abc2harp

abc2harp is a Perl script that adds harmonica (harp) tab to ABC music notation in the form of lyrics text.

Features

• Currently only the 10-hole diatonic harp is supported.
• The key of the harp can be specified (default is the same key as the music i.e. "straight harp").
• Overbends can be allowed or disallowed (default).

Free for personal and non-commercial use.

Download

Current version - abc2harp 0.1 beta (zip file)

Usage

    abc2mma.pl <abcfile.abc | abcfile.txt> [options]
  
    - default output filename is <abcfile>_harp.abc

Options:

-o or -output=<tabfile>
    - output to <tabfile>.abc
-writefile=<yes|no>
    - generates file (overrides -outfile) (default=yes)
-v or verbose
    - turns on verbose mode
-harpkey=<harpkey>
    - sets all harp keys to <harpkey>. Ignores all 
      "X-ABC2HARP HarpKey" commands in input file.
-overbends=<yes|no>
    - specifies whether overbends (blows and draws) are allowed
      (default=no). Overrides all "X-ABC2HARP OverBends"
      commands in input file.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I insert ABC2HARP commands?
   
   Use "%%X-ABC2HARP <command>" to directly insert ABC2HARP commands at the appropriate sections in the file (note: must be on a separate line). Please refer to the included examples.abc for examples.
   
   Currently available commands are "HarpKey <harpkey>" and "OverBends <yes|no>".
   

Notes / Disclaimers

• Only 10-hole diatonics are supported currently - Inline key changes are not supported, but clef changes should be okay - This is NOT a parser! I'm just using mostly string substitution to get the results I want. I'm too lazy to write a full abc parser.
• I do not claim to handle all possible abc notation scenarios. There are features of abc notation which I don't use, so I'm sure there are many cases which are broken.
• Finally, use at your own risk! I'm not responsible for any damages, blah blah... that may result from the use of this software.

Change Log

• Version 0.1: 16 April 2006

To Do

• Support for chromatic harps
• Support for SuperTab font

Contact

Send your comments, bugs, requests to: geksiong AT yahoo DOT com