The GUIDO Music Notation Format
Version 1.0
Specification Part 1: Basic GUIDO
Technical Report TI 20/97
Fachbereich Informatik
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Darmstadt, Germany
Holger H. Hoos
Fachbereich Informatik
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Alexanderstr. 10
D-64283 Darmstadt, Germany
Email: hoos@informatik.th-darmstadt.de
|
Keith A. Hamel
School of Music
University of British Columbia
6361 Memorial Road
Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z2, Canada
Email: hamel@unixg.ubc.ca
|
Outline
1 Introduction
The GUIDO Notation Format is a general purpose formal
language for representing score level music
in a platform independent, plain-text and human-readable
way. It is based on a conceptually simple but
powerful formalism; its design concentrates on general
musical concepts (as opposed to notational, i.e, graphical
features). A key feature of the GUIDO design is adequacy,
which means that simple musical concepts should be
represented in a simple way and only complex notions
should require complex representations.
In the present version, GUIDO supports most of the
commonly used concepts of conventional music notation;
however, it is designed to be a flexible and easily
extendable open standard.
Various extensions of the Basic GUIDO Notation Format
include mechanisms for representing musical structure,
abstract scores, micro-tonal music, and
generalized timed events (for multi-media support).
These extensions will be specified in subsequent
versions of this document.
GUIDO has not been developed with a particular application
in mind but to provide an adequate representation formalism
for score-level music over a broad range of applications.
The intended application areas include
notation software, compositional and analytical systems
and tools, large musical databases, performance systems,
and music on the World Wide Web.
The GUIDO Notation Format has been developed
by Holger H. Hoos, Technical University of Darmstadt,
Germany and Keith Hamel, University of British Columbia
in Vancouver, Canada; some features are based on
discussions with Michael Fuhlbrügge, Kai Flade,
Thomas Helbich and Jürgen Kilian.
It is named after Guido d'Arezzo (990-1050), a renowned
music theorist of his time and important contributor to
today's conventional musical notation (CMN). His
achievements include the perfection of
the staff system for music notation and the invention
of solmisation (solfege).
The GUIDO Notation Format is publicly and freely available;
it can and should be freely used for arbitrary scientific,
educational or commercial purposes. However, the
GUIDO Notation Format specification remains the intellectual
property of the authors of this document. It is our
wish that every publicly available software supporting GUIDO
and every extension of GUIDO as specified in this document
should be brought to our attention.
2 Basic GUIDO Notation
Basic GUIDO Notation covers the representation of notes,
rests, accidentals, single- and multi-voiced music and
the most common concepts from conventional music notation
such as clefs, meter, key, slurs, ties, beaming,
stem directions, etc.
2.1 Notes and Rests
The general syntax for representing notes is
notename accidentals octave duration
the corresponding representation for rests is
'_' duration
Both notes and rests are instances of
GUIDO events; in particular, rests are treated as
special notes, which have a duration but neither
accidentals nor an octave value.
Octave and duration can be omitted; if so, they are inferred from preceding
notes (or rests) within the same sequence or chord (for details, see
below) or assumed to have standard values (see below)
when required (such as for musical playback or notation).
2.1.1 Notenames
There are different systems of notenames:
- c d e f g a h/b (diatonic)
- c cis d dis e f fis g gis a ais h/b (chromatic)
- do re me fa sol la si/ti (solfege)
Remarks:
- Arbitrarily mixing these systems is possible, but discouraged
- h and b denote the same pitch-class (b being
used in the international system, h in the
german system).
- si and te denote the same pitch-class (si
being used in the
french and italian, ti in the english solfege system).
2.1.2 Accidentals
accidentals is an arbitrary sequence of the symbols
'#' and '&' (for sharp and flat); in particular, '##' is a double
sharp, '&&' a double flat.
Remarks:
- Accidentals cannot be used with rests.
- Accidentals are valid only for the note in the description of
which the appear.
- The usage of arbitrary sequences of accidentals without a
reasonable interpretation in CMN (such as #&#)
is discouraged.
- Chromatic pitch-classes are assumed to be different from
alterated diatonic ones, i.e., c# != cis.
2.1.3 Octave
octave is an integer number indicating the octave of the note, where
a1 is the 440Hz a.
All octaves start with the
pitch-class c, so c1 is the c just
below a1.
Remarks:
- The usage of octaves beyond the range of -3..+5 is discouraged.
- If octave is omitted from a note description,
it is assumed to be identical to the last octave specified
before in the current sequence.
- octave should always be specified at the beginning of
each sequence; if this is not done, but an octave is
required in the context of an application,
a standard value of +1 is to be assumed.
2.1.4 Duration
duration is specified in one of the forms
- '*'enum'/'denom dotting
- '*'enum dotting
- '/'denom dotting
where enum and denom are positive integers and dotting
is either empty, '.', or '..'; if no dots are present, the relative duration of the notes is assumed to be
- enum/denom beats in case (1);
- enum/1 beats in case (2);
- 1/denom in case (3).
