MMA 20.12 Now Available

 
A stable release, version 20.12, of MMA--Musical MIDI Accompaniment
is available for downloading. In addition to a number of bug fixes,
documentation reviews and optimizations, MMA now features:

 - A number of new macros
 - Change to PLECTRUM track behaviour
 - TEMPO enhancements
 - AFTER enhancements/fixes
 - A number of command line additions (-xABC), (-Djs), etc
 - SUBROUTINES
 - Added environment variables
 - Minor bug and documentation fixes
 - Other minor enhancements

Please read the file text/CHANGES-20 for a complete list of changes.
 
MMA is a accompaniment generator -- it creates midi tracks
for a soloist to perform with. User supplied files contain
pattern selections, chords, and MMA directives. For full details
please visit:

   http://www.mellowood.ca/mma/

If you have any questions or comments, please send
them to: bob@mellowood.ca

MMA 20.02a posted

I just posted 20.02a to the website:

   https://mellowood.ca/mma/downloads.html#developer

Some nice little fixes including a bug in plugins with python3, a plectrum track fix that I call "let those strings ring" and a fix to the midi generation to get the key right. And, the continuing saga of minor fixes, doc clean ups, etc.

This is not a general user update ... I'd love some feedback from users.

MMA 20.02 now online!

I'm pleased to announce that version 20.02 (the palindrome version) is now available. All official downloads are at:

    https://mellowood.ca/mma/downloads.html

Many thanks to the contributors who have donated code and suggestions!

If you find a weakness, a new wish or a problem, please let me know.

The last 19.* test is up on the web site. For details and to download please visit https://mellowood.ca/mma/downloads.html#developer

MMA 19.08b test version

I've posted developer 19.08.b. As always, bash away and let me know if problems. Major changes from 19.08:

    The order of arguments in DEFGROOVE has been reversed. This change makes the actual code reflect the documentation.

    -xNoCredit, -xChords and -xCheckFile have been added. Fun.

    Bunch of debugging, manual fixes, etc.

    Fixed summary to show midi file duration as mm:ss.

    Changed -g message to Skipped from Existing

    The options -xCheckFile and -xChords have been modified from 19.08a. They now take their args separately. No = sign is needed/permitted.

    The code for the zOPTIONS now finds the last chord. The docs for this section (Rests, section 8.4) have been rewritten.

Get it at:

  https://mellowood.ca/mma/downloads.html#developer

Python 2.x support

There will be one more (or two) python 2.x releases, probably this year or early 2020. I'm thinking we should remove 2.x support for MMA ... comments would be appreciated.

My suggestion at this time is to support it in the 2020 tree and then remove all conditionals, etc. in the 2021 release. On the other hand, it's probably not a big deal to continue to support 2.x "forever" :)

I really want to hear from you all about this.

New developer testing release

I've just posted a new version for testing. Get it at:

 https://mellowood.ca/mma/downloads.html#developer

From the "what's new read me" file:

• RNDSEED - changed to require an integer argument (or none). Now produces
•  same results in python2 and 3.
• More documentation changes. I fear this comment will never stop giving
•  me grief :)
• Fixed debug error reporting.
• Added extended groovename option. You can now specify as DIR:Groovename.
•  As always, see the docs.
• GrooveAlias had it arguments reversed in the code. Fixed to match the existing
•  documentation, debug and error messages.
• At some point in the development cycle the check for env. variables
•  stopped working. It's fixed now.
• Added the cmd line option -xNOCREDIT which will supress the insertion
•  of "Created by MMA ... filename" text into the meta track. PLEASE DO
•  NOT USE THIS.
• Added cmd line option -xCHORDS=a,b,c. This will check each chord and see
•  if it acceptable to MMA. Displays error lines and list of the valid chords.
• Added cmd line option -xCHECKFILE=filename. This will parse (somewhat) the
•  file listed and report any unknown chords. At this point a 'z' chord in the
•  format CHORDxTrack will report an error.
•  Fixed circular import problem when setting debug options from cmd line

Please let me know of any problems, etc.