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<A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></A>

<UL CLASS="ChildLinks">
<LI><A NAME="tex2html584"
  HREF="node8.html#SECTION00810000000000000000">Bar Numbers</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html585"
  HREF="node8.html#SECTION00820000000000000000">Bar Repeat</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html586"
  HREF="node8.html#SECTION00830000000000000000">Chords</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html587"
  HREF="node8.html#SECTION00840000000000000000">Rests</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html588"
  HREF="node8.html#SECTION00850000000000000000">Positioning</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html589"
  HREF="node8.html#SECTION00860000000000000000">Case Sensitivity</A>
<LI><A NAME="tex2html590"
  HREF="node8.html#SECTION00870000000000000000">Track Chords</A>
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<H1><A NAME="SECTION00800000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="sec-music"></A>
<BR>
Musical Data Format
</H1>

<P>
Compared to patterns, sequences, grooves and the various directives used in 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> ,
the actual bar by bar chord notations are surprisingly simple.

<P>
Any line in your input file which is not a directive or comment is assumed to
be a bar of chord data.

<P>
A line for chord data consists of the following parts:

<P>

<UL>
<LI>Optional line number,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>Chord or Rest data (with optional position indicator),

<P>
</LI>
<LI>Optional lyric data,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>Optional solo or melody data,

<P>
</LI>
<LI>Optional multiplier.

<P>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>
Formally, this becomes:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>[num] Chord [Chord ...] [lyric] [solo] [* Factor]  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
As you can see, all that is really needed is a single chord. So, the line:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
is completely valid. As is:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>10 Cm Dm Em Fm * 4   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
The optional solo or melody data is enclosed in ``{ }''s. The
complete format and use is detailed in the <A HREF="node10.html#chap-solo">Solo and
  Melody Tracks</A>.

<P>
Lyrics are enclosed in ''[ ]'' brackets. See the <A HREF="node9.html#sec-lyrics">Lyrics section</A>.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION00810000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="sect-barnumbers"></A>
<BR>
Bar Numbers
</H1>

<P>
The optional leading bar number is silently discarded by 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT> . It is
really just a specialized comment which helps you debug your music.
Note that only a numeric item is permitted here.

<P>
Get in the habit of using bar numbers. You'll thank yourself when a
song seems to be missing a bar, or appears to have an extra one.
Without the leading bar numbers it can be quite frustrating to match
your input file to a piece of sheet music.<A NAME="tex2html38"
  HREF="#foot4166"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">8</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A>
<P>
One important use of the leading bar number is for the -b command line
option <A HREF="node2.html#b-option">detailed here</A>.

<P>
You should note that it is perfectly acceptable to have only a bar
number on a line. This is common when you are using bar repeat, for
example:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>1   Cm * 4 
<BR>
2
<BR>
3 
<BR>
4 
<BR>
5 A   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
In the above example bars 2, 3 and 4 are comment bars.

<P>
The command line option -L <A HREF="node2.html#running-L">, detailed here,</A> can be used to display your line
numbers at the end of a run. 

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION00820000000000000000">
Bar Repeat</A>
</H1>

<P>
Quite often music has several sequential identical bars. Instead of
typing these bars over and over again, 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  has an optional
<SPAN  CLASS="textit">multiplier</SPAN> which can be placed at the end of a line of music
data. The multiplier or factor can is specified as ``* NN'' This will
cause the current bar to repeated the specified number of times. For
example:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm / Dm / * 4  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
produces 4 bars of output with each the first 2 beats of each bar a Cm
chord and the last 2 a Dm. (The ``/'' is explained below.)

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION00830000000000000000">
Chords</A>
</H1>

<P>
The most important part of a musical data line is, of course, the
chords. You can specify a different chord for each beat in your music.
For example:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm Dm Em Fm  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
specifies four different chords in a bar. It should be obvious by now
that in a piece in <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">4/4</SPAN> you'll end up with a ``Cm'' chord on
beat 1, ``Dm'' on 2, etc.

<P>
If you have fewer chord names than beats, the bar will be filled
automatically with the last chord name on the line. In other words:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
and

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm Cm Cm Cm   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
are equivalent (assuming 4 beats per bar). There must be one (or more)
spaces between each chord.

<P>
One further shorthand is the ``/'' or ``-''. This simply means to repeat the
last chord (in the following discussion we use ``/'', but it all
applies to ``-'' as well). So:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm / Dm /   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
is the same as

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm Cm Dm Dm   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
It is perfectly okay to start a line with a ``/''. In this case the
last chord from the previous line is used. If the first line of music
data begins with a ``/'' you'll get an error--
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  tries to be
smart, but it doesn't read minds. Having ``/'' at the end of the bar
is a tad silly since 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  just ends up throwing these away, but it
does no harm.

