http://abcnotation.com/wiki/abc:standard:v2.1?do=backlink

 X: 1
 T: Tune Title
 C: Composer
 N: Notes about the tune
 M: 3/4
 L: 1/8
 K: G

The X: line gives a sequence number, useful for selecting one tune out of a file full of tunes.

The T: line gives the title, and may be repeated if you want to give several titles.

The C: line gives the composer's name. Use C:Trad for traditional tunes.

The N: line is any kind of comment, ignored by the software.

The M: line is the meter. M:2/4 is two/four time; M:6/8 is jig time, etc. M:C and M:C| have the obvious meanings.

The L: line is the default note length; here it's an eighth note (semiquaver).

The K: gives the . K:Em would mean E minor. Most abc software also recognizes the classical “modal” s, using 3 (or more) letters of the mode, so K:EDor means E Dorian (two sharps) and K:AMix means A Mixolydian (two sharps).

For further information on abc, the various software packages available, and links to other abc sites and tune collections, go to the abc home page at http://www.abcnotation.org.uk.

                                                          ...
                                                       d'
                                                 -c'- ----
                                              b
                                         -a- --- ---- ----
                                        g
  ------------------------------------f-------------------
                                    e
  --------------------------------d-----------------------
                                c
  ----------------------------B---------------------------
                            A
  ------------------------G-------------------------------
                        F
  --------------------E-----------------------------------
                    D
  ---- ---- ---- -C-
             B,
  ---- -A,-
   G,
...

Middle C is notated as
C
The D immediately above middle C is notated as
D
The E above that is notated as
E
And so on up the scale.

Starting at middle C, the notes in that octave are shown as

CDEFGAB

The next note up is a C again – but to show it is in the higher octave, that C is shown in lowercase as
c
So a full one-octave C major scale from middle C is

CDEFGABc

So going from middle C to the B one octave and seven notes above that is

CDEFGABcdefgab

And we’re back at yet another C note. The next octave up is shown by an apostrophe immediately after the note name, like
c’

So our scale now runs two octaves from middle C:

CDEFGABcdefgabc’

And using the apostrophe to denote the upper octave we can extend our scale further :

but note that the range can be extended further by adding more commas or apostrophes. A picture paints a thousand words, so click here for an explanatory illustration.

• Notei cu o octava mai in jos, i se adauga o virgula, dupa nota
• Nota normala se scrie cu majuscule
• Prima octava se poate scrie cu litera mica, sau cu majuscula careia i se adauga un apostrof
• A doua octava se realizeaza printr-o majuscula cu doua apostrofuri sau printr-o litera mica cu un apostrof dupa nota

C,D,E,F,G,A,B… CDEFGA… cdefgab… ’d’e’f’g’a’b’…

Avem deci notatia astfel: C,D,E,F,G,A,B,|CDEFGAB|cdefgab|c'd'e'f'g'a'b'|

<abc> X:2 T:Octava %…skipping rest of the header… K:C C,D,E,F,G,A,B,|CDEFGAB|cdefgab|c'd'e'f'g'a'b' </abc>

portativul de mai jos este scris astfel: ([D2D'2] [a,d,f,]) [CEGc]8

VOLATILE: See http://abcnotation.com/wiki/abc:standard:v2.1#multiple_voices

The & operator may be used to temporarily overlay several voices within one measure. Each & operator sets the time point of the music back by one bar line, and the notes which follow it form a temporary voice in parallel with the preceding one. This may only be used to add one complete bar's worth of music for each &.

<abc> X:1 K:C ([D2D'2] [a,d,f,]) [CEGc]8 </abc>

<wip>book|

A2 | c d e f g  a  &\
     A A A A A  A  &\
     F E D C B, A, |]

</wip>

<abc> X: 7 M: 4/4 L: 1/4 K: C A2 | c d e f g a &\

   A A A A A  A  &\
   F E D C B, A, |]

</abc>

Notes of different lengths (the L: field)

Abc allows you to set the ‘default note length’ for each tune. This is set (as a fraction) in the tune header in the L: field.

