NAME

MIDI::Tab - Generate MIDI from ASCII tablature

SYNOPSIS

use MIDI::Tab;
use MIDI::Simple;

new_score;
patch_change 1, 34; # Bass
patch_change 3, 49; # Strings

my $drums = <<'EOF';
CYM: 8-------------------------------
BD:  8-4---8-2-8-----8-4---8-2-8-----
SD:  ----8-------8-------8-------8---
HH:  66--6-6-66--6-6-66--6-6-66--6-6-
OHH: --6-------6-------6-------6-----
EOF

my $bass = <<'EOF';
G3: --------------------------------
D3: --------------------------------
A2: 5--53-4-5--53-1-----------------
E2: ----------------3--31-2-3--23-4-
EOF

my $strings = <<'EOF';
A5: 55
A4: 55
EOF

synch(
    sub {
        from_drum_tab($_[0], $drums, 'sn');
    },
    sub {
        from_guitar_tab($_[0], $bass, 'sn', 'c1');
    },
    sub {
        from_piano_tab($_[0], $strings, 'wn', 'c3');
    },
);

write_score('MIDI-Tab.mid');

DESCRIPTION

MIDI::Tab allows you to create MIDI files from ASCII tablature. It is designed to work alongside Sean M. Burke's MIDI::Simple.

Currently, there are three types of tablature supported: drum, guitar and piano tab.

Note that bar lines (|) are ignored.

METHODS

Each of these routines generates a set of MIDI::Simple notes on the object passed as the first parameter. The parameters are:

MIDI:Simple object
Tab Notes (as ASCII text)
Noop Arguments (for changing channels etc)

Parameters to the from_*_tab() routines, that are specified after the tablature string, are passed as MIDI::Simple::noop calls at the start of the tab rendering. For example, the length of each unit of time can be specified by passing a MIDI::Simple duration value (eg 'sn').

from_guitar_tab()

from_guitar_tab($object, $tab_text, @noops)

Notes are specified by an ASCII guitar where each horizontal line represents a guitar string (as if the guitar were laid face-up in front of you).

Time runs from left to right. You can 'tune' the guitar by specifying different root notes for the strings. These should be specified as a MIDI::Simple alphanumeric absolute note value (eg 'A2'). The numbers of the tablature represent the fret at which the note is played.

from_drum_tab()

from_drum_tab($object, $tab_text, @noops)

Each horizontal line represents a different drum part and time runs from left to right. Minus or plus characters represent rest intervals. As many or as few drums as required can be specified, each drum having a two or three letter code, such as BD for the General MIDI "Bass Drum 1" or SD for the "Acoustic Snare." These are all listed in %MIDI::Tab::drum_notes, which can be viewed or altered by your code.

The numbers on the tablature represent the volume of the drum hit, from 1 to 9, where 9 is the loudest.

from_piano_tab()

from_piano_tab($object, $tab_text, @noops)

Each horizonal line represents a different note on the piano and time runs from left to right. The values on the line represent volumes from 1 to 9.

SEE ALSO

* The code in the eg/ and t/ directories.

* MIDI::Simple