X-Git-Url: https://git.distorted.org.uk/~mdw/mup/blobdiff_plain/cdb3c0882392596f814cf939cbfbd38adc6f2bfe..ddf6330b56bcfb657e0186b24b9b1422c51d3424:/mup/docs/whatsnew.txt diff --git a/mup/docs/whatsnew.txt b/mup/docs/whatsnew.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..797bcdf --- /dev/null +++ b/mup/docs/whatsnew.txt @@ -0,0 +1,556 @@ + + New Mup Features + + 1. New Mup Features + + 1.1 New Features in Mup Version 5.3 + + Version 5.3 is primarily focused on ease of use + enhancements. The largest item is the additional of a + companion program, called Mupmate, that provides an + interface for editing, displaying, and playing Mup files + with the kinds of menus and windows that many people are + used to. The Help menu will take you right to the Mup User's + Guide, which has also had improvements made. If you are a + user who prefers the command line interface that Mup has + always had, don't worry; we like to use that too, and have + no intention of dropping support for it. + + Windows users now only need to download a single file and + execute it to install everything (although you still need to + get and install GSview and Ghostscript separately, if you + want to use that for viewing the PostScript files). Other + users can also just download a single file that contains + both program and documentation. + + Other new features in 5.3 include: + + - Error and warning messages have been enhanced to show + you the text of the line of input where the problem was + found. + + - There is a new pagesize parameter that lets you specify + paper size by common names like letter or a4, as an + alternate to specifying pageheight and pagewidth in + inches or cm. + + - There is a new vcombine parameter, that lets you enter + notes on separate voices, yet have them printed on a + common stem when possible. Typical uses are: + + - To have separate MIDI tracks for different voices, + yet have the voices printed on common stems. + + - For a style of printing where a single stem is + used for the two voices on a staff except when the + voices share a common note, when two opposing + stems are printed. + + - The scorepad parameter now accepts an optional maximum + value, in addition to the minimum value. + + 1.2 New Features in Mup Version 5.2 + + - There is now a generalized 'if' clause' that is much + more flexible and powerful than the simple ifdef and + ifndef. These provide capabilities somewhat similar to + the preprocessors for the C and C++ languages. + + - Complicated time signatures are now supported. This + includes a numerator with two or more numbers added + together, like 3+4 / 4, or two or more fractions added + together, like 3/4 + 3/8. Alternating time signatures, + such as when a piece continuously switches between 3/4 + and 6/8, are also supported. + + - The beamstyle and timeunit parameter values associated + with a time signature are now remembered, so that if + you later change back to the same time signature, you + don't have to also set the beamstyle and timeunit at + the same time; the value used previously for that time + signature will be restored automatically. (Note that + if you have existing Mup files that rely on the old + behavior, they may need small modifications, but that + should be rare.) + + - It is now possible to force stem direction on voices 1 + and 2 even when the other voice is not space. + + - Improvements have been made to how the angle for beams + is calculated. The "best" angle for a beam is + sometimes somewhat subjective, but in general, these + changes will result in more cases where beams are + horizontal or less sloped, + + - There are also additional ways you can control beams: + A new slope interchord attribute lets you force a + specific slope. The new stemshorten parameter lets you + determine how much a chord's stem is allowed to be + shortened when it is beamed. And the existing len + chord attribute can now be set for just one end of a + beamed set of chords as an alternative to setting it at + both ends. + + - The HTML version of the Mup User's Guide now includes + 'next page' and 'previous page' links on each page. + + 1.3 New Features in Mup Version 5.1 + + - You may specify a time value that is the summation of + several time values. This can be used to obtain + beaming, lyrics, or tuplets with durations that cannot + be represented with a single time value, like a half + note plus an eighth note. It also gives an alternate + way to specify chord ties. + + - Cross-staff stems are now supported. + + - You can now explicitly specify a direction of "up" on + rolls to get an upward arrow drawn at the top of the + roll. (Before, only a downward roll would get an + arrow.) + + - Mup will now allow you to beam across spaces as well as + rests. + + - There is a new restsymmult parameter. Setting it to y + will cause Mup to use an alternate style for multirests + of eight measures or less, which uses rest symbols. + + - There is a new string sequence that will be replaced by + the page number of the last page. This may useful to + be able to automatically get output like "Page 2 of 4 + pages." + + - There is a new option for printing of tuplet numbers, + where the number is always printed, but the bracket is + never printed. + + - If you want to have the same lyrics above some staffs + and below others, it is now possible to specify that on + a single input line, rather than requiring two. + + - Improvements have been made to how voice 3 is placed, + which