The following table shows the most common default note lengths for traditional music, with the equivalent terms from ‘standard’ music notation. This will hopefully give you the idea. Default note length ‘English’ terminology ‘American’ terminology 1/2 Minim Half note 1/4 Crotchet Quarter note 1/8 Quaver Eighth note 1/16 Semi-quaver Sixteenth note

So a tune where the default note length is a quaver, or eighth note, would have

L:1/8

in its header.
Why is this important?

Because the notes in tunes aren’t always all the same length. By setting a default note length you are setting the value of the most common note length in your tune.

So to return to our C major scale

'CDEFGABcdefgabc'

If this had a default note length of 1/8, eg the L: field was shown as L:1/8, our scale as shown is a scale of quavers: Scale as quavers

. If the default length was ¼, eg L:1/4, the same notation of the same scale is now a scale of crotchets: Scale as crotchets

But, as mentioned a bit earlier, the notes in tunes aren’t always all the same length.
What happens if notes are shorter than the default note length?

If the particular note you are notating (which, for the sake of brevity, I will from now on call the current note) is half the length of the default note length, it is shown with a forward slash immediately after it, eg C/ This can also be written as C/2 if you wish.

If the current note is a quarter of the default note length, it is shown like so : C/4

If the current note is an eighth of the default note length, it is shown like so : C/8

Other fractions (/3, /5, /7, /16 etc.) are also legal.
What happens if notes are longer than the default note length?

If the current note is twice the default note length, it is shown like so : C2

If the current note is four times the default note length, it is shown like so : C4

Other multiples (3, 5, 7, 8 etc.) are also legal. Remember :

The length of any particular note is always calculated according to the default note length of the tune.
A quick word about hornpipes

The hornpipe rhythm is useful to illustrate one more way abc allows the notation of notes of differing length.

A hornpipe could be notated with a default note length of 1/16 like so :

L:1/16 D3EF3G

An easier way is to set the default note length to 1/8 and use the greater than > symbol :

L:1/8 D>EF>G

The greater than (and less than) sign can be used wherever groups of dotted notes are found.

The < symbol has the same effect in the other direction, eg shortening the first note and lengthening the second, as found in strathspeys etc. One last thing about default note lengths

Some ‘standard’ default note lengths for common types of tunes Jig 1/8 Reel 1/8 Schottische 1/8 Waltz 1/4 Polka 1/8 Bourree 1/8

However according to the particular tune there is nothing to stop you using a different default note length if it makes the notation easier to read.

An L: field can be placed in the middle of a tune to denote a change of default note length - see the Mid-tune changes selection below.

Back to the top of the page Rests

Rests are indicated by the (lower case) letter z. The length of rest is set exactly the same way as the length of note is, eg z4

Sharps, flats and naturals

Ridicarea unei note cu un diez:
precede it with the circumflex or caret ^
^c

Precede it with an underscore _
_B

Double sharps are shown as ^^ and double flats as _ _, dar underscore-urile sa fie legate, nu cum le vezi aici

To naturalise a note precede it with an equals sign =
=c

So a scale of G major could be notated as

GABcde^fg

And a scale of G minor as

GA_Bcd_efg

However : just as standard Western musical notation has the signature, so that the player automatically knows to (for example) play all Fs as F# in the of G : the same thing exists in abc, with the K: field.

Accidentals The ASCII character set has the # symbol, but lacks the natural and flat symbols. So some other, somewhat pictorial, characters were chosen. The notation for accidentals is:

_B means B flat
=A means A natural
^G means G sharp

The usual rule should be followed: An accidental applies to that note for the rest of the measure, unless changed by another accidental. However, it is common to use occasional unnecessary accidentals for emphasis. And if you're hanging out with the Early Music crowd, or with modern atonal musicians, you should probably treat accidentals as only for that one note.

