https://github.com/olets/bayard-variations
abcm2ps decorations to add support for variation notation modeled after Samuel Bayard's
https://github.com/olets/bayard-variations
abc abc-notation abcm2ps fiddle music postscript typesetting
Last synced: 3 months ago
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abcm2ps decorations to add support for variation notation modeled after Samuel Bayard's
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/olets/bayard-variations
- Owner: olets
- License: other
- Created: 2016-09-21T19:07:29.000Z (over 8 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2020-12-19T18:05:40.000Z (over 4 years ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-01-12T07:09:17.386Z (4 months ago)
- Topics: abc, abc-notation, abcm2ps, fiddle, music, postscript, typesetting
- Homepage:
- Size: 206 KB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 2
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
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README
# bayard-variations
These [abcm2ps](https://github.com/leesavide/abcm2ps) "decos" add support for above the staff variation-marking notation to [abc](http://abcnotation.com/).
[Click here to download a zip of these files.](https://github.com/olets/bayard-variations/archive/master.zip)
For years in my fiddle transcriptions I marked variations with a superscripted letter (in abc, this was `"^a..."`). Finally I came across that exact idea in print in Jeff Todd Titon's [*Old Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes*](http://www.kentuckypress.com/live/title_detail.php?titleid=1074#.V-Mch5MrKHo). Titon says he "and other scholars" trace the idea back to [Samuel Bayard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Preston_Bayard), in his 1944 *Hill Country Tunes: Instrumental Folk Music of Southwestern Pennsylvania*. Bayard's notation was actually nicer, as it showed exactly which notes were varied (my crop):
After I'd been working on PostScript decorations to emulate Bayard for a while, Beáta Salamon's [*Magyar népzenei dallamgyűjtemény*](http://www.hagyomanyokhaza.hu/page/716/) came out… and what did I find in it but beautiful Bayard-type variation notation!
These **bayard-variations** are my own expansion on Bayard's and Salamon's designs.
### Contents
- Introduction
- [Usage](#usage)
- [Variation decoration types](#variation-decoration-types)
- [Customization](#customization)
- [Included decorations](#included-decorations)
- [Design your own](#design-your-own)
- [Architecture](#architecture)
- [If something goes wrong](#if-something-goes-wrong)
- [License](#license)
## Usage
Download at least `bayard-variations.fmt`. Run abcm2ps with
abcm2ps INPUTFILE.abc -F bayard-variations.fmt
(See the [abcm2ps readme](https://github.com/leesavide/abcm2ps) for additional options.)
Use `hbv-deco-chords.fmt` to support writing guitar chords (e.g. `"A"`) with stacked variation decorations (see [below](#var-x_stack)). Simply download the file in addition to `bayard-variations.fmt`, and uncomment (remove the line-initial `%` from) the first line of `bayard-variations.fmt`.
## Variation decoration types
1. **var-x**
```
!var-x(! y0 AAA BBB !var-x)!
```
prints `x-------,` over the notes AAA BBB
2. **var-xy**
```
!var-xy(! y0 AAA BBB !var-xy)!
```
prints `x, y----,` over the notes and so on for `var-xyz`, `var-xyz1`, and `var-xyz12`
3. **var**
```
!var(! y0 AAA BBB !var)!
```
prints `,-------,` over the notes
4. **varcontinues-x**
```
!varcontinues-x(! y0 AAA BBB !varcontinues-x)!
```
prints `x---------` over the notes (e.g. for use when a variation extends beyond the end of a staff). *varcontinues-x is intended to pair with varcontinued*
5. **varcontinues**
```
!varcontinues(! y0 AAA BBB !varcontinues)!
```
prints `,---------` over the notes (e.g. for use when a variation extends beyond the end of a staff). *varcontinues is intended to pair with varcontinued*
6. **varcontinued**
```
!varcontinued(! y0 AAA BBB !varcontinued)!