will often eliminate the need to manually specify + a horizontal offset. + + 1.4 New Features in Mup Version 5.0 + + - Mup now supports the shaped notes often used in "Sacred + Harp" music, also sometimes called "fasola" notation. + New note head characters are available for the most + common system of 4 shapes, as well as a system with 7 + shapes. As part of this feature, there is a new + headshape context and a new noteheads parameter that + lets you define what shapes will be used for notes. + + - Note head shapes can also be specified on specific + chords or a specific note within a chord. This makes + it possible to do things like have both normal and X- + shaped notes on the same stem. + + - There are new "slash" note heads, often used to + indicate repeated chords, and a new "blankhead" note + head, that can be used if you just want a stem without + any note head. + + - There is a new stemlen parameter that lets you set the + default stem length. A common use for this would be to + set this parameter to 0.0, to not have any stems at all + (sometimes used for chant). + + - It is now possible to change the clef, defoct, and + release parameters in the middle of a measure. + + - You can now include raw PostScript in the input to the + copied to the output. This could be used, for example, + to include a picture or logo with your music. + + - In addition to the old way of specifying key signature, + by stating the number of sharps or flats, it is now + possible to specify the key by name, as in "a major" or + "c# minor." + + - There is a new swingunit parameter. Some styles of + music are often written with straight eighth notes or + dotted-eighth-sixteeen notations, but where the players + "know" that the composer really wants the music played + with the first note in each pair twice as long as the + second, as if it were a quarter-eighth triplet. This + parameter will make Mup's MIDI output automatically + follow that kind of performance convention. + + - It is possible to set the rehearsal letter or number to + a specific value, to override the automatic + incrementing. This might be especially useful when + there are multiple songs or movements in a single Mup + file. + + 1.5 New Features in Mup Version 4.6 + + - There are new top, bottom, top2, and bottom2 contexts + that let you define a second layer of headers and + footers. These new contexts can be changed multiple + times in a file, so you can use different headings and + footing for different songs or movements within a file. + + - There is a new "block" context, that lets you place + blocks of text in your musical scores. + + - There is a new paragraph command for printing long + sections of text that you would like to have + automatically wrapped around unto as many lines as + needed. The right margin can be justified or ragged. + + - For Linux, in addition to being available in tar.gz + format, Mup files are now available in rpm package + format, for very quick-and-easy installation. The MS- + DOS/Windows Mup files are now available as self- + extracting zip files, so you don't need to have an + unzip program to unpack them. + + - The visible parameter now accepts a value of + "whereused." With this value, when a staff has no + notes on an entire score, that staff is not printed. + This might be used, for example, to save paper on an + orchestral score by only printing staffs for + instruments when they are actually playing. + + - There are new parameters measnumfont, + measnumfontfamily, and measnumsize, to control the + appearance of automatic measure numbers. + + - It is now possible to unset parameters in voice or + staff context, to make them revert to their values in + the next more general context where they are set (staff + or score). + + - When a repeatstart gets moved to the beginning of a + score, sometimes you'd like the bar line at the end of + the previous score to be a double bar rather than + single bar. It is now possible to specify that. + + - There is a new -F option that is like the -f option, + except it derives the name of the output file based on + the name of the input file, rather than you needing to + specify an output file name. + + - The Mup input file name is given in the PostScript + output file, so that PostScript viewer programs like gv + can use it in their window title. + + - There is now a majordomo mailing list available for + registered Mup users. This is a forum for talking with + other Mup users, to discuss questions and tips on using + Mup. + + 1.6 New Features in Mup Version 4.5 + + - There is a new -x option that lets you extract a + portion of a song. This can be especially useful for + MIDI, where you might want to listen to just a few + measures in the middle or end of a piece. But it also + works in printing mode, so you can print just an + excerpt of a piece. + + - It is now possible to specify "subbeams," both with + custom beaming and via the beamstyle parameter. This + can be used when there are a lot of very short notes, + and you want to subdivide the beam groupings. + + - The drawing of phrase marks, ties, and slurs has been + re-implemented to produce more aesthetically pleasing + curves. + + - There is a new special character, called \(space), + which is printed like a normal space on output, but + which is not treated like a space when Mup is looking + for word or syllable boundaries. The most common use + for this would probably be on chant lyrics, where you + want several words to be