Succeeding the duration by
- one dot '.' is equivalent to multiplying it by 3/2
- two dots '..' is equivalent to multiplying it by 7/4
Remarks:
- Triplets are represented as *1/3, *1/6, ...; quintuplets, septuplets
and so on are handled analogously.
- Durations which are specified by fractions that are equal, such as
*2/4 and *1/2, are considered to be different.
- Although dotted durations have equivalent dot-less durations, these are
considered to be different (*1/4. is not identical to *3/8).
- If duration is omitted from a note description,
it is assumed to be identical to the last duration specified
before in the current sequence.
- duration should always be specified at the beginning of
each sequence; if this is not done, but a duration is
required in the context of an application,
a standard value of 1/4 is to be assumed.
General remarks:
- No white space (blank, newline or tab) should be used within note
descriptions.
Examples:
d1*3/4
c#-1/8
h&/6
_*2
c&&2/2.
cis/4..
fa##1
sol&0
2.2 Tags and Tagged Ranges
Tags are used to represent additional musical information, such as slurs,
clefs, keys, etc. A tag has one of the forms
- '\'id
- '\'id'<'param-list'>'
- '\'id'(' note-series ')'
- '\'id'<'param-list'>' '(' note-series ')'
where
- id is one of a number of predefined tag-names (see
section 2.7 below),
- arg-list is a list of string or numerical arguments, separated
by commas (','),
- note-series is a series of note descriptions (as defined above)
or chord descriptions (see Section 2.4) and tags
separated by white space (spaces, newlines, and/or tabs).
Remarks:
- In general, tag-structures can be arbitrarily nested, since the
note-series in (3) and (4) may contain other tags.
- The tags which are defined in Basic GUIDO are described in detail
in section 2.7 (see below).
- Tags of the from (1) and (2) are used for elements of CMN like
clefs, meter, key, etc.
- Tags of the from (3) and (4) are called tagged ranges,
they define properties of series of notes such as slurs, beams, etc.
- Generally, tags have no duration; however, tagged ranges can be thought
of extending over the duration of the note series they are associated
with.
Examples:
\bar % barline
\clef<"g2"> % treble clef
\slur(c1/4 d e) % slurred group
\label<"motive A">(g1/2 f#/4 g g#/2) % named sequence
2.3 Note Sequences
A note sequence is of the form
'[' tagged-notes ']'
where tagged-notes is a series of notes, tags, and tagged
ranges separated by white space. Note sequences represent single-voiced scores.
Remarks:
- If duration or octave values are omitted for notes within a
sequence, they are assumed to be equal to the last
value specified in the current sequence.
- Duration and octave values should be specified at the
beginning of each sequence; if this is not done,
they are assigned standard default values (see above) when
this is required in the context of an application (such as
playback or notation software).
Examples:
[ a1*1 ] % single note
[ c1/4 d e f g a h c2/2 ] % C major scale
% short motive with meter, barlines and a slur:
[\meter<"4/4"> f0/4 \bar c1/2 \slur(e&/4 c) \bar g/2]
2.4 Chords and Chord Sequences
A chord is denoted by
'{' note-list '}'
where note-list is a list of (possibly tagged) notes
separated by commas.
Remarks:
- All notes of a chord should have the same duration.
- If this is not the case, the duration of the chord is
the duration of the longest note within the chord; all other
notes are interpreted as being succeeded by rests which
compensate for the difference between their duration and
that of the chord.
- The notes within a chords do not have to be ordered
with respect to their pitch; however, it is suggested
to consistently order chords in either an ascending or
descending fashion.
- If for some note of a chord, duration or octave values are
omitted, these are assumed to be equal to the last
respective value specified in the current sequence;
this applies also to the case where
this value was specified for a preceeding note of the same
chord.
Examples:
{c1/4., e&1/4., g1/4.} % c minor triad , ascending order
{c1/4.,e&,g} % same as above, abbreviated notation
{c#1/4,e#,g#} % C-sharp major triad, ascending order
{c2, dis1, ais0, fis} % four-voice chord, descending order
Chord Sequences
A chord sequence is a generalised note sequence, where instead
of individual notes, chords may also appear.
Remarks:
- Chord sequences may contain chords as well as notes and rests.
- The chords within a sequence need not all have the same number
of notes.
Examples:
[ {c1/4,e,g} {c,f,a} {d,f,h} {c1/2,g1,c2} ] % progression of triads
[ _/8 \slur(c1 d e) {fis/2, ais} e/2 ] % mixed notes and chords
2.5 Note Segments
Note segments represent multi-voiced scores; they are denoted
by
'{' seq-list '}'
where seq-list is a list of note sequences separated by
commas. It is assumed that all voices start
simultaneously. Normally, the sequences should have equal
durations; if this is not the case, the duration of the segment
is the duration of the longest voice within the segment; all other
voices are interpreted as if they were succeeded by additional
rests which compensate for the difference between their
duration and that of the segment.
Remarks:
- The voices within a segment don't have to be ordered
according to their pitch-range; however, it is recommended
that voices be specified in either an ascending or a descending
order with respect to their compass.
- Octave and duration values should be specified at the
beginning of each voice; if this is not done, default values
will be assumed when required in the context of
a specific application. In particular, octave and duration values
don't carry over from one voice to the next.