<P>

<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  recognizes a wide variety of chords in standard and Roman
numeral notation. In addition, you can specify slash chords,
inversions, barre offsets, and shift the octave up or down. Refer to
the complete table in the appendix for
<A HREF="node35.html#sec-chordname">details</A>.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION00840000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="rests"></A>
<BR>
Rests
</H1>

<P>
To disable a voice for a beat you can use a ``z'' for a chord name. If
used by itself a ``z'' will disable all but the drum tracks for the
given beat. However, you can disable ``Chord'', ``Arpeggio'',
``Scale'', ``Walk'', ``Aria'', or ``Bass'' tracks as well by appending a track
specifier to the ``z''. Track specifiers are the single letters ``C'',
``A'', ``S'', ``W'', ``B'', ``R'' or `D'' and ``!''. Track specifiers are
only valid if you also specify a chord. The track specifiers are:

<P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT></DT>
<DD><DL>
<DT><STRONG>D</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All drum tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>W</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All walking bass tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>B</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All bass tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>C</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All chord tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>A</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All arpeggio tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>S</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All scale tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>R</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All aria tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>P</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All plectrum tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>!</STRONG></DT>
<DD>All tracks (almost the same as DWBCAP, see below).

<P>
</DD>
</DL>
</DD>
</DL>

<P>
Assuming the ``C'' is the chord and ``AB'' are the track specifiers:

<P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT></DT>
<DD><DL>
<DT><STRONG>CzAB</STRONG></DT>
<DD>mutes the A<SMALL>RPEGGIO</SMALL> and B<SMALL>ASS</SMALL> tracks,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>z</STRONG></DT>
<DD>mutes all the tracks except for the drums,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>Cz</STRONG></DT>
<DD>is not permitted,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>zAB</STRONG></DT>
<DD>is not permitted.

<P>
</DD>
</DL>
</DD>
</DL>

<P>
Assuming that you have a drum, chord and bass pattern defined:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Fm z G7zC CmzD  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
would generate the following beats:

<P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT></DT>
<DD><DL>
<DT><STRONG>1</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Drum pattern, Fm chord and bass,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>2</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Drum pattern only,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>3</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Drum pattern and G7 bass, no chord,

<P>
</DD>
<DT><STRONG>4</STRONG></DT>
<DD>Cm chord and bass, no drum.

<P>
</DD>
</DL>
</DD>
</DL>

<P>
In addition, there is a super-z notation. ``z!'' forces all
instruments to be silent for the given beats. ``z!'' is the same as
``zABCDWR'', except that the latter is not valid since it needs a
prefixed chord.

<P>
The ``z'' notation is used when you have a ``tacet'' beat or beats.
The alternate notations can be used to silence specific tracks for a
beat or two, but this is used less frequently.

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION00850000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="chord-position"></A>
<BR>
Positioning
</H1>

<P>
In earlier versions of 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  all chords (and rests) were positioned on
the beat, and one could only specify a limited number of chord changes
per bar. Using the enhanced positioning syntax an unlimited number of
chord changes per bar can be specified. But, please note <SPAN  CLASS="textit">the
  changes you hear in your song depend on the specific pattern you are
  using! You might specify a chord at, for example, beat 2.25, but if
  the pattern doesn't sound a chord at that position it's a bit silly.</SPAN>

<P>
As discussed above, a normal set of chord changes is entered like:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm / Dm  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
which sets a ``Cm'' for beats 1 and 2, and ``Dm'' for beats 3 to the
bar end.

<P>
To modify this, you can use the ``@'' symbol along with an offset to
indicate other changes. So, the above example could also be written
as:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm Dm@3  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
Changing on the ``off beat'' is simple as well. Consider,

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>C D@3.5 F  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
In this case the ``C'' chord is in effect from the first beat until
beat 3.5, a ``D'' chord is set for 3.5 until 4, and an ``F'' from 4 to
the end of bar. 

<P>
In parsing, when 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  finds a chord name without the ``@'' it assumes
that the position is the next full beat after the previous chord
... which means that in the above example ``F'' and ``F@4'' are
equivalent.

<P>

<UL>
<LI>The offset used must be 1 or greater and less than the value of
  the T<SMALL>IME</SMALL> parameter (<A HREF="node17.html#time">here</A>)
  plus 1. Any partial beat (2.33, 3.9, 1.25, etc.) is permitted.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>Chords must be specified in order of their position in the bar. For example,

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Cm Dm E@1.5  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
would generate an error.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>No spaces are permitted between chord and the ``@'' symbol or
  between the ``@'' and the value.

<P>
</LI>
<LI>The ``@'' must be at the end of the chord following any chord
  modifiers. The chords ``+Cdim&gt;-2@2.5'' and ``E/G#@4'' are perfectly acceptable.

