Earlier DOS Versions of BMW

Bagpipe Music Writer and Bagpipe Music Writer PRO, which operate under DOS, are no longer being marketed; they have been replaced by Bagpipe Music Writer GOLD. The following information is provided for those people who have purchased and are still using one of the two DOS-based programs and may require assistance.

Bagpipe Music Writer Features

Prints any type of Highland Bagpipe light music with tune title, tune type, composer, and page number.

Supports Epson compatible dot matrix printers and HP LaserJet compatible laser printers (also supports PostScript laser printers with Bagpipe Music Writer Pro).

Use a word processor (WordPerfect, Microsoft WORD, Microsoft Works WRITE, Ami Pro, etc) to enter the music symbols.

Print up to 12 lines of music on a 8.5" x 11" page in portrait mode on Epson and HP LaserJet printers.

Print up to 12 lines of music on a 8.5" x 11" page in portrait or landscape modes on PostScript printers.

Adjust staff width from 0.0 to 8.0 inches (10.5 inches for PostScript printers).

Print two tunes on a page.

Print music to files.

Export tunes to PCX format files.

Preview each line of music on a graphics screen (CGA, EGA, VGA, or Hercules Graphics Adapter) with zoom in, zoom out, and panning capability.

Change background and foreground colors of music previews on a graphics screen (EGA and VGA monitors only).

Play tunes on the PC speaker with user selectable tempo, speed of embellishments, and "chanter" pitch.

Create new embellishments or special symbols (requires EGA, VGA, or Hercules Graphics adapter).

Export note pattern files to PCX format files.

Convert PCX files to note pattern files.

Includes Icons and Program Information Files to run the programs in Microsoft Windows 3.x

Bagpipe Music Writer Program Requirements

Bagpipe Music Writer Version 5.0

IBM PC/XT/AT or 100% compatible, 512Kbytes RAM, Hard disk with at least 1.5 Mbytes free space, MS-DOS 3.0 or greater, Disk cache program (such as SMARTDRV) strongly advised. For screen preview, CGA, Hercules Graphics adapter, EGA, or VGA. For MAKENOTE program, Hercules Graphics adapter, EGA, or VGA. For printed output, HP LaserJet II compatible printer (with at least 1Mbyte for full page 300 dpi prints) or Epson compatible printer.

Bagpipe Music Writer PRO Version 2.0

Includes all features and requirements of Bagpipe Music Writer Version 5.0. Includes additional program for printing music script files to PostScript compatible printers. PostScript printing requires IBM PC/XT/AT or 100% compatible, 512Kbytes RAM, Hard disk with at least 0.5 Mbytes free space, MS-DOS 3.0 or greater, and PostScript compatible printer.

How to use BMW and BMW Pro

How to enter a tune

In Bagpipe Music Writer, every bagpipe music symbol such as gracenotes, embellishments, melody notes, barlines, time signatures, etc. is given an alphanumeric code. You enter these codes using a word processor or text editor (such as Windows NotePad, Windows WRITE, Microsoft Word for Windows, etc.). Besides entering the alphanumeric codes using your word processor, you will also need to enter a TAB character before the first symbol in a beat and a TAB character after the last symbol in a beat.

Below is a sample of the codes and placement of TABs for the first line of "Scotland The Brave". Since TABs and ENTERs are not printable characters, we show them here as è for the TAB key and Ã for the ENTER key to illustrate where you would place them.

"Scotland The Brave"Ã "March"Ã "Trad."Ã "33"Ã
& 4_4 I! E_8Ã ! è gg LA_4 è tar LAr_8 'la Bl_16 è dbc Cr_8 eg LAl_8 è dbc Cr_8 El_8Ã ! è dbha HA_4 è strhg HA_4 è grp HAr_8 El_8 è dbc Cr_8 eg LAl_8Ã ! è thrd D_4 è gg Fr_8 'f Dl_16 è dbc Cr_8 El_8 è dbc Cr_8 eg LAl_8Ã
! è grp B_4 è dbe E_4 è strla Er_8 'e Fl_16 è gg Er_16 'e Dl_32 gg Cr_16 'c Bl_32 è !tÃ

Once you have entered the codes and TABs for a tune, you must save your work as an ASCII file with TABs preserved, then exit your word processor.

How to preview, print out, and play a tune

Bagpipe Music Writer programs are DOS programs so from the DOS prompt, you run one of the Bagpipe Music Writer programs to print out, preview on screen, or play the tune and give the music script file as a command line parameter. The following command lines show how to preview, print out, and play the music using Bagpipe Music Writer.

The command line to view "Scotland The Brave" on the screen is:

bmwdm /s c:\music\tunes\scotland.txtÃ

The command line to print out "Scotland The Brave" on a HP LaserJet II compatible laser printer is:

bmwdm /h/e c:\music\tunes\scotland.txtÃ

The command line to print out "Scotland The Brave" on a PostScript compatible laser printer is (must have BMW PRO):

bmwps c:\music\tunes\scotland.txtÃ

The command line to play "Scotland The Brave" at 96 beats per minute is:

playmus /t96 c:\music\tunes\scotland.txtÃ

Installing and Running BMW in Windows

Bagpipe Music Writer and Bagpipe Music Writer PRO come with instructions detailing steps to install and run the programs as DOS programs within Windows 3.1x and Windows 95.

Some Questions and Answers About Using BMW and BMW Pro

	I'm having trouble getting started.
	Read the manual especially pages 6-9. Also, check the How to Use BMW and BMW Pro section above on this page.
	I can play and print the sample tunes however, I can play my own tunes but not print them.
	You have saved your music files using your word processor's proprietary file format, instead of the ASCII format with TABS preserved that Bagpipe Music Writer needs. Read the 1994 and 1995 Newsletters for the sequences to correctly save music files for various word processors.
	When I print my own tunes it connects all the notes together.
	You have saved your music files in ASCII format but without TABS preserved. You must place a TAB at the start and end of a beat. *Bagpipe Music Writer* uses the placement of the TABs to determine how to connect (beam) notes together. Read the 1994 and 1995 Newsletters for the sequences to correctly save music files for various word processors.
	I bought a new printer but I can't print my tunes on it.
	You are not using the correct command line switches appropriate to your printer. For example, if you have upgraded from a Epson compatible dot matrix printer to a HP DeskJet or LaserJet compatible printer, you must now run the command bmwdm /h/e mytune.txt to correctly print the music. Read pages 8-9 of the manual and check the How to Use BMW and BMW Pro section above on this page for further examples.
	I really like the high quality of print in the music collections produced by Bagpipe Music Writer PRO. I don't have a PostScript printer. Is there any way that I can get this high quality print on my own non-PostScript printer?
	Yes. First you must have Bagpipe Music Writer PRO. Then you must download and install GhostScript and GSView. These programs convert PostScript files into the printer codes for your particular printer. Read the 1995 Newsletter to determine the files to download and install for your version of Windows. Once you have installed GhostScript and GSView, you must create a PostScript file of your music with the *BMW PRO* command bmwps /f- mytune.txt and then run GSView to print this PostScript file on your printer.

BMW Newsletters

These newsletters are of interest only to those persons who own and use the DOS versions of Bagpipe Music Writer. They have been converted to Microsoft Word for Windows Version 7.0 format. The files have been compressed with PKZIP V2.04g.

1994 Newsletter (due to file size, available by email to BMW owners only)

1995 Newsletter (.zip, 22Kb)

1996 Newsletter (.zip, 9Kb)

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Last Update: Thursday, December 16, 1999
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