In accompaniment (“guitar”) chords, the characters # and b are used for sharps and flats, so “Bb” means a B-flat chord, and “F#m7” means an F-sharp minor 7th chord. The same thing is done in signatures, so K:Bb means the of B flat, and K:F#m means F sharp minor. This is inconsistent with accidentals on notes, but printed music is often inconsistent in similar ways.

Acompaniamentulse face simplu:

Se tine cont de masura si apoi se introduce standard unde doresti acordul:

Acordul este scris cu ajutorul bemol;ilor si diezilor care se vor aseza dupa litera:
# si b

de exemplu Si bemol major “Bb“
Si bemo,. minor “Bbm“

Chords to accompany the melody, i.e., accompaniment chords (termed 'guitar chords' in the previous abc standard) can be included. Depending on the package, accompaniment chords will be displayed either above or below the melody line. Some playback packages can play accompaniment chords.

An accompaniment chord is enclosed in double-quotation marks. It is placed to the left of the note it is sounded with, without an intervening space, e.g., “Am7”A2D2.

The chord has the format <note><accidental><type>/<bass>, where <note> can be A-G, <accidental> can be b, #, or nothing, <type> is the type of chord, and /<bass> is an optional bass note.

Valid chord types are:

The chord type can be combined, e.g., Cdim7. And, obviously, maj can be (and usually is) omitted.

You can produces chords, that is, multiple notes on a single stem, by putting them within square brackets […]. So [GBdg] is a 4-note G chord. The order doesn't much matter, so [gdBG] comes out the same on paper. But there is some music-playing software that will treat the first note as the “melody” note, so if this is important, you should put the main note first.

ABC notation allows each note in the chord to have its own length. You can say things like [D4F3A2d3/2]. Music-playing software can honor such things with ease. But standard music notation can't represent all of this, and on paper you'll get something much simpler. Much music-printing software will just use the length of the first note for the entire chord, and the above example and [D4FAd] will both come out the same as [D4F4A4d4].

Acompaniamentul automat se pune prin intr-ducerea simbolului de Acord intre ghilimele inaintea notei peste care vrei sa se cante acompaniamentul:
“A” sau “B”, etc.

Instrumentul de acompaniat se alege astfel: se pune cifra corespunzatoare codului program change General Midi:

