MUSIC THEORY ONLINE Guide This document covers six topics: 1. Subscription to Music Theory Online (MTO) 2. Retrieving MTO items a. articles, reviews, discussion items, announcements, dissertation listings, employment opportunities b. musical examples and graphical figures c. entire issues 3. Posting items in MTO a. announcements b. new dissertations c. job opportunities d. commentaries on MTO items 4. Searching the MTO database 5. Important MTO addresses 6. Important MTO explanatory documents a. general MTO information b. software listing and retrieval guide c. guidelines for authors d. MTO editorial policy 1. SUBSCRIPTION TO MTO To subscribe to MTO, send a message to one of the following "listserv" addresses: listserv@husc.harvard.edu (for Internet) listserv@husc.bitnet (for Bitnet) Leave the "Subject:" line blank and include as the text of the message the following single line (no personal letterheads or signatures!): subscribe mto-j YourFirstName YourLastName You will receive a message confirming your subscription, and an explanatory welcome message. To cancel a subscription, send the following single line to one of the "listserv" addresses (listserv@husc.harvard.edu or listserv@husc.bitnet): unsubscribe mto-j Do not include your first and last names in the cancellation request. To receive a copy of this document, send a message to one of the "listserv" addresses, and as the body of the message include the single line: information mto-j Subscribers to MTO should note that the mailing list, mto-j, is solely for the General Editor's use, to broadcast MTO tables of contents and messages pertaining to MTO. The list is not configured for communication among subscribers. Therefore please do not send email to mto-j, or use a 'reply' command on email distributed through mto-j. Further, please do not send requests for MTO items or explanatory documents to mto-j. Request all items and documents from mto-serv (address and instructions below). Finally, do not send email for the General Editor to mto-j. Send all email for the Editor to one of the two addresses given below, in section 5. 2. RETRIEVING MTO ITEMS a. articles, reviews, discussion items, announcements, dissertation listings, employment opportunities To retrieve any of the aforementioned items, send an email message to the MTO FileServer, mto-serv, at one of the following two addresses: mto-serv@husc.harvard.edu (Internet) mto-serv@husc.bitnet (Bitnet) Leave the "Subject:" line blank, and as the only text of the message include the following lines (no personal letterheads or signatures!): path YourEmailAddress (Bitnet addresses must include .BITNET) send Item send Item (additional "send" lines, if desired) The words "path" and "send" *must* appear. After the word "path," type your full email address (Bitnet users *must* include .BITNET). After the word "send," replace "Item" with the item desired. The following item-options are valid only when retrieving items from the *current* issue of MTO (not valid for back issues!): articles (= main article[s]) gifs (= musical examples) reviews (= review[s]) commentaries (= commentaries on past MTO articles) dissertations (= dissertation listings) announcements (= announcements) jobs (= job listings) package (= all the above items, in a single package) toc (= current table of contents) ********************************************************************** CAUTIONARY NOTE: Subscribers with restricted emailbox space should be careful when using the "package" option. A full issue of MTO, text and musical examples, can be quite large and may "crash" an emailbox of limited size. It may be safer to request a few files at a time, and to remove them from the emailbox before requesting more files. ********************************************************************** In order to retrieve items from past issues, subscribers must specify the desired item(s) by standardized MTO filenames (as they appear in an MTO table of contents). Filenames will be in the following form: mto.yy.v.i.author.xxx, where yy = year, v = vol. no., i = issue no., author = author's name, and xxx = the item-type: art = article gif = musical example(s) [see also below, section b] rev = review tlk = commentary dis = dissertation listings ann = announcements job = job listings toc = table of contents Replace "yy" with the last two digits of the year, "v" with the volume number, "i" with the issue number, etc., as in: mto.93.0.1.neumeyer.art The dissertation (dis), announcement (ann), job (job), and table-of- contents (toc) files have no "author" component. Examples of their filenames would be: mto.93.0.2.dis (for dissertations), mto.93.0.2.job (for jobs), etc. For instructions on retrieving complete back issues as a package, see section c below. NOTE: To get a current list of all files in the MTO archive, request the document called mto.index from mto-serv. b. musical examples The musical examples and graphical figures for MTO will be provided in the Graphical Interchange Format, GIF for short (pronounced JIF). Like all graphical files, GIFs are made up of binary code and cannot be safely mailed over telecommunications networks. In order to be emailed without danger of corruption, the GIFs must be encoded, "UUencoded" to be precise (UU = Unix-to-Unix, referring [originally] to the transfer of files from one Unix machine to another). The UUencoding converts the binary GIFs into plain ASCII text, which is safe for emailing. Once received, the UUencoded GIFs must be UUdecoded (converted back to binary form), before they can be viewed. MTO provides software for UUdecoding and for viewing musical examples on both IBM and Macintosh computers. Retrieve the document named 'software.txt' for more information (see section 6 below). Specifying the "package" option when ordering the current issue of MTO will automatically retrieve all associated musical examples. To retrieve musical examples for past issues, or to retrieve examples for the current issue by their filenames (as listed in a table of contents), send a message to mto-serv at one of the addresses given in section 2a, and as the body of the message include only the following lines : path YourEmailAddress (Bitnet addresses *must* include .BITNET) send FileName.gif send FileName.gif (additional "send" lines, if desired) After the word "path," enter your full email address. Replace "FileName.gif" with the name of the GIF file. Filenames will be in the standardized form "mto.yy.v.i.author.gif", where yy = year, v = vol. no., i = issue no., author = author's name. Replace "yy" with the appropriate year, "v" with the volume number, "i" with the issue number, etc., as in: mto.93.0.2.london.gif. If an article includes several musical examples, they may be contained in several GIF files. To retrieve all GIFs for an article in a back issue, the be *sure* to include the asterisk (*) in the filename (after the author's name), as listed in the relevant table of contents (for example: mto.93.0.3.lindley*.gif). Beware of requesting all GIFs at once! GIF files, like all graphical files, tend to be quite large. If your emailbox space is limited, ordering all GIFs at once may exceed the limit and "crash" your emailbox. The examples will arrive, UUencoded, in email messages. Save the messages as files and download them to your desktop machine. [NOTE: Consult your local user services if you do not know how to save email messages as files, or how to download files from the mainframe to your desktop machine.] Once the files are on your desktop machine, decode them using the decoding software supplied by MTO (instructions included with the software). Finally, view them with the GIF viewing software provided by MTO. The document 'software.txt', available through mto-serv, explains how to retrieve MTO software (see section 6 below). If your mainframe is connected to the Internet, you can retrieve examples (and other filetypes) with FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and avoid the coding/decoding processes. Implementations of FTP differ, so universally valid instructions are not possible. Consult your local user services for assistance. The general procedure is as follows: At your mainframe prompt type: ftp husc4.harvard.edu At the login prompt, type "anonymous," and at the password prompt, type "guest." Once logged in, at the ftp> prompt type "cd pub/smt/mto" to change to the mto directory. Before retrieving any examples, prepare FTP for a binary transfer by typing "binary" at the ftp> prompt. Then, to retrieve an example file, type: get FileName.gif, and the example file will be transferred to your mainframe. Repeat the "get" command for all desired GIFs, or other filetypes (.art, .rev., etc.). (If you cannot recall the filename(s), type "ls -l" [those are lower-case "L's," not the number "1"] to list the contents of the directory. Find the desired file[s] and issue the "get" command followed by a filename. Use the command "mget" to retrieve several files at once, all of which should be listed on the same line.) Download the GIFs or other filetypes to your desktop. If your mainframe uses the Kermit protocol for transferring files, make *sure* to set the mainframe's Kermit to "binary" mode, and set the Kermit protocol of your desktop communications program to "binary" as well before