```
prints `--------,` over the notes (e.g. for use when a variation started before the current staff. *varcontinued is intended to pair with either varcontinues-x or varcontinues*
Those decorations don't stack nicely with each other or with repeats (e.g. `[1 ... ]`). If you need to mark overlapping variations, or need to use these decorations within a repeat, use the `_stack` variants:
7. **var-x\_stack**
```
!var-x_stack! !var-y_stack! y0 AAA !var-y_stack)! BBB !var-x_stack)!
```
prints `y----,` over `AAA` and, above that, `x---------,` over `AAA BBB`
8. **varcont\_stack**
```
!varcont_stack(! !var-x_stack! AAA !var-x_stack)! BBB !varcont_stack)!
```
prints `x----,` over `AAA` and, over that, prints `-----------,` over `AAA BBB`
Notes:
- **guitar chords** (in `""` quotations) **don't look good with stacked variation
markers. Use the included `hbv-deco-chords.fmt` to get around this** - include that `.fmt` and replace any
```
!var..._stack(! y0 "X" ... !var..._stack)!
```
with
```
!var..._stack(! y0 !X! y0 ... !var..._stack)!
```
The first line of `bayard-variations.fmt` imports `hbv-deco-chords.fmt`, commented out. The easiest way to add `!chord!` support, if you don't already have a base `.fmt` file to import both files into, is to download both `.fmt`s, put them in the same folder, and uncomment that first line of `bayard-variations.fmt`.
- I recommend always putting a `y0` after the opening deco of a long decoration,
e.g. after `!var-x(!`. It's sometimes a good idea to put one after the closing
deco `!var-x)!` and, in the case of variation markers stacked above guitar chords, after the `!X!` stackable guitar deco.
## Customization
I use Monaco 9 for the label and a thin 60%-black dashed line
- The font is defined before every occurrence of the postscript command `show`
- The thickness of the line is defined before every `SLW` (abcm2ps shorthand for
the postscript command `setlinewidth`) (default: `0.5`)
- The darkness of the line is defined before every non-zero `setgray` (default: `0.6`)
- The dash is defined before every non-`[]` `setdash` (default: `[3 5]`, which is 3px
of line followed by 5px of space)
The line could be made e.g. solid and black by commenting out all `setdash` and `setgray`.
## Included decorations
I've included a lot of decorations, which should cover most needs:
No referent:
- the unnamed decoration `var`
Single referent:
- single-letter decorations `var-a` to `var-z`
- single-letter stackable decorations `var-a_stack` to `var-z_stack`
- single-number decorations `var-0` to `var-9`
- single-number stackable decorations `var-0_stack` to `var-9_stack`
- an asterisk decoration `var-*`
Two referents:
- two-letter decorations `var-ab` to `var-yz` for non-overlapping sequential pairs (e.g. `var-bc`, not `var-ac`)
- two-number decorations `var-12`, `23`, `34`, `45`
- assorted other two-letter decorations I've needed (`var-is`, `cm`, `be`, `fj`, `pq`, `bd`, `ei`, `z1`)
- assorted two-letter stackable decorations I've needed (`var-bc_stack`, `de`, `ef`, `gh`, `ij`, `jk`, `lm`, `no`, `pq`, `z1`)
Three referents:
- three-letter decorations `var-abc` to `klm` (again, in non-overlapping sequential triplets - so `abc` and `def` but not `bcd` or `cde` (though in that particular case, see immediately below))
- assorted other three-letter decorations I've needed (`var-bcd`, `cde`, `cgh`, `cdj`, `mno`, `rst`, `stu`, `tuv`)
- assorted stackable three-letter decorations I've needed (`var-ghi_stack`, `opq`, `stu`, `tuv`, `vwx`)
More than three referents:
- some four-letter decorations I've needed (`var-abcd`, `klmn`, `lmno`, `vwxy`, `wxyz`)
- some stackable four-letter decorations (`var-efgh_stack`, `fghi`)
- some five-letter decorations (`var-abcde`, `defgh`, `aemno`)
Open-ended (no referent, or single- or multiple-referent):
- the open-ended unnamed decoration `varcontinues`
- single-letter open-ended decorations `varcontinues-a` to `varcontinues-h`
- stackable unnamed open-ended decoration `varcons_stack`
- the open-start decoration `varcontinued`
- stackable open-start decoration `varcont_stack`
Special:
- `var-first` decoration for a first-time-through variation
- `var-last` decoration for a last-time-through variation
If that doesn't meet your needs, you can always
## Design your own
You'll need to add three lines per decoration, within `beginps...endps`:
/var-[name]{/varname ([marker text] def [1var/[2-5]vars]}!