Examples:
{ [a0/4 h \slur(c1/8 h0) a/4], % first voice
[c1/4 d e/2], % second voice
[e1/8. \slur(f/16 e/8) d c h0 a/4] } % third voice
2.6 Comments and Spacing
White space, i.e, any combination of
blank-, newline-, or tab-characters, can be inserted
everywhere except within note- or tag-names. The use of
white space is discouraged in the following
situations:
- within note specifications
- between tag-names and tag-argument-lists
White space is required in the following instances:
- between notes
- between tags
- between notes and tags and vice versa
Comments
Comments can be inserted everywhere where white space is
allowed. A comment is preceeded by '%' and extends to the
end of the line it started in. Thus, lines beginning with
'%' are comment-lines.
Alternately, '(*' comment '*)' can be used for
specifying comments. This form of comments can include
multiple lines and may be nested.
Examples:
% a comment-line
a0/4 h \slur(c1/8 h0) % a/4 <-- the last note is commented out
[ c1/4 (* comment starts here ...
d e f <-- part of the comment!
... ends here *) d ] % the sequence has only two notes!
2.7 Standard Tags
The following tags have standard interpretations in
GUIDO Basic Notation:
\intens, \i, \cresc, \dim,
\crescBegin, \crescEnd, \dimBegin, \dimEnd,
\tempo, \accel, \rit,
\accelBegin, \accelEnd, \ritBegin, \ritEnd,
\instr,
\tie,
\slur, \sl,
\stacc, \accent, \ten, \marcato,
\trill, \mord, \turn,
\trem,
\fermata,
\grace, \cue,
\repeatBegin, \repeatEnd,
\clef,
\meter,
\key,
\oct,
\staff,
\beam, \bm, \beamsAuto, \beamsOff,
\stemsAuto, \stemsUp, \stemsDown,
\bar, \doubleBar, \tactus,
\text, \t,
\title, \composer,
\mark, \label.
These standard tags and their usage are explained in the
following sections.
2.7.1 Dynamic markings
- \intens<s>
- indicates a dynamic marking s
- \i<s>
- shorthand for \intens<s>
- \intens<s,r>
- indicates a dynamic marking s and associates it
with an absolute intensity value of r;
r is a floating point number between 0.0 (minimal intensity)
and 1.0 (maximal intensity)
in standard (not scientific!) notation.
- \i<s,r>
- shorthand for \intens<s,r>
- \cresc(notes)
- indicates an unspecific crescendo on notes.
- \cresc<s>(notes)
- indicates a crescendo starting from the current dynamic marking
to dynamic marking s on notes.
- \cresc<s,r>(notes)
- indicates a crescendo starting from the current dynamic marking
to dynamic marking s
with associated absolute intensity value of r (see above)
on notes.
- \crescBegin
- indicates the beginning of a crescendo section
which ends at the next \crescEnd tag; the crescendo
starts from the current dynamic marking.
- \crescEnd
- indicates the end of an unspecific crescendo section
which began at the last \crescBegin tag.
- \crescEnd<s>
- indicates the end of an crescendo section which began
at the last \crescBegin tag; the crescendo ends
with dynamic marking s.
- \crescEnd<s,r>
- indicates the end of an crescendo section which began
at the last \crescBegin tag; the crescendo ends
with dynamic marking s and
associated absolute intensity value of r (see above).
- \dim(notes)
- indicates an unspecific diminuendo on notes.
- \dim<s>(notes)
- indicates a diminuendo starting from the current dynamic marking
to dynamic marking s
on notes.
- \dim<s,r>(notes)
- indicates a diminuendo starting from the current dynamic marking
to dynamic marking s
with associated absolute intensity value of r (see above)
on notes.
- \dimBegin
- indicates the beginning of a crescendo section
which ends at the next \dimEnd tag; the crescendo
starts from the current dynamic marking.
- \dimEnd
- indicates the end of an unspecific diminuendo section
which began at the last \dimBegin tag.
- \dimEnd<s>
- indicates the end of a diminuendo section which began
at the last \dimBegin tag; the diminuendo ends
with dynamic marking s.
- \dimEnd<s,r>
- indicates the end of an diminuendo section which began
at the last \dimBegin tag; the diminuendo ends
with dynamic marking s and
associated absolute intensity value of r (see above).
Remarks:
- The \intens tag is associated with the metrical position
of the note immediately following it and carries
to the next dynamic marking.
- The s parameter is a string containing a dynamic
marking like "f", "p", "mf", "fp", etc; it is
recommended to use only markings from conventional
music notation.
- For crescendos and diminuendos the appropriate tags
and parameters should be used,
using \cresc for representing diminuendos or \dim
for crescendos should be avoided.
- For longer crescendo or diminuendo sections
the \crescBegin and \crescEnd or the
\dimBegin and \dimEnd tag combinations should be
used; this applies also for situations, where
the crescendo or diminuendo section overlaps
with other tagged ranges such as slurs.
