1. Some history of the abc language
abc is a language designed to notate tunes in an ascii format. It was designed primarily
for folk and traditional tunes of Western European origin (such as English, Irish and
Scottish) which can be written on one stave in standard classical notation. However,
it is extendible to many other types of music and recently Steve Allen has coded
Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Movement 2 in abc!
Since its introduction at the end of 1991 it has become very popular and there now
exist several PC and UNIX based tools which can read abc notation and either
process it into staff notation or play it through the speakers of a computer.
For lutenists  abctab2ps from Christoph Dalitz is an of the abc language, intended to
provide a platform for solo lute-music as well as mixes of normal abc language with
lute tablature (ensemble, lutesongs) (see also below).

One of the most important aims of abc notation, and perhaps one that distinguishes
it from most, if not all, computer-readable musical languages is that it can be easily
read by humans (yes, I know, you need to put a little effort in the reading first) . This
aspect is important, because it also means that the abc typesetting language is very
easy to use in practical situations, i.e. no mouseclicking programs which are actually
very slow to get your piece of music on paper. In addition, the ability to write music
in abc notation means that it can be easily and portably stored or transported
electronically (since it's just ascii text) hence enabling the discussion and dissemination
of music via internet.

There exist many sites with abc music now on internet (although few with classical music).
See also the links for some interesting sites. This site will be a main source for lute music
(solo and combinations of lute with other instruments including lutesongs).

2. What is abctab2ps?
Abctab2ps is a music and tablature typesetting program which translates an input file in
the abc language into postscript. It is based on Michael Methfessel's program abc2ps
( http://www.ihp-ffo.de/~msm/ ). While abc2ps can only typeset music, abctab2ps is
an extension by Christoph Dalitz  that can also handle lute tablature. The program is
a commandline type of program, so not a mouse-click-window type of program.
For linux an editor (nedit) with abc syntax highlighting is available (contact Christoph
Dalitz). A general IDE for all operating systems is not yet available at this moment.

3. What is postscript?
Postscript is a graphics language which is understood by many printers (with a
Postscript option). Even if your printer doesn't understand Postscript you can still print
postscriptfiles by using the free GNU program 'ghostview'. You can find this program
at the following site (there are also many mirror sites):   hhttp://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/

4. Where can I find the abctab2ps program?
The C sourcecode is available from 
http://www.lautengesellschaft.de/cdmm/
You have to compile this source with a C compiler for your Operating System.
A ready-to-run binary is also available on the site above for Windows 9x/NT/Dos.

There is a Mac binary version available at this moment, but it is not being updated.

At the internet site mentioned above you'll also find a basic tab translation program to
convert Wayne Cribbs tab files into abc and a Perl script to extract voice and parts from an abc file.

5. How to I handle 'tar.gz' files
tar.gz files stand for 'tape archive files in GNU zip format. It's a common format for compressed files on Unix computers. Modern versions of Windows zip programs (WinZip, PowerArchiver) can handle them, also the well-known Windows Commander is able to unzip these files directly. To unzip the postscript files follow the directions below for your operating system:
Unix / Linux:
tar xvfz filename.tar.gz

Windows:
Use the programs mentioned above or:

download the self-extract version of gzip for Windows from http://www.gzip.org
download a tar utility (don't know where) 
gunzip filename.tar.gz
tar xvf filename.tar

The tar and gunzip utilities are standard available if you install the cygwin bash shell (highly recommended). From this shell you can use also abctab2ps, view the output, use the perl scripts for conversion etc. etc. 

6. Where is the GUI?
There isn't. 
If you want to use abctab2ps for 'normal' music typesetting you can download the program denemo, which is able to export several music formats (abc, lilypond etc.). It works fine. It's developed with GTK, so I don't know if it works with Cygwin (windows), but you always wanted to quit with windoze, didn't you?

7. The ABCTAB archive
This abc(tab) archive was created in august 2000. The original purpose of this archive was to
provide free lute music (all types of lute with or without another instrument or voice)
which can be compiled into a postscript file with abctab2ps. In december 2001 the name
of the archive has been changed to ABC archive of early music, because the archive covers
now not only lutemusic but also music which can be played on several types of instruments. The
main objective however will remain early music with accent on lutemusic. In 2002 the archive will be
extended with early music (solo and ensemble) which is not directly connected with lutes.

At this moment the archive consists of many pieces for solo instruments with basso continuo, solo renaissance lute, archlute, vihuela and theorbo music + songs and instrument accompanied by lute. The basso continuo pieces can be played by any other instrument ofcourse. More music is put in this archive every month, so check the archive regularly for updates. All your wishes and comments are very welcome.
For all abc files also postscript versions are provided in zipped format. You need a
zip file unpacker to unzip the postscript file with the music (these programs are
free available on internet) and a postscript processor. The last program is also free
available on internet:
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/index.htm
With ghostview it is possible to see the music and print it to any printer.

8. Can I help extending the abc archive with some nice lute music?
SURE!!! Please make sure that your files are correct. I.e. no errors when somebody
runs them with abctab2ps. The music should preferably not contain errors ofcourse,
so check them carefully by playing the postscript output first. Please put as much
information in the file as you can (manuscript source, book, year, your name etc. etc.)

If you still have questions or if you have typesetted any nice lutemusic for this archive
with Lute - and ensemble music e-mail to:
walstra@science.uva.nl,
TW, 21/12/2001