%%MIDI chordprog 20 % Church organ

Nu stiu insa denumirile celorlalte instrumente.. sau poate merge doar cu numarul

<abc> X: 7 T: Ajnzerica O: Croatia M: 4/4 L: 1/8 Q: 1/4=126 K: Gm MIDI chordprog 52 % |: "D"D3 E ^F2 G2 | "E"A3B "F"^c2BA | A8- | A8 | w: 1.~Mi-sir-lou mou i gli-kia sou ma-tia w: 2.~Mav-ro ma-ta Mi-sir-lou mou tre-lli </abc> ====== Gama ====== ** signatures (the K: field)** The signature is specified by the K: field eg K:G So our G major scale can now be written as K:G GABcdefg And our G minor scale as K:Gm GABcdefg Major s are assumed, but can be specified by maj eg K:Gmaj Minor s are shown by m or min, eg K:Gm or K:Gmin. In the signature field sharps are noted by the hash character # and flats by the letter b, eg B flat : K:Bb C sharp : K:C# Modal s (the Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, Phrygian and Locrian modes) can be specified by either name in full or by the first 3 letters of the mode: the space, and capitalisation, is optional. K: G mix K:Gmix K: G mixolydian K:Gmixolydian and, indeed, K: G miXoLYdiAn are all correct. Highland Bagpipe notation is also catered for : K:HP puts no signature on the music but implies the bagpipe scale, while K:Hp puts F sharp, C sharp and G natural. More complex signatures can also be expressed by global accidentals : as one example, where would the abc notation of Swedish and Macedonian tunes be without such signatures as K:A =C (eg A major with C natural, or to put it another way, a signature of F sharp and G sharp). A K: field can be placed in the middle of a tune to denote a change of - see the Mid-tune changes selection below. Summary : G major scale in quavers : L:1/8 K:G GABcdefgfedcBAG Back to the top of the page Time signatures (the M: field) and the rhythm R: field Time signatures, or meters, like default note lengths, are shown as fractions in the M: field, eg: Jig M:6/8 Reel M:4/4 Waltz M:3/4 And so forth. Common time is shown as C, and cut time as C| (the letter C followed by the pipe symbol). Abc also includes a rhythm field, R:, which is used for cataloguing and sorting collections of abc tunes: this is entirely free text (although there are obvious ‘standard’ entries eg R:reel, R:jig, R:schottische). An M: field can be placed in the middle of a tune to denote a change of meter - see the Mid-tune changes selection below. Summary : G major scale in jig time in quavers: M:6/8 L:1/8 R:Jig K:G GABcdefgfedcBAG Back to the top of the page Mid-tune changes of , time etc. The L: note length field, the M: meter field, the K: signature field and the Q: tempo field can all be inserted in the middle of a tune to indicate a change. Strictly speaking this should be on a new line eg to play a G major scale ‘up’ and a G minor scale ‘down’ again, K:G GABcdefg K:Gm gfedcBAG but most software packages will allow the use of [ ] square brackets eg K:G GABcdefg [K:Gm] gfedcBAG. If you want to change two fields at once, either put them on two new lines like this - K:G GABcdefg | M:6/8 K:Gm gfe dcB | AGB FED | or put them both in the square brackets in the middle of the line like so : K:G GABcdefg | [M:6/8 K:Gm] gfe dcB | AGB FED | ------------ <abc> X: 1 T: Three bass lines K: C V: 1 clef=bass [| CDEF GABc | cdef gabc' |] w: C D E F G A B c c d e f g a b c' V: 2 clef=bass middle=D [| C,D,E,F, G,A,B,C | CDEF GABc |] w: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C C D E F G A B c V: 3 clef=bass,, [| C,,D,,E,,F,, G,,A,,B,,C, | C,D,E,F, G,A,B,C |] w: C,, D,, E,, F,, G,, A,, B,, C, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C </abc> <abc> X: 1 T: Primul Portativ 1=G, 2=C, 3=F K: C V: 1 clef=G [| CDEF GABc | cdef gabc' |] w: C D E F G A B c c d e f g a b c' V: 2 clef=C [| C,D,E,F, G,A,B,C | CDEF GABc |] w: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C C D E F G A B c V: 3 clef=F [| C,,D,,E,,F,, G,,A,,B,,C, | C,D,E,F, G,A,B,C |] w: C,, D,, E,, F,, G,, A,, B,, C, C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C </abc> ====== Masuri ====== **Bar lines** Here's how you do bar lines: ^||simple bar line| ^|||double bar line| ^[||thick+thin double bar line| ^|]|thin+thick double bar line| ^|:|start of repeat| ^:||end of repeat| ^|1|start of first ending| ^:|2|start of second ending| There's also a **::** symbol that's shorthand for **:||:**, the end of one repeated section and the start of another. It's a good idea to include spaces around bar lines, for human readability, but abc syntax doesn't require this. **Barlines and spaces** Barlines are denoted by the pipe symbol |. Our G major scale in jig time immediately becomes more readable : M:6/8\\ L:1/8\\ R:Jig\\ K:G\\ GABcde|fgfedc|BAG\\ A double bar is shown by ||, and by using the square bracket symbol as |] (thin-thick) and [| (thick-thin). Repeats are dealt with soon. To make the notation even more readable spaces can be inserted to separate groups of notes : M:6/8\\ L:1/8\\ R:Jig\\ K:Gm\\ GAB cde|fgf edc|BAG Spaces are also used within the melody, and by the various software packages which convert abc into standard notation, to group notes. The spacing of abc notation will tend to mirror the grouping which would be used in standard notation. Spaces may also be inserted at the start and / or end of bars to make the abc more readable. As an example, I find something like G | GAG GAG | c2G EFG | A2F DEF | GEC C2E | easier on the eye than G|GAG GAG|c2G EFG|A2F DEF|GEC C2E| --------------- ===== Numerotarea masurilor ===== <file> barnumbers 1 partsbox 1 </file> ====== Portative ====== ===== Portative (Voci) Multiple ===== <abc> X:2 T:Zocharti Lochh %...skipping rest of the header... K:Gm % Start of tune body: V:T1 (B2c2 d2g1)|f6e2| (B2c2 d2g2)|f8| V:T2 (G2A2 B2e2)|d6c2| z8 |z8| V:B1 z8 |z2f2 g2a2| (d2f2 b2e'2)|d'8| V:B2 x8 |x8| x8 |z2B2 c2d2| </abc> ===== Pian ===== <abc> X: 1 T: Studio Op. 10 - N. 3 C: F. Chopin M: C staves RH1 (LH1 LH2) V: RH1 clef=treble name=“Piano” V: LH1 clef=bass V: LH2 clef=bass K: F % [V: RH1] (agfd edcG |A)(dcA BˆFG) (C | [V: LH1] A,CA,C B,CB,C-|Cz ([ˆD,2ˆF,2][E,G,][D,A,][E,2B,2]| [V: LH2] F,4 [F,4G,4] |[F,A,] x x2 C,4 | % [V: RH1] F2 EF [E4G4]- | [V: LH1] [F,A,]CA,C C,CB,C| [V: LH2] x4 x4 | </abc>