Examples:
[ \intens<"mf"> c2/2 \intens<"pp"> d1/2] % dynamic markings
[ \intens<"mf",0.5> c2/2 \intens<"pp",0.2> d1/2] % same with MIDI velocity
[ \cresc( a#0/4 g# c#1)] % unspecific crescendo
[ \intens<"mf"> \dim<"mp">( a#0/4 g# c#1)] % diminuendo with dynamic markings
[ \intens<"mf",0.6> \dim<"mp",0.3>( a#0/4 g# c#1)] % same with MIDI velocity
[ \intens<"mf",0.6> \dimBegin a#0/4 g# c#1 \dimEnd<"mp",0.3>] % same using \dimBegin, \dimEnd
2.7.2 Tempo indications
- \tempo<s>
- indicates a tempo marking s
- \tempo<s,s2>
- indicates a tempo marking s and associates it
with an absolute tempo as specified by string s2;
s2 is of the general form "x/y=n" where x/y is a
duration value like 1/4 or 3/8 and n an integer number
which indicates the number of these duration values per minute.
- \accel(notes)
- indicates an unspecific accelerando on notes.
- \accel<s>(notes)
- indicates an accelerando from the current tempo indication
to s on notes.
- \accel<s,s2>(notes)
- indicates an accelerando from tempo current tempo
to tempo indication s with associated absolute tempo
as specified by string s2 (see above).
- \accelBegin
- indicates the beginning of a accelerando section
which ends at the next \accelEnd tag; the accelerando
starts from the current tempo.
- \accelEnd
- indicates the end of an unspecific accelerando section
which began at the last \accelBegin tag.
- \accelEnd<s>
- indicates the end of an accelerando section which began
at the last \accelBegin tag; the accelerando ends
with tempo indication s.
- \accelEnd<s,s2>
- indicates the end of an accelerando section which began
at the last \accelBegin tag; the accelerando ends
with tempo indication s and associated absolute tempo
as specified by string s2 (see above).
- \rit(notes)
- indicates an unspecific ritardando on notes.
- \rit<s>(notes)
- indicates a ritardando from the current tempo
to tempo indication s on notes.
- \rit<s,s2>(notes)
- indicates a ritardando from the current tempo
to tempo indication s
with tempo indication s and associated
absolute tempo as specified by string s2 (see above).
- \ritBegin
- indicates the beginning of a ritardando section
which ends at the next \ritEnd tag; the ritardando
starts from the current tempo.
- \ritEnd
- indicates the end of an unspecific ritardando section
which began at the last \ritBegin tag.
- \ritEnd<s>
- indicates the end of a ritardando section which began
at the last \ritBegin tag; the ritardando ends
with tempo indication s.
- \ritEnd<s,s2>
- indicates the end of a ritardando section which began
at the last \ritBegin tag; the ritardando ends
with tempo indication s and associated
absolute tempo as specified by string s2 (see above).
Remarks:
- The \tempo tag is associated with the metrical position
of the note immediately following it and carries
to the next tempo indication.
- The s parameter is a string containing a tempo
indication like "Andante", "Allegro", "Fast", etc;
it is recommended to use only markings from conventional
music notation.
- For accelerandos and ritardandos the appropriate tags
and parameters should be used,
using \accel for representing ritardandos or \rit
for accelerandos should be avoided.
- For longer accelerando or ritardando sections
the \accelBegin and \accelEnd or the
\ritBegin and \ritEnd tag combinations should be
used; this applies also for situations, where
the accelerando or ritardando section overlaps
with other tagged ranges such as slurs.
Examples:
[ \tempo<"Moderato"> c2/2 d1/2] % tempo indication
[ \tempo<"Moderato","1/4=60"> c2/2 d1/2] % same with absolute tempo
[ \rit( a#0/4 g# c#1)] % unspecific ritardando
[ \accel<"Presto">( a#0/4 g# c#1)] % accelerando
[ \accel<"Presto","1/2=160">( a#0/4 g# c#1)] % same with absolute tempo
[ \accelBegin a#0/4 g# c#1 \accelEnd<"Presto","1/2=160">] % same using \accelBegin, \accelEnd
2.7.3 Instrument
- \instr<s>
- sets instrument for current voice to
s.
- \instr<s,s2>
- sets instrument for current voice to
s and associates it with the instrument specified
by s2; MIDI instrument codes can be accessed by
values like "MIDI 3" (= MIDI instrument 3).
Remarks:
- The \instr tag is usually used at the beginning of
voices, but can also be used within voices to indicate
instrument changes.
- The s parameter indicates the name of the instrument;
it is recommended that the standard names or abbreviations
commonly used in scores be used.
- The s2 parameter specifies the instrument used for playback;
string values "MIDI x", where x is a number between
0 and 127 represent the standard MIDI instruments.
Examples:
[ \instr<"Flauto 1"> c1/2 e&/4 e& | _ f a&/2 ]
[ \instr<"Piano", "MIDI 0"> 0/8 h | c1/2 c/4 | c/2. ] % with MIDI code
[ \instr<"Cl 1 (in A)"> d&/2 g&/4 _ \instr<"BCl"> e&-1/1 ] % instrument change
2.7.4 Ties
- \tie(notes)
- ties notes together, only to be used
for two or more notes with identical pitch.