sung to the same note. It + might also be useful in cases where Mup would normally + split a long string at a word boundary to avoid running + off the edge of a page, but for some reason you want to + prevent that splitting. + + - It is possible to print a text string centered above a + line. This is likely to be the most useful for + printing "gliss." by a wavy line for a glissando, but + it can be used on any kind of line. + + - There are some new user-donated files, including a + Windows installer, and Mup syntax files for nedit and + vim. + + 1.7 New Features in Mup Version 4.4 + + - Many of the changes in this release were to make Mup + conform more closely with established guidelines or + rules for musical notation. This mainly involved small + adjustments to cosmetic details, like how accidentals + and dots are placed. For mid-score clef changes, the + clef is now placed before the barline, as it should be, + rather than after. There is also an improved algorithm + for determining where to end the underscores on lyrics. + + - The use of labels, both labels associated with + individual staffs and labels associated with staffs + grouped by braces or brackets, has been made more + flexible. It used to be that the "label" was only used + on the very first score, with "label2" used on all + subsequent scores. Thus resetting label after the + beginning really had no effect. Now, however, whenever + a new label is specified, that label will be used for + the next score, going back to label2 for subsequent + scores. As an example, this might be useful if staff 1 + was used for just soprano at the beginning of the song, + so you wanted label="Soprano" and label2="S" for that + portion, but later soprano and alto share the staff, so + you would like label="Soprano/alto" to clearly point + out the change, but then revert to just "SA" on + subsequent staffs, to conserve space. + + - You can specify a bulge direction for note ties, note + slurs, chord ties, and chord slurs, if you wish to + override Mup's choice of direction. + + - You can now use \s(PV) or \s(previous) in a text string + to return to the previous size. + + - The 8treble clef is now supported. This is like the + treble8 clef, except the 8 is printed above the G clef + rather than below it, to show notes that sound an + octave higher than a normal treble clef. + + - Phrase marks can now have an optional line type + modifier of dotted or dashed. + + 1.8 New Features in Mup Version 4.3 + + - There is a new rehstyle parameter that controls whether + rehearsal marks are boxed, circled, or plain. + + - It is no longer necessary to specify verse numbers for + lyrics (unless you want to skip a verse). If not + specified, each succeeding set of lyrics for a given + staff and place defaults to having a verse number one + more than the previous verse. + + - There is a new way to force the position of individual + lyrics syllables that is particularly useful for + ensuring that verse numbers or the beginnings of poetic + lines align consistently on all verses. + + - There are new -E and -C options that let you see how + macros expand, which can help you in debugging very + complex macros. + + - There is a new staffpad parameter, and the value of the + scorepad parameter can now be negative. Using negative + values for these can let you jam staffs or scores + closer together in cases where Mup is spacing them + wider apart than is really necessary. + + - It is now possible to have more than one voice on + tablature staffs just like on non-tablature. + + - It is now possible to temporarily override margins on a + particular score. This can let you indent one score + differently than the others, or end a piece with a + shorter-than-normal score. + + - There is now an "alt pedstar" value for the pedstyle + parameter This is like the "pedstar" value except that + when there is a pedal "bounce," only a "Ped" is + printed, rather than a "* Ped." + + - There is a new user-donated program called Winmup which + provides a Windows front-end for the MS-DOS version of + Mup. The Visual Basic source code for Winmup is also + available. + + - Several miscellaneous changes were made to improve the + quality of printed output and to improve portability. + Current Mup users may find the layout of some songs may + change somewhat when they upgrade. + + 1.9 New Features in Mup Version 4.2 + + - A third voice per staff is now supported. + + - It is now possible to adjust the horizontal placement + of notes. + + - It is now possible to beam across rests. + + - The optional automatic measure numbers at the + beginnings of scores are now printed in a larger size. + + - The chord-at-a-time input style has been made more + versatile. Previously, if a voice was mentioned in a + pattern, that voice could not be used for voice-at-a- + time input style in that measure, even if the pattern + was never actually used. Now the restriction only + applies if the pattern is actually used. + + - Strings can be printed enclosed in a circle or elipse. + + - There is a new beamslope parameter that controls the + maximum tilt for beams. + + - There is a new pad parameter that provides an + additional way to control how close together note + groups are placed horizontally. + + - There is a new MIDI "port" keyword. This can let you + assign different tracks to different ports on multi- + port MIDI devices, allowing for more than 16 channels. + + - The minimum values for the scoresep and staffsep + parameters can now be set as low as 6, rather than the + previous minimum of 9. + + 1.10 New Features in Mup Version 4.1 + + - Guitar grids can now be printed, either where they are + used in the music, or summarized at the end of a song. + There is also a library of pre-defined grids that you + can "include" in your music. + + - Non-ASCII characters from the Latin-1 alphabet can now + be typed directly into strings in Mup input, rather + than needing to be specified by name. Shortcut names + have also been added for guillemots. + + - The maximum number of staffs has been raised to 40. + + - The stafflines and staffscale parameters can now be + changed at any bar line rather than only at the + beginning of a song. Changing either of them forces a + new score. + + - The staffsep parameter can now be set on a per-staff + basis, rather than just for the score as a whole. + + - There are new parameters that allow you to control the + order that items above, below, and between staffs are + stacked. + + - It is now possible to turn off the automatic numbering + of measure repeats and the printing of multirest + numbers. + + - It is now possible to specify the vertical placement of + a rest character, if you want to override Mup's + automatic placement. + + - It is now possible to concatenate strings. This is + likely to be most useful in macros, but can be used + anywhere strings are used. + + - There is a new firstpage parameter, which is similar to + the -p command line option, for setting the first page + number. + + - There is a new restcombine parameter, which is similar + to the -c command line option, for automatically + combining a sequences of rest measures into multirests. + + - Music symbols that occur inside ital or boldital + strings will automatically be made italics to match the + string. + + - It is possible to vertically center lyrics. This is + useful when there is a refrain with identical words for + all verses, and you only want it printed once. + + - It is now allowed to have a brace to the left of + brackets, to group a subset of staffs. (Previously, + only brackets were allowed to be nested that way.) + + 1.11 New Features in Mup Version 4.0 + + - There is now an alternate input style, in which you can + enter music a chord at a time rather than a voice at a + time. For certain kinds of music, this may be more + natural, and allow you to enter music more quickly. + The previous input style has also been made more + flexible, such that it is now possible to specify that + one line of input will go to voice 1 on one staff or + set of staffs and voice 2 on another staff or set of + staffs. These enhancements make it easier to do things + like input a vocal score and automatically get a piano + reduction. + + - It is now possible to transform a parameter passed to a + macro into a string. If you are a C programmer, you + will find this works somewhat like the # operator of + ANSI C preprocessor macros. If you're not a C + programmer, suffice it to say that this allows Mup + macros to be used to do things they couldn't do before. + + - There is a new special bar type, called restart, that + lets you end the current set of staffs and begin a new + set of staffs on the same line, as is sometimes done + for a short coda. + + - The symbols for accidentals (like # and &) are now + translated to their corresponding musical symbols + everywhere in chords, rather than only if they + immediately follow the letters A through G. You can, + however, turn off this automatic translation for + individual cases where you want them to be treated + literally. + + - Quadruple whole rests are supported. + + - It is possible to force a measure rest to be shown with + a rest symbol other than the whole rest symbol that is + usually used. + + - There is a new addtranspose parameter. This enables you + to use the transpose parameter to change the + transposition on specific staffs for transposing + instruments, then use addtranpose to transpose the + entire score into a new key. + + - There is a new warn parameter which allows you to + control whether warning messages are printed or not. + + - There is a new ontheline parameter. This allows you to + control whether notes on 1-line staffs are printed + above, below, or on the line. + + - The dist, chorddist, and crescdist parameters can be + overridden on individual items. A dist override can + also be specified on rehearsal marks. Each dist + override can also include a modifier to force items to + a specific place, even if they then overwrite other + items that Mup would normally avoid. + + - There is a new -M option which is like the -m option, + except the name of the MIDI file is derived from the + Mup input file name, rather than requiring you to + supply a name. + + - If a given input file name does not exist, Mup will try + appending .mup to the name and attempt to open that + file. + + - It is now possible to specify an uncollapseable space. + This may be useful when drawing "slash" marks and at + other times. + + - There is a new user-donated program called midi2mup, + which is a Perl script that can convert a MIDI file to + Mup input. + + - The uguide gives examples of how to places verses as + text blocks below the scores. + + 1.12 Coming Attractions + + We're always interested in hearing about what features you + would like to see in the next version of Mup. What features + we add will depend on your input, so please send us a note + at support@arkkra.com.