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Here's a short extract from a .hld file to use as an example:
T:O quam mirabilis C:Hildegard von Bingen B:Reisenkodex X:+3 O .=C .=D l=E l=F .=E .=D .=C b@B .=A .=B l=C quam n=DC mi- /=EF mi- /=EF ra- l=D bi- l=C lis .=B est n=DC +L
It has two parts: the header, which gives general information about the song, and the body, which lays out all of the words, notes and neumes. (Blank lines can be added anywhere - they will be ignored.)
Letter | Meaning | Example |
---|---|---|
T: | Title | T:O magne Pater |
C: | Composer | C:Hildegard von Bingen |
B: | Book | B:Reisenkodex |
X: | Transposition (number of steps) | X:-3 |
The transposition line is optional.
The syllable will be be printed on the lyrics line, under the first of its notes.
Each neume-note group consists of one or more neume keys (see previous section), followed by one or more notes.
The notes are the same as in abc format. `A' is the A below middle C, `B' through `G' are in the octave above it, and `a' through `g' represent the next octave. If you have to go higher than that then use a lower case letter and stick an apostaphe after it (a'). If you need to go lower, then stick a comma after a upper case letter (G,).
For example, "nos .=e w=eg l=a'" would represent the syllable "nos" sung on a punctum on e, a quilisma on e to g, and a virga on a.
You can add an editorial flat by inserting a `_' before the note that needs to be flatted. For example, "Wn=G_ba".
A spacing line consists of a `+', followed by one or more characters, whose meaning is as follows:
b | a bar |
l | a new line |
L | a bar & a new line |
s | a little bit of extra horizontal space |
H | a chunk of horizontal space |
V | a chunk of vertical space |
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