Remarks:
- Semantically, a group of tied notes is equivalent
to a single note with the respective combined relative
duration. However, ties are considered to be significant
for applications in notation.
- Ties are neither identical nor equivalent to
slurs between notes with identical pitches. Whereas
a slur indicates a grouping, a tie actually merges
the notes it encompasses.
Examples:
[ \tie(d1/4 d/16) e/8 ] % ties the first two notes together
[ \tie(c#1/1 | c# | c#) ] % tied group with barlines
2.7.5 Slurs
- \slur(notes)
- slur encompassing the group notes
- \sl(notes)
- shorthand for \slur(notes)
- \slur<dy1,dy2>(notes)
- same as \slur(notes), but the slur
begins dy1 halfspaces above the head of the
first note and ends dy2 halfspaces above the
head of the last note (upward slur for positive
values, downward slur otherwise)
- \slur<dy>(notes)
- shorthand for \slur<dy,dy>(notes)
- \sl<dy>(notes)
- shorthand for \slur<dy,dy>(notes)
- \slur<dx1,dy1,
dx2,dy2,dx3,dy3>(notes)
- three-control-point bezier slur encompassing notes;
with control-points (x1+dx1,y1+dy1),
(x1+dx2,y1+dy2), and (x2+dx3,y2+dy3),
where (x1,y1) is the position of the head of the first
note and (x2,y2) the position of the head of the
last note in notes; the dx are measured
in metric units (one metric unit always corresponds to
a whole note), the dy in half-spaces.
- \sl<dx1,dy1,
dx2,dy2, dx3,dy3>(notes)
- shorthand for \slur<dx1,dy1,
dx2,dy2,dx3,dy3>(notes).
Remarks:
- Slurs between notes with identical pitches
are neither identical nor equivalent to ties. Whereas
a slur indicates a grouping, a tie actually merges
the notes it encompasses.
- Slurs can be nested.
- The position parameters dx1,dy1,etc. are
floating point numbers in standard (not scientific!) notation
or integer numbers;
the reference positions are at the center of the
noteheads.
Examples:
[ \sl(d1/4 e/16) f0/8 ] % slur between first two notes
[ \slur<+10,+12>(d1/4 _ e/16) f0/8 ] % non-standard slur
[ \slur<0,+10, 0.25,+16, 0,+12>(c#1/4 g f#) ] % 3-control-point bezier slur
[ \sl(c#1/4 e) \sl(g f#)) ] % nested slurs
2.7.6 Accents and Expressive Markings
- \stacc(notes)
- indicates that notes are marked staccato
- \accent(notes)
- indicates that notes are accented
- \ten(notes)
- indicates that notes are marked tenuto
- \marcato(notes)
- indicates that notes are marked marcato (strongly accented)
Remarks:
Examples:
[ e1/4 \stacc(e&/8 e) e/2] % a staccato group
[ e1/4 \ten(e&/8 d&) e/2] % a tenuto group
[ \marcato(e1/4 e) f#/2] % a marcato group
[ \accent(e1/4 e) f#/2] % an accented group
2.7.7 Trills and Ornaments
- \trill(chords)
- indicates trills for each note in the first voice
of chords; the second voice notes are the
auxiliary notes for the trills
- \trill<i>(chords)
- same as above but specifies the trills to be executed
as a sequence of 1/i notes
- \mord(chords)
- indicates mordents for each note in the first voice
of chords; the second voice notes are the
auxiliary notes
- \mord<i>(chords)
- same as above but specifies the mordents to be executed
using 1/i notes
- \turn(chords)
- indicates turns for each note in the first voice
of chords; the second and third voice notes
are the auxiliary notes
- \turn<i>(chords)
- same as above but specifies the turn to be executed
as a sequence of 1/i notes
Remarks:
- For trills and mordents, each chord should have
exactly two voices which specifiy the main and
auxiliary note, respectively.
Upward and downward trills as well as standard and
inverse mordents can be realised by
specifying these notes accordingly.
- For turns, each chord should have
exactly three voices which specifiy the main,
the first and the second auxiliary note, respectively.
Standard and inverse turns can be realised by
specifying these notes accordingly.