Staffs

Normally, abc uses one staff per line, and end-of-line represents the end of a staff. This can lead to very long lines, so the backslash (\) is used to mean “continued on next line”. This is similar to its use in a lot of programming languages, and lets you break up a long line into several short lines. The main use for this is in sending tunes via email. A lot of email software inserts line feeds in long lines, and this has an unfortunate effect on ABC. This can be prevented by using \ to split a long staff line into two or more shorter lines.

Repeats

Repeats bring the colon : into action. The start of a repeated section is shown by

and the end of a repeated section by :|

Where the end of one repeated section, and the beginning of the next, coincide, :||: is technically correct, but this is usually shown without the pipe symbols eg ::

Numbered and alternate repeats are indicated by [1 and [2 (etc.). Where the start of a section co-incides with a barline the [ symbol may be omitted, eg

DE FF |[1 GA Bc :|[2 GA BG ||

can also be written as

DE FF |1 GA Bc :|2 GA BG ||

However if a repeat section does not coincide with a barline, always use the [ symbol instead of inserting an extra | .

Note that there can be no blank space between the barline and the number - eg [1 and |1 are acceptable, whereas [ 1 and | 1 are not.

The title field (T:) and the index field (X:)

Nearly every tune has a title, and one should always be included for identification purposes in tune lists, even if the exact title is not known. The title is indicated by the T: field eg

T:Ballydesmond polka

A tune may have more than one title - in this case just add a second, third, etc. T: field (each on a new line) and enter the alternative title(s) in there.

There is one more field to introduce at this stage : the X: index field.

The X: field is primarily for computers' benefit, as they (computers) have much more trouble than human beings in telling where one tune stops and the next starts. Many software packages therefore rely on the X: field to signify the start of a tune, even if there's only one tune in a file, and a blank line, followed by an X: field, delimits one tune from the next. It is therefore good practise to include an X: field at the head of your abc tune(s).

The X: field is put on the first line of the notation of a tune, and takes the form

X:<number>

It is good practise (but not absolutely essential) for the X: field to be incremental, eg the first tune in a file is X:1, the second tune in the file is X:2, etc.

The tempo field (Q:)

The tempo of a tune is shown in the Q: field, giving either the human or software musician a speed indication, eg Q:120 indicates the tempo as 120 notes of the default note length per minute.

