Music and ABC notation

Alright well ive managed to amass 3 instruments, and ive searched online for ABC notation but the only site that seems to have anything (http://abcnotation.com) doesnt really...have anything
where are you guys getting your files from?

 

You can use MIDI files and convert them to ABC

 

Alright so ive got my MIDI files but ive been looking everywhere for a MIDI to ABC converter

 

I googled "MIDI to ABC converter" and came up with a plethora of options. I can't imagine you having that much trouble.

 

None of which seem to work

 

It's not a simple process at all, and will take some research to manage to do it yourself. ABC notation is by no means easy to work with.

The solutions I found by Googling weren't simple, but there were plenty of them out there.

 

I think we might be needing some new sites that have files already in the ABC format, as some people may have troubles converting the files. I suspect they are in an ABC file to save space, or so that any instrument can used to play the songs, but its a bit faffy right now. Maybe the devs could post the version of "still alive" they used?

Also, I and I guess the OP wants to be able to grind out the MGS theme

 

Here's some.

http://reissendewoelfe.de/abc/

 

I used this guide and it worked for me following the instructions to convert midi to abc

http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/the-starbound-music-guide.25216/

 

I've found some ABC files, however, I have no idea how to add them to my game, as none of them seem to be downloadable? How exactly can I copy an existing one to add to my folder?

 

You can copy the ABC files into your Local Starbound file. Which is typically in Program Files/Steam/SteamApps/Common/Starbound

Under the /Starbound directory, follow til you find /assets/songs. You can copy all your ABC files there and they will now show up in game when you use a musical instrument.

I'm not sure how to play different parts of the same song in a band however, only playing a song Solo.

 

It's been awhile since I messed with ABC, the MMO LOTRO also used ABC files for the same purpose, so some of this is mentioning LOTRO, but they used just plain ABC files.

http://abcnotation.com/
http://www.lotro-abc.com/ (warning auto playing music on this page)
http://lotromusic.mymiddleearth.com/

Actually I'll leave it there as abcnotation has several links. But you can also search LOTRO ABC for tons of stuff that works with them ( /music might be mentioned)

Edit: Oh I see you had issues with abc notation. Here's an old midi to ABC converter I used to use.

http://code.google.com/p/lotro-maestro/

It worked pretty well.

 

(Oh boy... I am in a hostel right now and write this on my phone... I just lost the whole post, so here i go again I guess...)

Hi there! My friends and I already fooled around a lot with the music, so I guess I could share some points that haven't been mentioned so far.

Playing in a band is so much fun! But it comes with a few glitches and bugs right now.
First of all, you need the same ABC-files. I am not sure if they need to have the same name, but I don't think so. I downloaded and renamed around 200 ABC-files from the lotro-page mentioned by someone earlier before, so if you guys like I could share them with you as soon as I am home again.

If you finally got some songs, you need to share them with your band. I am not sure if the songs have to have the same name on everybody's drive, but I guess it won't hurt. At least everybody needs the same song(s).
Now you need the same band name. Better write everything in lower case letters (not sure, but could cause problems). Now you're set up!

All you have to do now is pick a song and play. If others choose the same song and play it, they should synchronize automatically to you. Congratulations, you just formed a band! Now go out there and get that cantina gig, you adorable alien you...

Some notes about bugs and other things we discovered:

- Sometimes after you played a few songs, other players won't hear you anymore. Leaving the area (like teleporting to your ship) and coming back should do the trick.

- Sometimes the band doesn't synchronize anymore (our you can't hear the others playing). Simply change your band name (everybody in the band needs to do that, of course) and you should be fine again.

- If a song sounds terrible on your instrument, don't delete it just yet. Some tracks simply sound better on different instruments, or played by a band instead of solo.

- Leaving the screen while playing or starting to play offscreen could cause other players to not be able to hear you. Try leaving the area.

- I am not sure how ABC-files work in detail, but some songs don't work with more than 3-5 people. If that happens, the one starting last won't synchronize to the band and simply play the song from the beginning. If you started at the same time you won't recognize that, just that something sounds a bit... off. Be aware of that.

- Try around with different songs and a different set of instruments, especially in a band! We got some great results so far. You can change instruments mid-song, but be aware that this sometimes leads to the first bug I mentioned (others won't hear you anymore)


That is all I can think of right now. If you want the ABC files I got, I could share them tomorrow or the day after. I hope this post helps some of my fellow Starbounders