MYJAZZBAND 2 LITE

MyJazzBand 2 Lite (MJB2Lite) is a complete rewrite of my shareware
program MyJazzBand.  MyJazzBand, now discontinued, was a MIDI
application for generating jazz accompaniments.  MJB2Lite has been
written as a prototype for testing composition algorithms that will be
used in MyJazzBand 2, a shareware program that I hope to build and
release in the future.

Information about and downloads for MJB2Lite can be found at my
website:

  http://www.sixthhappiness.ca/index.html

Please ask questions about and discuss the MJB2Lite program on the
bulletin board at that website,

MJB2Lite is an on-going project and will be updated from time to time.
I am also hoping that the release of MJB2Lite will serve as
"advertisement" for my website and my future shareware.  For these and
other reasons, please do not redistribute MJB2Lite.  The software
license I have chosen for it prohibits you from doing so.  I will
greatly appreciate it if you provide a link to my website instead.

FILE FORMAT

MJB2Lite reads chord charts in its "native" format: text files with
extensions ".mjb" or ".toe".  Here is an example of the contents of
such a file:

Name: Blues #40
Meter: 4/4
Style: Swing
Key: F
Tempo: 132
Chorus: bars 1 to 12 (repeat 3 times)
Sections: 1A
| FMaj7 | Em7b5 A7 | Dm7 G7 | Cm7 F7 |
| BbMaj7 | Bbm7 | Am7 | Abm7 Db7 |
| Gm7 | C7 | FMaj7 D7 | Gm7 C7 |
| FMaj7 |

You can input your own chord charts using a text editor and save the
file in "plain text" format with an extension of ".mjb" or ".toe".

MJB2Lite can also read chord charts in files written by the
Band-in-a-Box program.  Numerous files in this format can be found on
the Web.  Look for them with Google, for example:

  http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=en&q=band-in-a-box+files+jazz&btnG=Search

BIAB format files have extensions ".sg?" or ".mg?", where ? is a digit
or letter.

Currently MJB2Lite can only generate accompaniment for a chart in 4/4
time in a "swing" style.  The style works well only in medium tempo.

USAGE

On Mac OS X, the downloaded and unzipped folder MJB2Bite should
contain the application MJB2Lite.  Drag and drop one or more input
files in the MJB2Lite "native" or BIAB format (e.g., the included
sample input file "Blues #40.mjb") onto this application icon.  The
generated MIDI accompaniment file will have the same name as input
file, but with the ".mid" extension added to the end.  The MJBLite
window will stay open so you can read the error messages if there are
any.  To quit MJB2Lite, choose "quit" from its menu.  The generated
MIDI files can be played in the Finder or QuickTime Player, or
imported into any MIDI sequencer.

On Windows (tested only on Windows XP), the downloaded and unzipped
folder "dist" should contain the program "mjb2lite.exe".  Drag and
drop one or more input files onto this program icon.  Alternatively,
you can invoke this program from the command line:

  mjb2lite <inputfile> ...

The generated MIDI file can be played in Windows Media Player
(double-click on the MIDI file), or whichever program you have set up
to handle MIDI files in Windows.

On other systems (such as Linux and BSD), make sure you have Python
2.5 installed.  The downloaded, gunzipped, and untarred directory
"dist" should contain the file mjb2lite.py.  In a shell, type:

  python mjb2lite.py <inputfile> ...

Alternatively make mjb2lite.py executable using "chmod".  Then type:

  ./mjb2lite.py <inputfile> ...

If you have questions, please ask them on the bulletin board.

Enjoy the MJB2Lite program!

Andrew Choi.
akochoi (at) shaw (dot) ca
