EMU-Script

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Reference Manual

An EMU-Script must contain at least 3 sections: the [composition] section, the [instruments] section, and at least one musical section. The other types of sections are optional. All sections of a script share the same structure:

    [section-name]
    attribute-1: value
    ...
    attribute-x: value

For a section name or attribute to be valid, it must begin with a letter and can only contain alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores.

1. The composition section

The [composition] section is mandatory and provides the following information:

Here is an example:

    [composition]
    title: "Fly on the Windscreen"
    by: "Depeche Mode"
    BPM: 93
    time: 4/4
    transposition: -5
    playlist: intro, A, B, A, B, outro

2. The intruments section

This mandatory section contains the configuration of the instruments used in the composition. Each instrument defined in this section has a dedicated audio track and music staff. Here is the information that can be specified for an instrument:

Here is an example:

    [instruments]
    piano: "piano", channel=1, octave=3, velocity=99 
    synth: "MIDI Input", channel=2, octave=3, velocity=80 
    bass:  "bass", channel=11, octave=2, velocity=90
    drum: "drum", channel=12, velocity=120

The port MIDI Input is the port assigned to instruments connected to the computer using a USB cable.

3. The musical sections

Musical sections are the core building blocks of a musical composition. A musical section can be played many times in a composition and can also have some form of variation, such as:

When a section name ends with a number, it means that the section is a variation of another section. For instance, if a section name is A1, it means that the content of the section will be merged with the content of its “parent” section [A] (you will find an example in section 3.5).

3.1 Diatonic notes

In an EMU-Script, the notes of a major scale are always 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. If you prefer, you can use the alphabetic equivalents instead: C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.

The transposition defined in the [composition] section is used to set the tonality and therefore the key of a composition. A transposition of 0 means that we are composing in C major, a transposition of +5 means that we are composing in F major, etc. The actual note played by the sequencer also depends on the reference octave of the instrument.

There are some modifiers that can be applied to diatonic notes:

Here is an example:

    [intro]
    piano: '6 '7 1 2 | 3 4 #5 6 | 7 1' #2' 3'

or alternatively:

    [intro]
    piano: 'A 'B C D | E F #G A | B C' #D' E'

The vertical bar (|) acts as a measure separator. In the example, we have defined 3 measures.

3.2 Drum notes

The available drum notes are:

Here is an example:

    [intro]
    drum: i i i i | Bh h BSh h Bh h BSh h

In the example, some drum notes are concatenated, meaning that they will be played at the same time.

3.3 Notes duration and silence

The duration of the notes in a measure depends on the time signature, the BPM, the number of notes in the measure, and on the use of time modifier operators. Those modifiers are:

Here are some examples, based on a 4/4 time signature:

3.4 Chords and intervals

When notes are grouped together, they create a chord or interval. Optionally, you can separate the notes of a chord using the slash character. Here are some examples:

Many chord functions are provided to facilitate chord creation and identification. A chord function has the following format:

name-extension(root,bass)

The chord extension and bass note are optional. The chord name can be one of the following:

The available chord extensions are:

Here are some examples:

3.5 Lyrics

If you wish, it is possible to add lyrics to a composition. Here is an example:

[A]
lead: E | F E #D E | F | #F G - - | . A B C' | D' C' B A | G | . . C D | E E 
bass: C G | C - 'B C | D A | #D E - G | F | - | E - F #F | G | C - C' B 
drum: ds | ... 

[A1]
text: "Oh | quand j'en_ tends chan_ | ter | No_ ël - - | . J'aime a re_ |voir mes joies d'en_ |fant | . . Le sa_ | pin sin_"

[A2]
text: "Oh | quand j'en tends so_ | nner | au ciel - - | . L'heure où le  | bon vieill_ ard des_ | cend | . . Je re_ | vois tes"

All lyrics must be quoted, and lyric lines must be prefixed by text:. The same time modifiers that are used for notes are also valid for lyrics (parenthesis, dash, dot).

To indicate that a word is spread over two notes, you can use the underscore character at the end or beginning of a syllable, and it will be displayed as a dash in the music sheet (“quand j’en_ tends chan_” is displayed as “quand j’en - tends chan -“).

