How to Publish Folk Songs on the Internet

as High Quality Sheet Music

By Lewis Jones

(U= pdated January 2009)

Introduction.= <= /o:p>

The Internet offers exciting opportunities for the promotion and dissemination of folk music. The development of the <= span class=3DSpellE>abc musical notation syste= m by Chris Walshaw and others has been followed by t= he publication of thousands of tunes in abc format= on the world wide web. However, abc at its present stage of development has its limitations. Converting tunes t= o abc format with any accura= cy requires quite a bit of expertise. The abc notation system is also probably more suitable for dance music than for folk songs, since it is difficult to add lyrics, headings, etc. so that they pri= nt off in the way you want them to. As for the various types of graphics files such as .gif, jpeg, etc., the sheet music which they produce can be inconvenient to display, read and print off.=

My own view is that the best and most convenient way to publish folk songs on the Internet is in the form of PDF = (portable document format) files. These can then be opened, read, and printed off with Adobe's freely downloadable Acrobat Reader to produce high quality sheet music. For a sample of the output, go tohttp://www.geocities.com/ferretpublica= tions

and click on the "Three for Free" link.

So how do you create .pdf files, and how do you post them on the Internet? =

Stage 1: Get yourself some music pr= ocessing software, learn how to use it, and create computer files of folksongs.

There are many music processing packages = to choose from and there is plenty of information about them posted onto the Internet. When choosing your software take= a look at what kinds of files it can import and export. For example, your pac= kage can probably import and export MIDI files, but can it do the same with Music XML and abc files?

Some of the commercial software programme= s, such as Finale and Sibelius, are expensive so you may prefer to opt for freeware. Lilypond produces beautiful sheet mus= ic but it lacks a graphical user interface so you cannot see the music you have created unless you open the PDF output file. Two other prominent freeware programmes are MuseScore (for either Linux or P= C) and Rosegarden (for Linux). All three of these prog= rammes have powerful features and to an extent they can talk to one another. For example, MuseScore can export to Music XML and = Lilypond can import Music XML files. MuseScore is also developing an ability to export directly to Li= lypond. Wikipedia is a good place to start if you want more information on Lilypond, MuseScore and <= span class=3DSpellE>Rosegarden.

When you have acquired your software you = will need to spend some time studying the documentation, help files, etc., and learning how to use it. Then you can start to create files of folk songs, and/or of any other music that takes your fancy. =

Stage 2.<= /span> Convert your folk song files to .<= span class=3DSpellE>ps (postscript) format.Install a dumb printer that uses the post= script language, such as an Apple Laserwriter. Then pr= int your folk songs to file. The files thus created will be postscript fi= les.

Stage 3.<= /span> Convert you postscript files to portable document files.

Download and install the latest version o= f Ghostscript and, if you are running a PC with Windows= , the friendly GUI (graphical user interface) Ghostview. For Ghostscript go to:ftp://ftp.cs.w= isc.edu/ghost/

or one of its mirror sites. Note that, alth= ough Ghostscript can be freely downloaded, there are certain restrictions on its free commercial use.For Ghostview= , visit :

http://www.cs.= wisc.edu/~ghost/gsview/

When you have installed Ghostscript and Ghostview load your postscript files into <= span class=3DSpellE>Ghostview and convert them to PDF files by invoking "Print”, then “Print to File" in the File Menu. The option you need is "pdfwrite." = There are three different resolutions to choose from. I use 300 dpi (dots p= er inch).

Ghostscript and (if you have a PC with Windows) Ghostview have a wide number of uses and are well wor= th installing. They will convert .ps files not onl= y to PDF but also to GIF, TIFF, bitmap and many other formats.

Stage 4: Upload your PDF files to your web site and publish them.

As an aid to musical sight-reading I like= to publish my PDF files of folk songs side by side with MIDI files. A Windows = or other suitable media player can then be used to open the MIDI files and play audio tracks of the melody lines.=

Alternative Solution= s.

Here are a few more ideas on how to create PDF files of sheet music.

Some programmes, such as Lilypond and MuseScore, can export direct to PDF.=

Alternatively, Go to: <= /p>

http://www.cutepdf. com/Products/Cut= ePDF/writer.asp

and install the CutePDF= Writer and its supporting GhostScript software = onto your computer. CutePDF is a driver for a dumb o= r virtual printer that prints directly to PDF files. You can purchase a professional version but the basic package is free.

But note that the CutePDF Writer only creates f= iles in PDF format whereas GhostView, the friendly W= indows GUI (graphical user interface) for GhostScript,= can create JPEG, GIF, TIFF and numerous other file types.

There are in addition, for those who are prepared to pay, some excellent commercial software packages. I use the comparatively modestly priced OmniPage Pro but there is also the more expensive ind= ustry standard stuff from Adobe.