Examples:
[ e1/4 \trill({e&/4,f}) e/2] % an unspecific trill
[ e1/4 \trill<32>({e&/4,f}) e/2] % trill to be executed as 1/32 notes
[ e1/4 \trill<32>({e&/4,f} {c/2,c#}) e/2] % trill sequence
[ e1/4 \mord({e&/4,f}) e/2] % a mordent
[ e1/4 \mord<32>({e&/4,d}) e/2] % inverse mordent to be executed as 1/32 notes
[ e1/4 \turn({e&/4,f,d}) e/2] % a turn
[ e1/4 \turn<64>({e&/4,d,f}) e/2] % inverse turn to be executed as 1/64 notes
2.7.8 Tremolo
- \trem(notes)
- indicates (unmeasured) tremolo for all notes
- \trem<i>(notes)
- same as above but specifies the tremolo to be executed
as a sequence of 1/i notes
Remarks:
- Fingered tremolo can be realised using \trill
Examples:
[ e1/4 \trem(e&/4) e/2] % unmeasured tremolo
[ e1/4 \trem<32>(e&/4) e/2] % measured tremolo
[ e1/4 \trem<32>(e&/4 c/2) e/2] % tremolo sequence
2.7.9 Fermatas
- \fermata
- indicates a fermata at the current metric position
(for use between notes)
- \fermata(notes)
- indicates fermatas for all notes
Remarks:
Examples:
[ e1/4 \fermata e/2] % fermata between notes
[ c0/4 e d \bar \fermata e/2] % fermata on barline
[ c0/4 e \fermata(d/2)] % fermata on single note
[ c0/4 e \fermata(d/2 d#/2 e#/1)] % fermata sequence
2.7.10 Grace Notes and Cue Notes
- \grace(notes)
- marks notes as grace notes
preceeding the first note after notes.
- \grace<i>(notes)
- marks notes as grace notes
with value 1/i
preceeding the first note after notes.
- \cue(notes)
- marks notes as cue notes for the current voice.
- \cue<s>(notes)
- marks notes as cue notes played by instrument
s.
Remarks:
- For grace notes, no durations have to be specified.
- For the \cue tag, the s parameter indicates the name
of the instrument; it is recommended to use the standard
names or abbreviations as commonly used in scores.
Examples:
[ \grace(g1 f) e/4 \grace(f) e/2] % grace notes
[ \grace<32>(g1 f) e/4 \grace(f) e/2] % 1/32 grace notes
[ \cue(d#1/4 d# d#) g#/2] % unspecific cue notes
[ \cue<"Ob 1">(d#1/4 d# d#) g#/2] % cue notes played by Oboe 1
2.7.11 Repetitions
- \repeatBegin
- indicates the beginning of a repeated section
- \repeatBegin<i>
- indicates the beginning of section which is
played i times (the standard
\repeatBegin corresponds to \repeatBegin<2>)
- \repeatEnd
- indicates the end of a repeated section
- \repeatEnd<i>(notes)
- indicates the end of a repeated section where notes
are only to be played in the ith repetition
Remarks:
- For simple repetitions with variant endings,
\repeatEnd<1>(...) is used to indicate the
ending for the first round (prima volta),
while the notes
immediately succeeding this tag represent the
ending of the second round (2nda volta).
- For multiple repetitions with variant endings,
one \repeatEnd<i>(...) tag is used
to indicate the endings for all but the last
round, which again is represented by the notes
immediately succeeding the last \repeatEnd tag.
Note that in this case, one \repeatBegin tag is
followed by multiple \repeatEnd tags.
The \repeatEnd tags are required to appear in the
correct order, i.e., \repeatEnd<1>(...) before
\repeatEnd<2>(...) and so on.
Examples:
[ \repeatBegin c1/2 g/4 f ... e/4 g/2 \repeatEnd ] % simple repetition
[ \repeatBegin c1/2 g/4 f ... \repeatEnd<1>(e/4 g/2) e&/4 f e& ] % simple repetition with variant ending
[ \repeatBegin<3> c1/2 g/4 f ... e/4 g/2 \repeatEnd ] % multiple repetition
[ \repeatBegin<3> c1/2 g/4 f ... \repeatEnd<1>( e/4 g/2 )
\repeatEnd<2>( e/4 g f ) e&/4 f e& ] % same with variant endings
2.7.12 Clefs
- \clef<s>
- sets clef s, where s is a string indicating the form
of the clef ("g","f","c","perc" = percussion, "gg" = double g-clef)
and the position within the staff
("1" for lowest line, ..., "5" for highest line).
Optionally, this can be succeeded by "+8","-8", "+15","-15"
for transposed clefs (octave or double octave up or down).
Remarks:
- If the staff-position is omitted, default values of "g2",
"f4", "c3" are assumed
- For common clefs, the following synonymes can be used:
- "treble" = "violino" = "g2"
- "bass" = "basso" = "f4"
- "tenor" = "c4"
- "alto" = "c3"
- clefs can appear at the beginnig or in the middle of a voice,
the latter indicating a clef change.
Examples:
\clef<"f"> or \clef<"f3"> or \clef<"basso"> % bass clef
\clef<"g2-8"> % transposed treble clef
\clef<"gg"> or \clef<"gg2"> % double g2 clef
2.7.13 Meter / Time Signatures
- \meter<s>
- sets time signature to s, where s is of the form
"n/m" for positive integers n,m.
Remarks:
- Additionally, the following special time signature can be
used:
- "C" or "c" for 4/4 with "C" symbol
- "C/" or "c/" for 2/2 with alla breve symbol
- The \meter tag can appear at the beginning or in the middle of a voice,
the latter indicating a change in meter.
Examples:
\meter<"2/4"> % 2/4 meter
\meter<"3/8"> % 3/8 meter
\meter<"C"> % 4/4 meter with C time signature
2.7.14 Key / Key Signatures
- \key<i>
- sets key signature to i sharps, if i is positive,
to |i| flats, if i is negative. For i=0,
the key signature contains no sharps or flats.