transferring any GIFs. The Kermit default setting is usually "text," which is the proper setting for all other MTO filetypes). Consult your local user services for assistance on how to set the mainframe's Kermit program for binary and text transfers, and check the manual for your communications software for instructions on how to set the program's Kermit protocol for both kinds of transfers. Once the example files are on your desktop machine, you can view them with the MTO-supplied GIF viewer. NOTE: To get a current list of all files in the MTO archive, "get" the document called mto.index from mto-serv. c. entire issues To retrieve the entire current issue of MTO, use the "package" option, described above (section 2a). To retrieve a complete *back* issue of MTO as a package (all articles and associated musical examples, reviews, announcements, etc.), send a message to mto-serv (address in section 2a), and as the body of the message include only the following lines: path YourEmailAddress (Bitnet users *must* include .BITNET) send mto.pak.yy.v.i The words "path" and "send" must appear. In the "path" line, type your full email address). In the "send" line, after "mto.pak.", replace "yy" with the last two digits of the year, "v" with the volume number, and "i" with the issue number, as in: mto.pak.93.0.1 Be *sure* to include all periods. Be careful of ordering a full issue of MTO all at once (see the "cautionary note" in section 2a above). NOTE: To get a current list of all files in the MTO archive, request the document called mto.index from mto-serv. 3. POSTING ITEMS IN MTO a. Announcements Send all announcements (about regional and national conferences, workshops, lectures, lecture series, awards and grants, etc.) to the General Editor (address in section 6 below). There is no special format for announcements, but the text should include all important information, e.g. time, place, fees, deadline, snailmail/email addresses and telephone/fax numbers of contact person(s). Alert the General Editor if the submitted format is the one preferred. Otherwise, the format (though not the content) may vary slighly from the one submitted. b. New dissertations Send all listings for new dissertations to the General Editor (address in section 6 below). The listing will appear only once. Use the following format for new dissertation listings: AUTHOR: Last-Name, First-Name, Middle-Initial TITLE: "Dissertation-Title" INSTITUTION: Instituion-Name BEGUN: Month, Year COMPLETION: Month, Year ABSTRACT: 100-250 word abstract KEYWORDS: 6-10 topical keywords, separated by commas TOC: numbered chapter titles, if available CONTACT: Home-Address [optional] Voice: Fax: Explanatory notes: Title Include a title even if it is a working title, and may not be definitive Institution: Give full address (institution, dept., street address, city, state, zip code) Completion Give projected completion date; if completed, give that date TOC (Table of Contents) Include working chapter titles, or finalized titles if available Contact Optionally, include author's home address; give voice and, if available, fax telephone numbers Use an ASCII editor to create the file, or use a word processor and save the file as ASCII text (consult the manual for instructions). Check the information carefully before submitting the listing. c. Employment opportunities Send announcements about job vacancies to the General Editor (address given in section 6 below). Each submitted listing will appear in MTO only once, but listings may be submitted again for inclusion further issues of MTO. Use the following format to submit a listing: POSITION/RANK: INSTITUTION: School-Name QUALIFICATION: e.g. MM/theory, ABD, Ph.D/theory preferred SPECIALTY: optional DUTIES: list/description of teaching and other duties SEND: e.g. CV, publications, scores/tapes DEADLINE: month, day, year CONTACT: Name Address Email address Tel. nos.: voice: fax: Use an ASCII editor to create the file, or use a word processor and save the file as ASCII text (consult the manual for instructions). Check the information carefully before submitting the listing to the General Editor. d. Commentaries on MTO items As a way of distinguishing short, immediate responses to MTO articles from longer, in-depth ones, commentaries on MTO items, and commentaries on other commentaries, should be handled as follows: 1) brief, immediate responses of maximum 50 lines of text should be sent to smt-list@husc.harvard.edu (or smt-list@husc.bitnet). Such short commentaries (and responses to commentaries) will be automatically distributed to all subscribers to the Society for Music Theory's general mailing list. [NOTE: MTO subscribers who are not yet subscribers to the SMT mailing list may send a brief message to smt-editor@husc.harvard.edu (or to smt-editor@husc.bitnet) requesting to be added to the list.] 2) longer, in-depth responses of more than 50 lines of text should be sent to the General Editor (address in section 5 below) for inclusion in the next issue of MTO. Authors of longer responses should retrieve the document named 'authors.txt' for guidelines on preparing electronic texts (see section 5 below). 