🎵 Tomato Jianpu Script v1.0

1. Introduction to the Tomato Script

1.1 What Is the Tomato Script?

The Tomato Script (Tomato Jianpu Script) is a text-based notation system designed to describe numbered musical notation (Jianpu) using plain text. It draws inspiration from the ACB notation system [note: this might be the abcnotation.com] used abroad while preserving the characteristics of Chinese Jianpu.

In short, Tomato Script allows you to encode a complete Jianpu score using only text. This makes it fast to input, easy to edit, and convenient for software to process.

1.2 Structure of a Tomato Script

A complete script contains two major parts:

• Header Section — Basic information such as title, composer, key, time signature, tempo, etc.
• Main Body — The musical content: melody lines and lyrics.

1.3 Advantages

• Fast input — Once familiar, you can type Jianpu as quickly as regular text.
• Easy editing — Any text editor (Notepad, Word, mobile editors) can be used.
• High-quality output — With supporting software, you can generate clean Jianpu images or MIDI audio for sharing.

2. Header Section

2.1 General Rules

• Lines beginning with # are comments and are ignored by rendering software.
• Each header line begins with an uppercase letter indicating the type of information.

2.2 Header Fields

2.3 Field Details

• V (Version) — Indicates which version of the script specification is used.
• B (Title) — Can appear multiple times. The first is the main title; subsequent ones are subtitles.
• Z (Author) — Can appear multiple times; displayed right-aligned in the score.
• D (Key) — A capital letter, optionally followed by # or $ for sharp/flat.
• P (Time Signature) — Written as P: x/x. Multiple signatures or auxiliary signatures are allowed.
• J (Tempo) — Can be numeric (beats per minute) or descriptive text.

3. Script Comments

Lines beginning with # are comments for human readability and are ignored during rendering.

4. Main Body of the Score

4.1 Structure

Each line begins with:

• Q: — Melody line
• C: — Lyrics line

Lyrics lines attach to the melody line immediately above them. One melody line may have multiple lyric lines.

5. Basic Notes and Rests

5.1 Notes

• Numbers 1–7 represent the seven scale degrees.
• A dash - extends duration.

5.2 Rests

• 0 — Visible rest
• 8 — Invisible rest (occupies space but not shown)

5.3 Percussive Notes

• 9 — Rhythmic/percussive note (X-style)

5.4 Octave Marks

• ' — Higher octave
• , — Lower octave
• Multiple marks may be used.

6. Duration Modifiers

6.1 Lengthening

A dash - after a note extends its duration.

6.2 Shortening

A slash / after a note shortens its duration; multiple slashes allowed.

7. Custom Beat Grouping

Because early versions grouped beats only by quarter notes, two symbols were added:

• ~ — Connects notes into a single beat.
• ^ — Forces a beat break between notes.

8. Dotted Notes

• . — Dotted note
• .. — Double-dotted note

9. Dynamics and Crescendo/Decrescendo

9.1 Dynamics

Add & plus the abbreviation after a note, e.g.:

9.2 Crescendo / Decrescendo

• < — Start crescendo
• > — Start decrescendo
• ! — End of hairpin

If overlapping with slurs, add + to raise the hairpin.

10. Accidentals

• # — Sharp
• $ — Flat
• = — Natural

Placed after the note number.

11. Grace Notes (Ornaments)

11.1 Front Grace Notes

• Written inside [] after the main note.
• Can include octave marks, slashes, and accidentals.

11.2 Back Grace Notes

• Same as above, but start with [h.
• Grace notes default to eighth-note length; adding / makes them sixteenth notes.

12. Accompaniment Brackets

• Left bracket: &zkh
• Right bracket: &ykh
• Placed after the note.

13. Other Common Symbols

Many decorative symbols use & + pinyin initial. (Full table omitted here but follows the same rule.)

14. Note Annotations

Add "text" after a note to display annotation above it.

15. Barlines

15.1 Types

Various barline types are supported (single, double, final, etc.).

15.2 Hidden Barlines

• |/ — Hidden, no space taken; used at line beginnings.
• |* — Hidden but occupies space; used when switching to multi-voice.

16. Repeat Signs

Repeat symbols may only be placed on barlines.

17. Slurs

17.1 Basic Slurs

• Use parentheses () around notes.
• Slurs may nest and cross bars or lines.

17.2 Cross-line Slurs

Place the closing parenthesis on the next line.

17.3 Split Slurs

Used around page breaks or special symbols.

18. Tuplets

Tuplets use parentheses like slurs but add y after (:

The software calculates the number of notes automatically.

19. "Hopscotch" (Jump Brackets)

• Use [ for start and ] for end.
• Must be placed on barlines.
• Supports cross-line usage.
• Add / after [ for open-ended jumps.
• Add + to raise the bracket if overlapping with slurs.
• If a jump begins at the start of a line, use hidden barline |/.

20. Temporary Time Signatures

Written as a barline annotation:

21. Temporary Accompaniment & Temporary Multi-Voice

21.1 Temporary Accompaniment

• Use {bz ... }
• Notes align automatically with the main melody.

21.2 Temporary Multi-Voice

• Use {dsb ... }

22. Multi-Voice Notation

22.1 Voice Labels

Add a number after Q or C:

You may add a voice name in quotes after the number.

22.2 Mixed Single and Multi-Voice

Allowed.

22.3 Custom Voice Bracket Position

• Use &sbf to set bracket position manually.
• Use 8 (invisible note) and |* (hidden barline) to fill empty space in other voices.

23. Pagination

Insert [fenye] on a new line to force a page break.

24. Lyrics

24.1 Chinese Lyrics

• Begin with C:
• Each character corresponds to one note.
• Punctuation is auto-handled.
• @ skips a note.
• - (duration line) does not require @.
• Two characters on one note: connect with ~.
• Multiple lyric lines may follow one melody line.

24.2 Lyric Annotations

• Use "text" before the lyric line.
• Spaces inside annotations must be written as _.

24.3 English Lyrics

• Use / to separate words.
• When mixing with Chinese or @, the slash may be omitted, but adding it improves readability.

25. Feedback and Suggestions

If you encounter issues, have questions, or want to suggest improvements: