THE MSQ PROJECT

The MSQ Project

The MSQ Project was originally created by Siegfried Koepf and Bernd Haerpfer in 1998 needing a MIDI compatible computer system for algorithmic composition and score synthesis. It was carried on to the current level MSQ 2.0 by Siegfried Koepf. The idea was to have a platform independent, easily readable and editable file format qualified for algorithmic manipulation and composition as well as for real time controlling MIDI instruments.
The MSQ file format, a plain ASCII text file format, represents sequences of MIDI commands in strictly chronological order even when multiple MIDI tracks are present. It does not only allow the translation of MIDI files to some readable text (and vice versa) but is a well defined and MIDI compatible file format itself.
Programmers, composers and musicians are invited to develop tools processing MSQ files or just to use the existing system!

The MSQ package now consists of the following elements:

`msq.htm`	MSQ documentation (this page) Describes the MSQ file format and MSQ tools	Platform
`msq2mid`	MSQ to MIDI converter Converts MSQ files to Standard MIDI files	WINDOWS/LINUX
`mid2msq`	MIDI to MSQ converter Converts Standard MIDI files to MSQ files	WINDOWS/LINUX
`merge`	MSQ file merge Merges two MSQ files together	WINDOWS/LINUX
`play`	MSQ file player (sequencer) Plays MSQ files on any MIDI device	WINDOWS
`mmid`	Multi Media device ID finder Finds the IDs of currently available Multi Media devices on the running system to use with `play`	WINDOWS

All MSQ Tools are console applications.

Download the MSQ package

The MSQ 2.0 Specification

The MSQ 2.0 standard supports the MIDI file formats 0 and 1. It is compatible with what is known as 'The MIDI Standard' as described in many resources on the web. Not supported at this moment is anything related to SMPTE! Jeff Glatt's MIDI site used to be a good place to learn more about The MIDI Standard. A collection of those pages is now available here.

The MSQ file format
MSQ files are plain ASCII text files. To simplify their identification, MSQ files usually have the extension .MSQ.
The first line of a MSQ file must contain a MIDI TICKS setting as:

TICKS = 120

where the tokens may be separated by white spaces (not tabulators). The TICKS value sets the maximal number of subdivisions of a quarter note. About limits of the TICKS value see Ranges and Conditions.
Each further line consists of a complete MIDI message with an absolute time value in ticks, followed by a track number, followed by a MSQ symbol (see The MSQ Symbols), followed by a channel number in case of a channel message and appropriate further data (see The MSQ Symbols). For a detailed description of the line syntax, see The Form of a MSQ Line. The tokens must be separated by one or more white spaces (not tabulators). There is no limit for the overall size of an MSQ file but the maximum number of characters in a line is 256 (this value has been increased from 128 to 256 in August 2007 - only MSQ tools with version 0.5.0 and higher will accept this new limit). For visual reasons, empty lines are allowed.

The Form of a MSQ Line

xxx xxx xxx xx xxx xxx etc...
|   |   |   |  |   |
|   |   |   |  |   data byte (optional)
|   |   |   |  data byte (optional)
|   |   |   channel number (optional: Channel Messages only)
|   |   MSQ symbol
|   track number
time value of the event in ticks

Examples of MSQ lines:

1. Channel Messages
0 1 NOF 0 64 100 0 1 NON 0 64 100 0 1 PCH 0 2

2. System Messages
0 1 SEX 67 16 53 13 0 0 17 0 64 0 1 ASE

3. Meta Events
0 0 _CR some text 0 0 _ST 500000 0 0 _TS 3 2 24 8

Example of a valid MSQ 2.0 file:

gloter2.msq GLOCKENTERROR II for Piano 1997, Copyright (c) 1997 by Siegfried Koepf. All rights reserved!

The MSQ Symbols

The first column shows the MSQ symbol, the second one shows the name of the corresponding MIDI message, the last one shows the data expected:

MSQ	1. Channel Messages	MSQ DATA
`NOF`	Note Off	channel number, 2 data bytes
`NON`	Note On	channel number, 2 data bytes
`PAF`	Poly Aftertouch	channel number, 2 data bytes
`CCH`	Controller	channel number, 2 data bytes
`PCH`	Program Change	channel number, 1 data byte
`CAF`	Channel Aftertouch	channel number, 1 data byte
`PWH`	Pitch Wheel	channel number, 2 data bytes
MSQ	2. System Messages	MSQ DATA
`SEX`	System Exclusive	? data bytes
`MTC`	MTC Quarter Frame Message	1 data byte
`SPP`	Song Position Pointer	2 data bytes
`SEL`	Song Select	1 data byte
`TRE`	Tune Request	no data
`MCL`	MIDI Clock	no data
`TIC`	Tick	no data
`STA`	MIDI Start	no data
`CON`	MIDI Continue	no data
`STO`	MIDI Stop	no data
`ASE`	Active Sense	no data
`SRE`	Reset	no data
MSQ	3. Meta Events	MSQ DATA
`_SN`	Sequence Number	2 data bytes
`_TE`	Text Event	ASCII text
`_CR`	Copyright Notice	ASCII text
`_TN`	Sequence/Track Name	ASCII text
`_IN`	Instrument Name	ASCII text
`_LY`	Lyric	ASCII text
`_MA`	Marker	ASCII text
`_CU`	Cue Point	ASCII text
`_CP`	MIDI Channel Prefix	1 data byte
`_MP`	MIDI Port	1 data byte
`_ST`	Set Tempo	1 data DWORD
`_SM`	SMPTE Offset	5 data bytes (not implemented)
`_TS`	Time Signature	4 data bytes
`_KS`	Key Signature	2 data bytes
`_SQ`	Sequencer Specific	? data bytes

Ranges and Conditions

Ranges of MSQ values:

MSQ values	min.	max.
TICKS in the first line of a MSQ file:	`1`	`32767`
Number of characters in a line in a MSQ file:	`0`	`256`
Time value in ticks, the first row in a MSQ file:	`0`	`4294967295`
Difference of two successive time values:	`0`	`268435455`
Track number, the second row in a MSQ file:	`0`	`65535`
Channel number in Channel Messages:	`0`	`15`
Channel number, the value in META EVENT `_CP` (MIDI Channel Prefix):	`0`	`15`
Tempo, the value in META EVENT `_ST` (Set Tempo):	`1`	`16777215`
Numerator, first value in META EVENT `_TS` (Time Signature):	`1`	`127`
Exponent, second value in META EVENT `_TS` (Time Signature):	`0`	`7`
Clocks, third value in META EVENT `_TS` (Time Signature):	`1`	`127`
32nds, fourth value in META EVENT `_TS` (Time Signature):	`1`	`127`
Flats/sharps, first value in META EVENT `_KS` (Key Signature):	`-7`	`7`
Scale, second value in META EVENT `_KS` (Key Signature):	`0`	`1`
Other data bytes:	`0`	`127`

The META EVENT _SN (Sequence Number) must occur at the beginning of a track.

MSQ Tools

msq2mid (for WINDOWS 9x/NT/2000/XP/LINUX)

Description:	MSQ to MIDI converter Converts MSQ files to Standard MIDI files
Usage:	`msq2mid msq-file midi-file` where `msq-file` is the source and `midi-file` is the target file name
Example:	`msq2mid gloter2.msq gloter2.mid`
Version:	0.5.0
Copyright:	2000-2007 by Siegfried Koepf
Last update:	August 31, 2007

mid2msq (for WINDOWS 9x/NT/2000/XP/LINUX)

Description:	MIDI to MSQ converter Converts Standard MIDI files to MSQ files.
Usage:	`mid2msq midi-file msq-file` where `midi-file` is the source and `msq-file` is the target file name
Example:	`mid2msq gloter2.mid gloter2.msq`
Version:	0.5.0
Copyright:	2000-2007 by Siegfried Koepf
Last update:	August 31, 2007

merge (for WINDOWS 9x/NT/2000/XP/LINUX)

Description:	MSQ file merge Merges two MSQ files together
Usage:	`merge msq-file1 msq-file2 msq-file3` where `msq-file1` and `msq-file2` are the source and `msq-file3` is the target file name
Version:	0.5.0
Copyright:	2003-2007 by Siegfried Koepf
Last update:	August 31, 2007

play (for WINDOWS 9x/NT/2000/XP)

Description:	MSQ file player (sequencer) Plays MSQ files on any MIDI device
Usage:	`play <msq-file> [-d<device-id>] [-s<n>] [-v] [-h]` where `<msq-file>` is the name of the MSQ file to be played
Options:	`-d<device-id>` where `<device-id>` is the ID of the MIDI device to use (to find available devices on a running system use `mmid`). Without `-d` `play` uses the default MIDI device `-s<n>` where `<n>` is a ticks value from where the playback will be started `-v` shows a tick counter while playing `-h` shows a help screen
Example:	`play gloter2.msq -d0 -s2112 -v`
Hotkeys:	`[ESC]` to stop the program `[SPACE]` toggles between pause and continue
Version:	0.5.0
Copyright:	2000-2007 by Siegfried Koepf
Last update:	August 31, 2007

mmid (for WINDOWS 9x/NT/2000/XP)

Description:	Multi Media device ID finder Finds the IDs of currently available Multi Media devices on the running system to use with `play`
Usage:	`mmid`
Version:	0.5.0
Copyright:	2000-2007 by Siegfried Koepf
Last update:	August 31, 2007

Terms

The MSQ package may be used for non-commercial purposes and freely distributed in the format originally released. It is provided "as is", you get no guarantees because all standard disclaimers apply!
All programs and documentation are Copyright (c) 2000-2009 by Siegfried Koepf. Please send your feedback to: msq[at]aconnect[dot]de

Download: msq.zip (WINDOWS)
Download: msq.tar.gz (LINUX)

(Last update: March 10, 2010)

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