How to turn GABC notation into sound ?
  • Aren
    Posts: 3
    Bonjour à toutes et à tous,

    For some time now, I have been using two websites (https://www.sourceandsummit.com/editor/alpha/ and https://run.gregoriochant.org/cgi/process.pl) to (re-)write Gregorian chant scores using GABC code. The application also allows me to download a PDF of the generated score. It works wonderfully.
    Now I’m wondering if there’s a way to turn GABC notation into sound or convert it into an audio file (such as a WAV or MP3) so that I can more easily check what I’ve written. I’ve already had a look at the website https://github.com/jperon/gabctk, but I can’t quite figure out how to install the application. Moreover, this involves conversion into a MIDI file, which subsequently requires specific software to play it back. What I am looking for, quite simply, is an audio rendition of the GABC script.

    Could someone please point me in the right direction?

    Kind regards.

    Aren
    Thanked by 1MatthewRoth
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 3,442
    Can you please specify what you mean by an "audio rendition"? Do you mean just hearing the notes played generically, perhaps by an organ tone? Or do you mean being sung to text à la Cantai?
  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 470
    I’ve already had a look at the website https://github.com/jperon/gabctk, but I can’t quite figure out how to install the application.


    It's not an application to be installed, just a simple Python script. You install Python, download gabctk source code and then run gabctk, using Python, on the command line.
  • probe
    Posts: 288
    There is Greg but a quick trial of test.gabc just gets me the message 'MIDI file NOT created'

    I used Claude to create a gabc to xml converter and then open the xml in Musescore. It only partly works and I haven't sufficient interest to debug and clean it up. In practice the chants are short enough that it's as quick to enter them in Musescore, or find a downloadable MIDI or MXL on cpdl.org

  • igneusigneus
    Posts: 470
    (lilygabc can also be used to produce MIDI from gabc, using LilyPond. But it's not an easier option for someone having difficulties to use a Python script. Quite the opposite.)
    Thanked by 1MatthewRoth
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