- \key<s>
- indicates a key of s, where s is of the form "n",
"n#" or "n&" for any note name n.
Uppercase and lowercase letters are used to denote major and minor modes,
respectively.
Remarks:
- The \key tag can appear at the beginning or in the middle of a voice,
the latter indicating a change in meter;
- Within one piece, one of the two formats of the key-tag should
be used consistently.
Examples:
\key<0> % no sharps or flats
\key<-3> % 3 flats, E& major or c minor
\key<+2> or \key<2> % 2 sharps, D major or b minor
\key<"C"> % C major, no accidentals
\key<"e&"> % e& minor, 6 flats
2.7.15 Octava transpositions
- \oct<i>
- indicates beginning of a section which is transposed
by i octaves upwards.
- \oct<i>(notes)
- indicates transposition of notes
by i octaves upwards.
Remarks:
- Octave transposition does affect the notated pitches
such that "\oct<+1>(c1)" is pitch-equivalent
to "c2".
- Negative numbers i can be used
to indicate downward transpositions.
- \oct<+1> corresponds to "8va" in standard
notation, \oct<-1> to "8va bassa",
\oct<+2> to "15ma" etc.
Examples:
[ h2/4 \oct<+1> c2 e/2 \oct<0> e1/2] % 8va transposition
[ h2/4 \oct<+1>( c2 e/2 ) e1/2] % same, using different notation
[ h1/4 \oct<-2>( d0 e/2 ) e1/2] % 15ma bassa
2.7.16 Staves
- \staff<i>
- assigns the voice it appears in to
staff number i
- \staff<str>
- assigns the voice it appears in to
staff named str.
Remarks:
- Voices having the same \staff tag share the same
staff.
- Standard usage for \staff tags is
exactly one \staff tag per voice appearing
before the first note or rest.
- Mid-voice \staff tags can be used to indicate
voices changing staves.
Examples:
{ [\staff<1> e1/8. \slur(f/16 e/8) d c h0 a/4], % first voice
[\staff<1> c1/4 d e/2], % second voice, same staff
[\staff<2> a0/4 h \slur(c1/8 h0) a/4] } % third voice, separate staff
2.7.17 Beams
- \beamsAuto
- sets beaming to automatic mode; automatic beaming
usually depends on the meter.
- \beamsOff
- switches beaming off, i.e., only explicitly beamed
notes will be beamed.
- \beam(notes)
- beam notes; can be nested to enforce non-standard
beam groupings.
- \bm(notes)
- shorthand for \beam(notes)
- \beam<dy1,dy2>(notes)
- same as \beam(notes), but specifies the
beam to begin dy1 half-spaces above
(or below, depending on the sign) the first note
and to end dy2 half-spaces above (or below)
the last note;
the stem lengths are automatically
adjusted accordingly.
- \bm<dy1,dy2>(notes)
- shorthand for \beam<dy1,dy2>(notes)
- \beam<dy>(notes)
- shorthand for beam<dy,dy>(notes).
- \bm<dy>(notes)
- shorthand for beam<dy,dy>(notes).
Remarks:
- \beam tags always override \beamsAuto or \beamsOff;
- If \beam tags are not nested to account for each level of
beaming, beams are assumed to be grouped according to
standard rules;
- If \beam tags with explicit beam positions are used
for multiple beams, all the beams are assumed to be
parallel with a standard distance from one another
and the beam positions refer to the toplevel beam;
- Rests can be included in the range of \beam tags,
in this case they are assumed to be parted of the beamed
structure.
- The position parameters {\it dy1,dy2} are
floating point numbers in standard (not scientific!) notation
or integer numbers; the reference position is at the
center of the notehead; the stem lengths are automatically
adjusted accordingly.
Examples:
[ \beam(d1/16 e c/8) \beamsOff d e ] % beams the first group, while the last two eigth notes are not beamed
[ \beamsOff \beam(d1/16 e c/8) d e ] % equivalent to the above
[ \beam( \beam(d1/16 e) \beam(c d))] % explicitly group the 1/16th in 2+2
[ \beam<6,8>( d1/16 e c d))] % unusual position of the beams
2.7.18 Stems
- \stemsAuto
- sets the stem direction to auto mode, i.e., notes
have downward stems if they are lower than
the 3rd line (if any), upward stems otherwise.
- \stemsUp
- sets stem directions to upward mode, i.e, all stems
are drawn upwards.
- \stemsDown
- sets stem directions to downward mode, i.e, all stems
are drawn downwards.
Remarks:
- These tags determine the stem direction from where they
occur to the next occurrence of a \stems* tag or the
end of the note sequence (or voice of a segment);
- The stem directions inferred for \stemAuto depend on
the current clef;
- If no \stems* tag is specified, \stemAuto is assumed.
Examples:
[\clef<"g"> \stemsAuto c1/4 e g h/2]
[\clef<"g"> \stemsDown c1/4 e g \stemsUp h/2] % same as above with explicit stem directions
[\clef<"g"> \stemsUp c1/4 e g h/2] % all stems upwards
2.7.19 Barlines and Tactus Strokes
- \bar
- indicates a barline at the position where it
occurs.