<P>
</LI>
</UL>

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION00860000000000000000">
Case Sensitivity</A>
</H1>

<P>
In direct conflict with the rest of the rules for input files, all
chord names (and modifiers) <SPAN  CLASS="textit">are</SPAN> case sensitive. This means that you <SPAN  CLASS="textit">can
  not</SPAN> use notations like ``cm''--use ``Cm'' instead.

<P>
The ``z'' and the associated track specifiers are also case sensitive.
For example, the form ``Zc'' will <SPAN  CLASS="textit">not</SPAN> work!

<P>

<H1><A NAME="SECTION00870000000000000000"></A>
<A NAME="track-chord"></A>
<BR>
Track Chords
</H1>

<P>
In most cases you want to have the same chords applied to all the
different tracks in your song. However, certain styles of music prove
the ``exception to the rule.'' Certain hip-hop and rap styles use a
repetitive bass line or a melody snippet which doesn't
change--regardless of the underlying chord structure of the piece.

<P>
In these cases, you can create a S<SMALL>EQUENCE</SMALL> and have it play
using the same notes without having the chords affect it.

<P>
A track specific chord is set just like the data described above.
However, you cannot include a label, lyric, repeat, or other modifier.
Assuming a defined B<SMALL>ASS</SMALL> and C<SMALL>HORD</SMALL> G<SMALL>ROOVE</SMALL>, a simple example would be:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>// set the bass line to use C on beats 1/2 and G on 3/4 
<BR>
Bass Chords C / G 
<BR>
1 C   // set the main chord to C 
<BR>
2  G   
<BR>
3  C   
<BR>  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
In the above example the track-specific chords for the B<SMALL>ASS</SMALL> are
applied to all the subsequent bars in the song.

<P>
To end the track-specific chords, use an empty argument or an empty
{ }:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Bass Chords    </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
or 

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Bass Chords { }   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
You can set different chords in each bar of the sequence. In this case
use curly brackets ``{ }'' around each bar. So,
assuming you have a 4 bar sequence:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Bass Chords {C} {G / B7} {Dm} {C G A B}   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
will give you a different set of chords for each bar in the sequence.

<P>
You can easily repeat chord patterns for a subset of bars using a
single ``/'' (in this case the curly brackets ``{ }'' are optional).

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Chord Chords {I / III} /  / {V7}   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
or 

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Chord Chords {I / III} { / } { / } {V7}   </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
You can disable a track completely using the special rest notation
``z''. If you have a empty setting for some bars in the sequence,
using an empty set of curly brackets ``{ }', that bar will use the
chord set for the rest of the song.

<P>
If using this for a D<SMALL>RUM</SMALL> track, remember that to mute a drum
you will need to the the ``z!'' rest notation.

<P>
Since harmonies, <A HREF="node15.html#sec-harmony">here</A>,
also depend on chords you can create interesting effects by setting a
track specific chord in a S<SMALL>OLO</SMALL> or even S<SMALL>CALE</SMALL> track.

<P>
C<SMALL>HORDS</SMALL> set in this manner are saved in G<SMALL>ROOVES</SMALL>, so they
can be used to write interesting styles.

<P>
In most cases, you will be better off using R<SMALL>OMAN </SMALL>N<SMALL>UMERAL</SMALL>
chords, <A HREF="node35.html#romanchords">details</A>.
Since the chord data is stored as unmodified text, key changes will
modify the chord (which is probably what you want).

<P>
This option can also come in handy when you have a bass line set via
slash chord names and the bass notes are not part of the underlying
chord. For example, you might have the chords snippet ``Db/Eb  Eb/Db''
which will generate 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  warnings. Since the ``Eb'' and ``Db'' are only
needed for the bass line, something like this will work nicely:

<P>

      <Table Hspace="40%" CellSpacing=0 CellPadding=10 BGColor="OldLace" Border=3>
        <tr><td>
    <B>Bass Chords  Eb  Db 
<BR>
Db  Eb 
<BR>
Bass Chords  
<BR>  </B> 
   
	    </td></tr>
      </Table>

<P>
Don't forget to turn off the track specific chords!

<P>

<P>
<BR><HR><H4>Footnotes</H4>
<DL>
<DT><A NAME="foot4166">... music.</A><A
 HREF="node8.html#tex2html38"><SUP><SPAN CLASS="arabic">8</SPAN>.<SPAN CLASS="arabic">1</SPAN></SUP></A></DT>
<DD>If your line
  numbers get out of order you can use the supplied utility
  <SPAN  CLASS="textbf">mma-renum</SPAN> to renumber the comment lines. This utility is
  installed in your default path or in the root 
<FONT Face="Serif"  Color="Navy"><I>MMA</I></FONT>  directory,
  depending on the distribution.

</DD>
</DL>
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2016-06-11
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