[{h1}anote: ASCII midi programming language]

anote (ASCII note) is an ASCII programming language for controlling music,
specifically designed to compile to MIDI and sheet music. It draws from some
of the concepts of the languages [<https://abcnotation.com>ABC] and
[<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Macro_Language>MML] but is designed to
look as much like sheet music as the medium of ASCII text permits.

[{h2}anote sheet music]
Here is an example of the sheet music:

[{## lang=anote}
#  2.2.2.2.2.2.
4: g--   g g--
4: e--  e- e--
4: c-- c-- c--
"  to- lov-e--
]##

The structure is as follows: [+
* The top row of numbers following [$#] are the step divisions that each column
  is played at. [+
  * Every [$2] signifies the beginning of a new step. The 2 means it has a 1/2 step
    precision.
  * Each [$.] is played at the 1/2 step following the column labeled with [$2].
  ]

* The left [$4:] specify the row's octave. The values that follow are the notes
  to play at their column's specified step time. Each note is represented by
  one of the characters [$c d e f g a b], each representing their standard
  musical note.

* The final row starting with [$"] is the lyrics. It is not parsed by the
  computer and is for humans to read.
]

For each numbered column (each step time): [+
* The first column is "g e c", which is a standard c-chord.
* The next two columns [$--] specify to hold the c-chord for 1-1/2 steps.
* The blank space is a 1/2 step rest
* A [$c] note is played and held for 1-1/2 steps ([$c--]).
* A 1/2 step later [$e] is played and held for two half steps ([$e-]).
* A 1/2 step later [$g] is played for a 1/2 step, then all keys are
  released.
* Then a 1/2 step rest
* Finally another c-chord is played and held for 1-1/2 steps.
]

[{h3}Other Settings]
anote provides several ways to control aspects of the music: [+
* There are several explicit settings that can be placed above the [$#] bar,
  preceeded by [$@]. This includes the instrument, tempo (default=60bpm),
  default volume override, base octave (default=0), etc. Multiple bars
  with the same name will be concatenated.

  [{## lang=anote}
  @name=bass_1
  @instrument=double_bass  volume=7
  @tempo=4/4               octave=-3
  #  1212...
  ]##

* Lyrics can be placed on any number of lines by using [$"]. The songwriter
  will typically increase the note precision (i.e. use [$4...] for 1/4 note
  precision instead of just [$2.], which is 1/2 note precision) to allow space
  for lyrics when needed.

* Multiple settings can be done on the row, for instance the volume
  can be set with [$4 v2.3:] (aka 4th octave, 2.3/10 volume). In addition,
  macros can be defined with [$var agg = v7 a9] (7/10 volume, 9/10 attack
  speed). Macros can be used with [$!name], i.e. [$4 !agg:].
]

Other note notations: [+
* A sharp note (half step up) is one of [$C D E F G A B]. Flats cannot be
  represented, except as sharps (i.e. "c-sharp" is the same note as "d-flat").

* The step precision can be controlled by increasing the number starting each
  step in the top row. For example, 1/8th step precision might be [$8...*...],
  16th step precision might be [$G...*...+...*...] (G is the 16th letter from
  1-9 A-Z). Note that [$. * - +] are all valid characters following the
  alphanumeric and are for the human writer to visually divide the step.
]

[{h2}anote mixer]