Q:1/8 = 120 can also be used, to specify in this example that the tune goes at the rate of 120 1/8 notes per minute, regardless of the default note length.

A Q: field can be placed in the middle of a tune to denote a change of tempo - see the Mid-tune changes selection above.

Les silences ou repos sont notés par z (lettre minuscule) et peuvent varier en durée de la même manière que les notes.

[ABC 2.0]

Les silences peuvent aussi être notés par x (minuscule). La différence entre z et x est que z entraîne l'affichage/impression d'un symbole de silence sur la portée alors que x reste invisible, rien n'est affiché/imprimé.

Z (majuscule) représente une pause d'une mesure. Des silences s'étalant sur plusieurs mesures sont codés par Zn ou n représente le nombre de mesures concernées par la pause.

Exemple :

Z4|CD EF|GA Bc est équivalent de z4|z4|z4|z4|CD EF|GA Bc

Time signatures M: and the rhythm R:

Time signatures, or meters, like default note lengths, are shown as fractions in the M: field, eg: Jig M:6/8
Reel M:4/4
Waltz M:3/4

And so forth. Common time is shown as C, and cut time as C| (the letter C followed by the pipe symbol).

Abc also includes a rhythm field, R:, which is used for cataloguing and sorting collections of abc tunes: this is entirely free text (although there are obvious ‘standard’ entries eg R:reel, R:jig, R:schottische).

An M: field can be placed in the middle of a tune to denote a change of meter - see the Mid-tune changes selection below. Summary :

G major scale in jig time in quavers:

M:6/8
L:1/8
R:Jig
K:G
GABcdefgfedcBAG

<abc> X:1 M:6/8
L:1/8
R:Jig
K:G
GABcdefgfedcBAG </abc>

Putting words below the music is easy: Put W: at the start of each line. Such lines are collected by the music formatting programs, and produced after the last music staff is finished.

Putting words below the notes is more complicated, and is handled by lines that start with w: (note the lower-case w).
W: lines can occur anywhere, though they are conventionally in the header. You must put w: lines immediately below their staff of music, of course.

Before explaining more, here is an example of a well-known Greek folk song, with the words included in both forms:

Misirlou

This was produced by abc2ps from the following ABC:

<abc> X: 1 T: Misirlou C: N.Roubanis 1934 O: Greece W: 1. Misirlou mou i glikia sou matia W: Floga m'ehi inapsi mes tin kardia W: Ah! Yahabibi Ah! Yaleleli Ah! W: Apto diko sou to sto mataki ime W: Chorus: W: A Misirlou W: Trella tha m'erthi den ipofero pia W: Ah! tha si klepso mes ap tin Arapia. W: Ah Misirlou. W: W: 2. Mavro mata Misirlou mou trelli W: Ti zoi m'allazo mena fili W: Ah! yahabibi M'ena filaki Ah! W: ta dio sou hili stazoune meli ime M: 4/4 L: 1/8 K: Gm

w: 1.~Mi-sir-lou mou i gli-kia sou ma-tia w: 2.~Mav-ro ma-ta Mi-sir-lou mou tre-lli

w: Flo-ga m'e-hi~i-na-psi mes tin kar-dia w: Ti zo-i m'al-la-zo me-na fi-li

w: Ah! Ya-ha-bi-bi Ah! Ya-le-le-li Ah! w: Ah! ya-ha-bi-bi M'e-na fi-la-ki Ah!

w: ta dio sou hi-li sta-zou-ne me-li i-me w: Ap-to di-ko sou to sto ma-ta-ki i-me

w: A_ Mi-sir-lou | “Cm”e d2 e d2 c2 | d c2 d c2 B2 | “D”A8- | A8 | w: Tre-lla tha m'er-thi den i-po-fe-ro pia | “Cm”c B2 c B2 A2 | A G2 A ^F2 E2 | “D”D8- | D8 :| w: Ah! tha si kle-pso mes ap tin A-ra-pia. P: Coda || “Gm”B6 AB | “A”^c6 Bc | “D”d8- | d8- | d8- | d z7 |] w: Ah_ Mi-sir-lou. </abc>

