhr BbLyd ELoc
2 flats : Bb Gm FMix CDor DPhr EbLyd ALoc
3 flats : Eb Cm BbMix FDor GPhr AbLyd DLoc
4 flats : Ab Fm EbMix BbDor CPhr DbLyd GLoc
5 flats : Db Bbm AbMix EbDor FPhr GbLyd CLoc
6 flats : Gb Ebm DbMix AbDor BbPhr CbLyd FLoc
7 flats : Cb Abm GbMix DbDor EbPhr FbLyd BbLoc

Headers Ignored by LOTRO:
You may find these headers useful
N: Notes. You may have as many lines of notes as you need.
A: Author of lyrics
O: Geographical region of origin. For custom music composed for LOTRO this could include race and zone
Z: Transcriber into ABC form.
G: Group. This is intended for application-specific indexing information.
H: History. Kind of like N but intended for the "story" behind and about the song
You will probably not find this header useful:
%% Introduces a large number of advanced ABC constructs, many around printing the file, none of which LOTRO notices.

Headers Harmful to LOTRO:
V: Defines a voice for multi-part files.
P: Defines multi-part (harmony) ABC files. These will confuse LOTRO to no end.

TUNE CONTENTS

Pitch:
Notes are specified by the standard note letter: ABCDEFG. LOTRO supports a 3 octave range; the ABC standard supports much more.
Notes are most easily expressed with capitalization: ABCDEFGabcdefg is an ascending, 2 octave A-Minor scale.

If you have trouble remembering the order, you can use the mnemonic that capital letters are heavier (larger) and sink below (lower pitch) than lower-case (smaller) letters.
ABCDEFGabcdefg Ascending scale

You may modify the octave of a note with modifiers:
A, One octave below A
A' One octave above A Yes, A'=a and A=,a Yes, this can lead to confusion

a,, = A,

The general range of LOTRO instruments is: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C D E F G A B c d e f g a b c'
Some instruments' tessitura does not include the extreme end of the range (for example, the flute will play c' instead of C,)

Rests
Rests are specified by the letter z
z A rest
z2 Double length rest, just like a note

Accidentals:
LOTRO will apply and modifiers to notes based on the key signature. You may apply accidentals with modifiers:
^C C-sharp (C#)
=B B-natural (Both a note and a good idea)
_A A-flat (Ab)
Yes, you may use ^^ and __ for double sharps and double flats as needed

Note Length
Notes normally have the length defined by the L: field in the header. You may alter this with a multiplier after a note:

L:1/4
A Quarter note
A2 Half note
A3 Dotted half note
A4 Whole note

A1/2 Eighth note
A/ Shorthand for A1/2, an eighth note
A3/2 1.5 note length: a dotted quarter note
A/4 One quarter of a quarter note: a sixteenth note

"<" and ">" are special syntax for common broken rhythm:
L:1/4
^F>G Dotted F# to G (3/8 F#, 1/8 G)
^F<G F# to dotted G (1/8 F#, 3/8 G)

Note: not all LOTRO instruments are capable of sustaining a note. A Harp, for instance, will still play a "pluck' duration regardless of the ABC.

Melody:
Notes are simply strung together to make a song, with the | symbol marking off measures:
GF'EF^ | G2 G2 | G4 | F'2 F'2 | GAA2 | GF'EF^ | G G G G | F'F' GF' | E4 ||
Split songs across lines as needed for readability.
Actually, LOTRO seems to ignore measure bars, but please use them if you share your ABC file.

Ties and Slurs:
Not fully supported by LOTRO, but the syntax is:
c-|c Tie the two c notes together across the bar - supported in Book 11 if the notes are the same
(ceg) Slur these notes - not supported in book 11

Harmony:
Book 11 introduced chords to LOTRO ABC (yay!)
A chord is a bunch of notes in square brackets: []

[ceg] c chord

These are played like any other note: they have duration, pitch, octave, and accidentals. For example:

[d2^f2a2] DMaj chord at double the default length

Special notes:
If notes in a chord have different lengths, the next note after the chord begins when the shortest note in the chord ends.
Spaces inside a chord bracket will confuse LOTRO
A LOTRO instrument cannot play the same note twice simultaneously. If a chord is sustaining a note and that note appears in the subsequent melody, an error will occur. Chords with notes of different lengths are highly discouraged.
Example:
X:1
N: Notes:
N: - use [notes] for a chord
N: - Spaces are not allowed inside the brackets. Use [ceg] not [c e g]
N: - Chord notes are played together as polyphony.
N: They take up duration as though they were
N: listed separately. [cegc'4] will play [ceg] for one unit
N: and play [c'] for 4
N: - Note how the middle c sustains after the rest of the chord in the final bar
T:Testing chords
K:CM
M:C
L:1/4
Q:1/4=150
[ceg] egc | [f,ac] ac'f | [g,bd] b,d>f, | [gbdf,] [c3e2g2c'2c,2] ||

Example that generates the "note is already sounding" error
[c4e2g2]C/E/G/c

ABC Features not supported in LOTRO:
If you are editing an ABC file from the net to make it work in LOTRO, here are some of the elements you may need to remove:
{ } Grace notes
(2, (3, ... Triplets, etc.
[ ]2 Length of a chord. Put the number after each note in the chord
[DD] Unison or drone for some instruments. Remove one of the notes.
"Am" Tablature symbol in the melody. Ignored by LOTRO. Replace with a chord.
W: Indicates lyrics. LOTRO will ignore these for now. Hopefully someday it will emote them.
[V:1] Voice indicator for a line. Separate each voice into a file for synchronized play.
|: :| Repeats. You have to duplicate the contents manually.

Добавлено (12.04.2011, 10:24)
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Хочу также сказать о не упомянутой здесь возможности контролировать громкость игры того или иного инструмента, которая вполне могла бы где-нибудь пригодиться. Знаки, указывающие на громкость, по мере её возрастания: +ppp+ = 30, +pp+ = 45, +p+ = 60, +mp+ = 75, +mf+ = 90, +f+ = 105, +ff+ = 120, +fff+ = 127 (также в обзоре указываются обозначения +pppp+, +ffff+, но, по всей видимости, LOTRO они не поддерживаются). Относительные величины громкости указаны по шкале от 0 до 127. Знак модуляции громкости может быть поставлен в любом месте файла. Соответственно, по его преодолении, громкость воспроизводимой музыки будет фиксирована на задаваемом этим знаком уровне, до встречи со следующим знаком громкости. По умолчанию (при отсутствии этих знаков), громкость устанавливается в районе +mp+ - +mf+ (пытался определить на примере барабана).