- '|'
- shorthand for \bar.
- \bar<i>
- indicates barline and start of measure i
- \doubleBar
- indicates double barline
- \doubleBar<i>
- indicates double barline and start of measure i
- \tactus
- indicates tactus stroke (dotted line or comma mark)
Remarks:
- Barlines can be automatically inferred from the
information provided by the \meter tag.
- If \meter information is present,
explicit barlines can be used to facilitate
metric consistency checking or to realise
up-beats.
- If \meter information is present,
explicit barlines can be used to enforce incomplete
measures.
- If \meter information is not present,
barlines can be used to place arbitrary barlines.
- Double barlines should only be explicitly specified
if their usage cannot be inferred from the context
such as for key and meter changes.
- Tactus strokes are used to indicates
metrical subdivisions (such as beats).
Examples:
[ c1/2 e&/4 e& | _ f a&/2 ] % two 4/4-measures
[ a0/8 h | c1/2 c/4 | c/2. ] % two 3/4 with up-beat
[ \meter<"C"> c1/4 d e/2 \bar<2> e/4 f g \bar<3> _*1 ] % measure 3 starts 1/4 early
[ c1/2 \tactus e&/4 e& | _ f \tactus a&/2 ] % two 4/4-measures with tactus strokes
[ c1/2 e&/4 e& \doubleBar _ f a&/2 ] % two 4/4-measures with double barline
[ c1/2 e&/4 e& \doubleBar<15> _ f a&/2 ] % same with measure number
2.7.20 Text
- \text<s>
- places text s at current metric position
- \t<s>
- shorthand for \text<s>
- \text<s,dy>
- same as above, but specifies vertical reference
position as dy halfspaces below the
lowest staff-line.
- \t<s,dy>
- shorthand for \text<s,dy>
Remarks:
- Although \text can be used to represent lyrics,
Advanced GUIDO will provide a more appropriate and
elaborate way for this.
- The position parameter dy is a
floating point number in standard (not scientific!) notation
or an integer number;
the reference position is the bottom of the lowest staff line.
Examples:
[ a#0/2 \text<"l.h."> g# c#1)] % standard text
[ a#0/2 \text<"l.h.",-4> g# c#1)] % standard text 4 halfspaces below staff
[ a#0/2 \text<"Cara mia"> g# c#1)] % simple lyrics
2.7.21 Title and Composer
- \title<s>
- specifies the title of the piece as s
- \composer<s>
- specifies the composer of the piece as s
Remarks:
- Should be only used once at the beginning of the
first voice.
Examples:
[ \title<"Aubade"> \composer<"Holger H. Hoos"> e&2/8 _ ] % title and composer
2.7.22 Markers and Named Sections
- \mark<s>
- sets a marker labelled s at the current metric
position
- \label<s>
- sets a label s for the whole piece.
- \label<s>(notes)
- sets a label s for notes
<Remarks:
- Marks can be used for various purposes such as
representing rehearsal numbers, optically marking
chords or notes, and acoustically marking time
positions; their actual usage depends on the specific software
supporting GUIDO.
- Labels can be used to mark a whole piece (segment or sequence),
in which case they
should appear at the beginning of the first voice.
Furthermore they can be used to mark arbitrary sections
within a piece. This can be used to indicate
motives, themes, or other analytical information.
Examples:
[ c1/2 g/4 \mark<"A"> f e f ] % simple marker
[ \mark<"ch:c7"> {c1/4,e&,g,b&} ] % marked chord
{[\label<"A"> c1/2 g/4 f],[c0/1]} % labeled segment
[c1/2 g/4 \label<"a1">(g1/8 f e/2 f/4 d/2) ] % labeled section (motive)
3 Advanced GUIDO Notation
Advanced GUIDO Notation covers some of the more advanced
concepts not covered in Basic GUIDO Notation such as
glissando, arpeggio, clusters, microtonal alterations,
different types of noteheads, different types of staves,
and many features from contemporary notation.
It also addresses issues of advanced score setting such
as exact spacing and positioning of notation and graphical
elements.
Advanced GUIDO Notation will be realised
by an extended set of standard tags; the specification
is currently under development and will be available soon.
4 Extended GUIDO Notation
Extended GUIDO Notation includes various features which
extend Basic and Advanced GUIDO Notation beyond
conventional music notation (CMN).
Some of these features are generic pitch-classes,
microtonal tuning systems and exact timing,
generic tone descriptions, abstract and hierarchical scores,
generalized events and user-defined tags.
Extended GUIDO Notation will be realised
by introducing an extended set of event types;
the specification
is currently under development and will be available soon.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Michael Fuhlbrügge, Kai Flade,
Jürgen Kilian and Thomas Helbich for their contributions
to many discussions in the early stages of the GUIDO development
and for their comments on earlier versions of this document.
The first author also wishes to thank the German National Merit Foundation
(Studienstifung des deutschen Volkes) and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bibel (TU Darmstadt)
who supported his stay at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver during
which the main part of this work was done.