The W: lines are self-explanatory, but there are a number of special symbols inside the w: lines that deal with the alignment with the notes. The basic rule is that each “word” is aligned with one note, where a “word” is whatever comes between chunks of white space. But the following can be used to modify this:

~ (tilde) This is turned into a space, but doesn't count as a “word”. It lets you put two words on a single note. In this example, it also separates the 1. and 2. from the first word of the text. The abc2ps formatter has a special kludge to spot this and outdent the number, so the second “word” lines up with the note.
- (hyphen) This is used as a syllable separator, and each syllable is lined up with one note.
* (asterisk) This means that the syllable takes up an extra note. Use as many as you need to cover all the the notes. You can also use * at the start of the line, to skip over notes.
_ (underscore) This is like *, but draws a long horizontal after the syllable. Some music publishers like to show long words this way; others don't. It is appropriate in this example, for the long melismas on the word “Ah!”

You might think that the W: and w: would be used only by the music formatting programs such as abc2mtex and abc2ps, but you'd be wrong. Some of the music-playing programs now have a “karaoke” option that displays or highlights the words as the music plays. Perhaps some day a program will include voice synthesis, so you can select a “Frank Sinatra” or “Ella Fitzgerald” or “Bob Dylan” voice, and hear how that singer would have done the song.

More (optional) fields : composer, source, origin, notes

The composer of a tune is recorded in the C: field, eg

C:Frederic Paris

The source of a tune is recorded in the S: field, eg

S:Dave Collinge, at Preston EuroJam November 1998

The geographical origin is recorded in the O: field, eg

O:Massif Central

Textual notes on the tune are stored in the N: field, eg

N:Long rambling note about this tune going into great detail, which can N: be split across several lines using multiple N: fields

The identity of the transcriber or source of the transcription is recorded in the Z: field, eg

Z:Steve Mansfield 12/11/1999

The above are the most common fields encountered in abc files, but there are many more (W: for song words, B: for book, etc.) See things I've not mentioned for full details.

Putting it all together

An abc notation of a tune has two sections, the ‘header’ and the ‘body’.

The header contains the various information fields (index, title, rhythm, , meter, etc.). A few important rules :

      The first field of a tune is always the X: field
      Each field in the header occurs on a new line
      The last field in the header, immediately before the notation of the melody itself, is always the K: field
      The X: index, T: title, M: meter, L: default note length, and K:  field are obligatory : the others are optional.
      The fields usually occur in the following order:
      X:
      T:
      M:
      L:
      [optional fields]
      K:

As stated, immediately following the K: field on the next line is the body of the tune, eg the representation of the notes of the melody.

If there is a subsequent tune in the abc file there will be at least one blank line after the end of the first melody, then the start of the second tune is denoted by the X: field of the next tune. There should be no blank lines within a tune - whilst human abc readers can cope with this, computers cannot.

X:1
T:Speed The Plough
M:4/4
L:1/8
N:Simple version
Z:Steve Mansfield 1/2/2000
K:G
GABc dedB | dedB dedB | c2ec B2dB | A2A2 A2 BA|
GABc dedB | dedB dedB | c2ec B2dB | A2A2 G4 ::
g2g2 g4 | g2fe dBGB | c2ec B2dB | A2A2 A4 |
g2g2 g4 | g2fe dBGB | c2ec B2dB | A2A2 G4 :|

Things I’ve not mentioned

Abc notation allows for many other nuances of melodies to be recorded:

Ornaments and grace notes, slurs, ties, triplets and other ets, chords and unisons, guitar chords, line ends and line breaks, fiddle bowing marks, accents, more information fields in the tune header, parts, song words, and comments in an abc file.

These topics, and quite possibly more, are now all covered in … part two of this tutorial.