ABC notation facts for kids

ABC notation is a cool and simple way to write down music using just letters and symbols on a computer. Think of it like a secret code for music!

It uses letters like a to g (both small and capital) to stand for different notes. It also uses other symbols to show if a note is sharp or flat. You can also show how long it should be played (note length). It even shows the key of the song and fancy ornaments.

ABC notation started because people wanted an easy way to share music online. It uses regular ASCII characters. These are the basic letters and symbols you see on a keyboard. This made it super easy for music programs to understand. It was also easy for people to type. It's a bit like tablature (for guitar) or solfège (Do-Re-Mi). These are also simple ways to write music.

Chris Walshaw helped make ABC notation what it is today. He made sure it worked well with computer keyboards. It was first made for folk and traditional tunes. These tunes often come from places like Ireland and Scotland. They usually have one main melody. Over time, it grew to include more characters. It also added ways to include extra info about each song.

Since ABC notation uses plain text, you can use any basic text editor. Programs like Notepad work well. But there are also many special ABC notation software programs now. These programs can do cool things. They can turn your ABC text into MIDI files. Computers can play these files. They can even turn it into traditional "dotted" music notation. This looks like sheet music. You can find these programs for almost any computer. This includes Windows, Linux, Mac, and even on the web!

Newer software has added even more features. You can add lyrics that line up with the notes. You can write music for multiple instruments or voices. You can create tablature. You can even make MIDI music directly.

How Did ABC Notation Begin?

ABC notation was used in the late 1970s. It helped teach Irish traditional music. In the 1980s, Chris Walshaw started writing down folk tunes. He used letters before he could even read standard sheet music.

Later, he used a program called MusicTeX. He used it to write French bagpipe music. To make this easier, he created a tool. This tool would automatically create commands for MusicTeX. By 1993, this tool became the abc2mtex program. This was a big step for ABC notation.

How ABC Notation Became Official

The most recent official rules for ABC notation came out on December 21, 2011. These rules explain exactly how ABC syntax should work. They cleared up any confusion from earlier versions. This standard grew from a guide written in 1996. That guide was for version 1.6 of Chris Walshaw's first program.

In 1997, Steve Allen officially registered "text/vnd.abc" as a MIME type. This helps computers know what kind of file an ABC file is.

Chris Walshaw started working on new ABC rules in 1999. He wanted to include all the new features that different programs had added. After much talk, a draft was made in 2000. But it was not officially released. Chris then took a break from working on ABC for several years.

Later, Guido Gonzato put together a new version of the rules. It was called version 2.0. Today, Irwin Oppenheim helps keep these rules updated.

In 2011, there was new interest in making the ABC rules clearer. People also wanted to add new features. This led to ABC 2.1 being released as a new standard in late 2011. Chris Walshaw is now involved again. He is helping to make the language even better for future versions. These include ABC 2.2 and ABC 2.3.

What Does ABC Notation Look Like?

Here's an example of ABC notation used right here in MediaWiki:

<score lang="ABC">
X:1
T:The Legacy Jig
M:6/8
L:1/8
R:jig
K:G
GFG BAB | gfg gab | GFG BAB | d2A AFD |
GFG BAB | gfg gab | age edB |1 dBA AFD :|2 dBA ABd |:
efe edB | dBA ABd | efe edB | gdB ABd |
efe edB | d2d def | gfe edB |1 dBA ABd :|2 dBA AFD |]
</score>

In the example above, lines that start with a letter and a colon tell you important things. For example, X:, T:, M:, and others.

• X: is like a number for the tune. This is useful if there's more than one tune.
• T: is the title of the song.
• M: tells you the time signature, like 6/8.
• L: sets the usual length for notes.
• R: tells you the type of tune, like a jig.
• K: tells you the key of the song.

The lines after the key (K:) are the actual notes of the tune.

You can use special tools to turn this ABC text into traditional sheet music. For example, the Score extension in MediaWiki can show it like this:

<score lang="ABC" sound=1> X:1 T:The Legacy Jig M:6/8 L:1/8 R:jig K:G GFG BAB | gfg gab | GFG BAB | d2A AFD | GFG BAB | gfg gab | age edB |1 dBA AFD :|2 dBA ABd |: efe edB | dBA ABd | efe edB | gdB ABd | efe edB | d2d def | gfe edB |1 dBA ABd :|2 dBA AFD |] </score>

Other software, like abcm2ps, can create images of the sheet music. Here is an example:

Sheet music generated from ABC notation

You can find many more examples of ABC notation online. They show almost all its features. Remember, a z means a rest, which means no sound.

Working Together with ABC Notation

ABC notation is also used for creating and editing music with other people online. Here are some places where ABC notation is used for teamwork:

• The Wiki-score platform uses ABC as its main way to write music. This is great when many people work on a score together.
• The Score plugin for MediaWiki lets you display ABC notation. It uses another program called GNU LilyPond. This program turns the ABC text into sheet music.
• MusicWiki is a tool for MoinMoin wikis. It helps display ABC music.
• AbcMusic is used to show ABC notation in PmWiki wikis.
• The gabc notation was made by the Gregorio Project. It was made to write down Gregorian chant scores.
• An ABC plugin for DokuWiki can display ABC notation. It can even create MIDI audio files from it.
• EasyABC is a program that lets you edit ABC notation. You can export it as MIDI. You can also create SVG images of the music.
• abcjs is a tool that lets websites store ABC notation as text. Then it shows it as sheet music directly in your web browser.
• Zap's ABC is an Android app. It combines different ABC tools. This lets you compose music on your phone.
• The online game The Lord of the Rings Online lets players use ABC notation. They can play any MIDI music file in the game with their characters' instruments!
• The PC game Starbound also lets players use in-game instruments. They can play custom music written in ABC notation.

See Also

In Spanish: Notación musical Abc para niños

• GUIDO music notation
• Helmholtz pitch notation
• LilyPond
• Numbered musical notation, a system often used in China
• Tonic sol-fa