MusiXTeX

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What is MusiXTeX

How ot Get the Files

How to Install MusiXTeX

First Install
How to Update to Newer Version

MusiXTeX Related Files

MusiXTeX Japanese Manual MusiXJdc
General Expansion Macro Package MusiXExp
White Mensural Notation Macro Package MusiXWmn
MIDI Auto Generating Macro Package MXTX2mml
Style file for M.A.B. Soloists MAB_Stlx
PostScript Viewer Ghostscript

What is MusiXTeX

MusiXTeX is a set of TeX macros and fonts to typeset polyphonic or orchestral music. It is still in progress and updated.

Usually TeX source files are typeset as texts with some control sequences. But MusiXTeX source files are filled with macros to type musical marks, and they look so complicated that many people hesitate at a glance. MusiXTeX is not so easy, that's true. But once you master it, you can produce scores no less quality than the ones on market.

To develop scores with MusiXTeX, you need enough experience to typeset documents with TeX. There are so many wonderful pages about TeX, so I only present how to upgrade from TeX to MusiXTeX.
 

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How to Get the Files


You can get MusiXTeX from Comprehensive TeX Archive Network (CTAN). CTAN is a network of servers with TeX related archives, and you can obtain files from any servers. MusiXTeX and its related files are available form the directory /tex-archive/macros/musixtex/taupin/. You need the files listed below.

There are some useful add-ons for MusiXTeX. They are also available from CTAN : /tex-archive/macros/musixtex/taupin/add-ons/. Here I introduce some macros I recommend. MusicTeX is also available deom CTAN : /tex-archive/macros/musitex/.
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How to Install MusiXTeX

This explanation assumes your TeX system is in TDS (TeX Directory Structure). I hope this is useful to many TeX users. In this page `directory' also represents `folder (in MS-Windows),'  `/' is a delimiter of directories and `*' is a wild card.

First Install

First, extract files from musixtex-T??.tar.gz or musixtex.zip keeping the directory structure. If you are using UNIX operating system, the script /system/unix/install.sh may be usuful (sorry, I'm not familiar with UNIX). Move the files extracted to $TEXMF/tex/generic/ keeping the directory structure. In this document, $TEXMF/tex/generic/musixtex/ is represented as $MUSIXTEX.

Next, from the directory $MUSIXTEX/systems/ move or make musixflx (MusiXTeX external program) to binary directory such the same where tex.exe is. If you are using DOS/Windows system, you can use MUSIXTEX/systems/dos/musixflx.exe. For other systems, a C source files is presented in $MUSIXTEX/systems/c-source/ and you have to compile it yourself.

To install the files. make directory $TEXMF/fonts/source/public/musixtex and copy all files from $MUSIXTEX/mf/. If your TeX system includes auto font generating scheme, this is all you have to do. In case you make fonts manually, be sure not include cmbase.mf and make fonts which hava numbers in file names, musixsps and musixspx. If you don't have scheme to generate fonts, extract the font archive and copy all *.pk to $TEXMF/fonts/pk/???/public/musixtex/. ??? represents the resolution such as `canonex,' `bjtenex' etc. Also copy *.tfm to $TEXMF/fonts/tfm/public/musixtex/.

Finally, in systems recommend to ls-r after installing new macros, don't forget to do it.

To check whether MusiXTeX is installed properly, let's compile the MusiXTeX document yourself. In the directory $MUSIXTEX/doc/ compile musixdoc.tex with LaTeX2e. Next, use musixflx and makeindex to build informations for the document. LaTeX2e and makeindex again, and finally LaTeX2e gives you the DVI file. Although the final process contains some warnings, they are not critical. Preview the DVI file and check the musical notations displayed. For your convenience, here is a sequence of commands to generate musixdoc.dvi.

latex musixdoc
musixflx musixdoc
makeindex musixdoc
latex musixdoc
makeindex musixdoc
latex musixdoc

How to Update to Newer Version

When you get newer version of MusiXTeX, the procedure is the same as the first time. Overwrite the files with same names. Sometimes the fonts are renewed such as T101 -> T102, and you have to regenerate the fonts. In such case, first delete all files in
$TEXMF/fonts/pk/???/public/musixtex/ and $TEXMF/fonts/tfm/public/musixtex/.
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MusiXTeX Related Files

MusiXTeX Japanese Manual

MusiXTeX Source Files : MusiXJdc  for MusiXTeX Ver.T98  96KB (Jan. 2, 2001)
PostScript Graphic Image : MusiXJPS.zip  629KB (Jan. 2, 1002)
MusiXTeX Manual for Japanese based on musixdoc.tex. Some modifications such as presentation of example source files are done, so I call this not a translation. For more explanation, read 00readme.txt in the source archive.

General Expansion Macro Package - MusiXExp

MusiXExp  Ver. 0.892  14KB  (Nov. 11, 2001)
This is a macro package I made to exhance the feature of MusiXTeX for general purpose. Originally MusicExp for MusicTeX was, and it was converted for MusiXTeX. So the features in MusicExp are not 100% functionning. Japanese documentation musixexp.txt is included inthe archive, and for Exglish speakers (readers maybe) explanations are written in musixexp.tex. Simplae sample can be compiled from sample.tex.

White Mensural Notation Macro Package - MusiXWmn

MusiXWmn  Ver. 0.53  8KB  (May 17, 2001)
White Mensural Notations are used to write scores in about 1450-1600. It is not completed such that notations are printed `flushright.'

MIDI Auto Generating Macro Package - MXTX2mml

MXTX2mml  Ver. 0.6 11KB  (Mar. 30, 2003)
You need to install MusiXExp to use MXTX2mml.
Macro package to distill musical informations (MML : Music Macro Language) from MusiXTeX discriptions. Informations like triplets such that MusiXTeX macros do not directly discribe musically (triplets just indicate `3' not concerning what the notes are) can not converted properly and you have to insert some special commands. But excluding such exceptions, most of the discriptions are converyed automatically. It can not hadle chords in a staff so far. The MML file generated by MXTX2mml can be converted to SMF (Standard MIDI Format) File by MML2MID ia freeware from http://www.platz.or.jp/~mml2mid/ whithout english documentations, I'm sorry).

Style File for M.A.B. Soloists - MAB_Stlx.tex

MAB_Stlx  Ver. 0.771  2KB  (May 19, 2003)
M.A.B. Soloists is a male chor group that I belong to. This is a style file I use for M.A.B. It may not be generally used but the format might be some help.

PostScript Viewer - Ghostscript

Ghostscript and Ghostview
Be careful this is not my work :-).

Ghostscript is a printer driver for non-PostScropt printers to convert PostScript graphic images to printer recognizable format. Now This is not only a printer driver but also a graphic viewer or converter from PostScript or PDF (Portable Document Format) Files to many graphic formats.

Latest version is  Goscscript 7.00 + Ghostview 4.0. For Windows, get gs700w32.exe, gsv40w32.exe and install them (not so difficult I think).

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Any qustions or suggestions, please e-mail to info@mab.jpn.org.

Copyright (C) 2001 M.A.B. Soloists, All Rights Reserved.


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