deco var-[name]( [5 for normal, 7 for stacking] - 17 0 0
deco var-[name]) ["] var-[name] 17 0 0
One-Character Example: `var-a`
/var-a{/varname (a) def 1var}!
deco var-a( 5 - 17 0 0
deco var-a) 5 var-a 17 0 0
Two-Character Example: `var-ab`
/var-a{/varname (a, b) def 2vars}!
deco var-ab( 5 - 17 0 0
deco var-ab) 5 var-ab 17 0 0
Three-Character Example: `var-abc`
/var-abc{/varname (a, b, c) def 3vars}!
deco var-abc( 5 - 17 0 0
deco var-abc) 5 var-abc 17 0 0
Four-Character Example: `var-abcd`
/var-abcd{/varname(a, b, c, d) def 4vars}!
deco var-abcd( 5 - 17 0 0
deco var-abcd) 5 var-abc 17 0 0
Five-Character Example: `var-abcde`
/var-abcde{/varname (a, b, c, d, e) def 5vars}!
deco var-abcde( 5 - 17 0 0
deco var-abcde) 5 var-abcde 17 0 0
Custom Example: `var-custom`
/var-custom{/varname (a. bc!!) def 3vars}!
deco var-custom( 5 - 17 0 0
deco var-custom) 5 var-custom 17 0 0
Custom Stackable Example: `var-custom2`
/var-custom_stack{/varname (a. bc!!) def 3vars}!
deco var-custom_stack( 7 - 17 0 0
deco var-custom_stack) 7 var-custom_stack 17 0 0
Note: **for custom variables, by default your marker text can be one, four
seven, ten, or thirteen characters** long (using 1var, 2vars, 3vars, 4vars, and
5vars, respectively). For marker text of other lengths you'll need to customize the
variable ``, which determines the horizontal placement of the marker line's start.
## Architecture
Here's the logic
1. Named, bracketing at end
deco `var-[x[y[z[1[2]]]]][_stack](`
and
deco `var-[x[y[z[1[2]]]]][_stack])`
depend on
`/var-x`
depends on
`/[#]vars`
depends on
`/variation`
1. Unnamed, bracketing at start and end
deco `var(`
depends on
`\unnamedvar`
1. Open, named, extending a little further right than the default
deco `varcontinues-[x[y[z[1[2]]]]](`
and
deco `varcontinues-[x[y[z[1[2]]]]])`
depend on
`/varconts-a`
depends on
`/1contvar`
1. Open, unnamed, extending a little further right than the default
deco `varcontinues(`
and
deco `varcontinues)`
depend on
`/varcontsunnamed`
1. Open at left, extending a little further left than the default
deco `varcontinued(`
and
deco `varcontinued)`
and
deco `varcont_stack(`
and
deco `varcont_stack)`
depend on
`/varcontd`
## If something goes wrong
**bayard-variations** not working for you? Check to see if it's a [known issue](https://github.com/olets/bayard-variations/issues). If it isn't, add it!
I'll mention one bug in particular: sometimes the decos may draw below the staff instead of above it. Just add `I: dynamic 1` to each tune or, to cover the entire abc file, at the top of the file. I do this in the bayard-variations demo, and it's documented in [issue #1](https://github.com/olets/bayard-variations/issues/1).
## License
bayard-variations by Henry Bley-Vroman is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 with a human rights condition from Hippocratic License 2.1. Persons interested in using or adapting this work for commercial purposes should contact the author.
For the full text of the license, see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file.