3.6 Chord progression

A chord progression defines the harmonic structure of a composition. You can add a chord progression using lines that are prefixed by chord:. Here is an example:

    [verse]
    chord: maj(C) | 'min(A) | maj(F,A) dom7(G) | maj(C)'

Once a chord progression has been defined, it is possible to access the notes of the current chord using three built-in functions:

Here is an example of use:

    [verse]
    chord:   min(A,C)  |     min(E)     |  maj(C) 
    synth1: root  bass | chord chord(2) | chord(5)  
    synth2:   A    C   |  EGB    EG     |  CEGCE

In the example, the synth1 and synth2 instruments play exactly the same notes.

3.7 Repetition

Sometimes, in a composition, measures of music are repeated. Two built-in functions are provided to avoid repetition in a script:

Here is a musical section that is equivalent to the previous example:

    [outro]
    synth: 1 | 2 3 | 4 - 3 2 | 4 - 3 2 | 15
    drum: B h B h | B h B h | B h B h | B h B h | B Sh B c

3.7 Unison

If there are some parts of a composition that need to be played in unison, a specific notation can be used to avoid code duplication. You simply have to specify the name of the instrument, and its measure will be inserted.

Here is an example:

    [outro]
    winds: E' - (A B C' D') | E'- (C') E'- (C') | E' C' A E | C' A E C 
    brass: winds | ...

Here is a musical section that is equivalent to the previous example:

    [outro]
    winds: E' - (A B C' D') | E'- (C') E'- (C') | E' C' A E | C' A E C 
    brass: E' - (A B C' D') | E'- (C') E'- (C') | E' C' A E | C' A E C

4. The sequences section

The [sequences] section lists the sequences that can be inserted in musical sections. A sequence defines a few measures of music that can be parameterized and that are not bound to a specific instrument. The parameters of a sequence are accessed using the dollar sign symbol, followed by the parameter number (1 to 9). Here is an example:

[sequences]
seq1: $1 $3 $2 $1
seq2: 2 - 3 4 | 5- (4) 3 - | $1
seq3: . 3 4 5 | 4 3 36 -

[intro1]
piano: seq1(3, 5, 7) | seq2(2 1) | seq3

[intro2]
piano: 3 7 5 3 | 2 - 3 4 | 5- (4) 3 - | 2 1 | . 3 4 5 | 4 3 36 -

In this example, the [intro1] and [intro2] musical sections are equivalent.

5. The sounds section

The [sounds] section contains the definition of new sounds that can be used in musical sections. The sounds are not bound to any specific instrument. There are 3 types of sound that can be added:

Here is an example:

[sounds]
kick: midi(35)
hh: midi(44)
dw: strum(54321, msec=5, vdec=3)
up: strum(12345, msec=6, vdec=5)
a1: arp(1112, step=3, duration=3)
a2: arp(123432, step=5, duration=8)
 
[exemple]
guitar: a1/37 | - | dw/6135 up/'61351 | up/'57257 | a2/2461 | -
drum: kick hh kick/hh hh | ...

6. The CC section

The [CC] section contains the definition of the MIDI Control Change messages used in the composition. A CC definition can be specific to an instrument or apply to all instruments. The CC keywords defined here can then be referenced in the [control] section. Here is an example of a CC section:

[CC]
synth: cutoff=74, resonance=42
all: modw=1

7. The control section

In the [control] section, you can modify the sound of the instruments during playback. Each line of the section can have the following format:

/instrument/section/measure: attribute=value, ... ,attribute=value

Where:

There are 3 attributes that can be specified:

Here is an example:

[control]
/synth: program=8.2
/synth/intro/2: modw=25%, reverb=40%
/synth/intro/2.5: velocity=90

In the control section, it is also possible to programatically increase or decrease a CC or velocity attribute over a period of time. Here is an example:

[control]
/synth/intro: change(velocity, from=20, to=80)
/synth/main/1.5: change(cutoff, from=50%, to=25%, span=2.25, curve=-1)

The change function’s arguments are:

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