4. SEARCHING THE MTO DATABASE MTO maintains a database, searchable through email, that indexes all MTO articles and reviews in five indexing categories: authors' names, item type, article titles, topical keywords and cross references (article/commentary correlations). To search the MTO database, send a message to one of the "mto-serv" addresses (mto-serv@husc.harvard.edu or mto-serv@husc.bitnet). In the body of the message include a "path" line and a search command for any one of the search categories, as shown below: path YourEmailAddress search ITEM=article, review, talk search AUTHOR=LastName search TITLE=TitleWord(s) search KEYWORDS=Keyword(s) search REFERENCE=ReferenceFile(s) Replace "YourEmailAddress" with your full Email address. Bitnet users *must* include the ".bitnet" suffix. (Alternatively, the "path" line may be filled in with someone else's Email address.) The search categories (ITEM, AUTHOR, etc.) need not be capitalized, but there must be *no* space between the category and the "equals" sign, nor any between the "equals" sign and the name/word being searched. Replace "LastName", "TitleWord(s)", or "Keyword(s)" with the desired names or word(s). For an ITEM search, specify one of the three item-types: article, review, or talk (= commentary). Note that searches are carried out *only* for articles, reviews, and commentaries, not for dissertations, general announcements, or for job opportunities posted in MTO. Case-sensitivity and Word-boundary Options Searches are case-insensitive by default. To make a search case-sensitive, include the plus-sign option ("+"). After the word "search" (followed by a space) include a "+", as follows: search + KEYWORDS=Classical Refine a search further by using the word-boundary option ("\b") to filter out "Berger" and "Bergman," for example, when searching for "Berg": search + \bBerg\b "Wildcard" searches are possible: replace any single letter with a period (.), or any series of letters with a period followed by an asterisk (.*). Boolean searches are also possible, using the following Boolean operators: or, and, and not. The word-boundary and plus-sign options may be incorporated. Four possible, separate search examples follow: 1) search AUTHOR=Todd or AUTHOR=Johnson 2) search + TITLE=Berg and not AUTHOR=Schoenberg 3) search ITEM=article and AUTHOR=\bSmith\b 4) search KEYWORDS=counterpoint and KEYWORDS=Palestrina If no category is specified, all categories will be searched. For example, the line "search Meyer" will locate a) all articles, reviews, and commentaries written by Meyer; b) all titles containing the name "Meyer"; and c) all articles/reviews/commentaries that have "Meyer" as a keyword. Note also that searching for items by two different authors requires that the search category "AUTHOR" be specified for both authors' names, as in the 1st search shown above. The 1st search will *not* work if defined as follows: search AUTHOR=Todd or Johnson The REFERENCE Field To trace a discussion thread (a series of .tlk files) stimulated by an article, use the REFERENCE field. The REFERENCE field is filled in with the standardized MTO filename of the original article (as given in an MTO table of contents): search REFERENCE=mto.95.2.2.Todd.art This search will locate all commetaries on Todd's article published in MTO, 1995, vol. 2, no. 2. Separate search lines amount to separate searches. It is possible to link search categories, in a single search line, with Boolean operators. Three examples follow: 1) search AUTHOR=Johnson and KEYWORDS=Schenker 2) search AUTHOR=Todd and ITEM=talk 3) search REFERENCE=mto.95.2.2.Todd.art and KEYWORDS=semiotics The 3rd search, for example, will locate all commentaries on Todd's article that have the keyword "semiotics." [NOTE: Keep in mind that "and" searches are exclusive (BOTH words must occur for a result), while "or" searches are inclusive (EITHER word may occur for a result).] Complex Boolean searches are also permitted, so long as parentheses are surrounded by spaces. Three examples follow: 1) search ( KEYWORDS=pear and KEYWORDS=apple ) or ( KEYWORDS=orange and KEYWORDS=bannana) 2) search ( KEYWORDS=black or KEYWORDS=white ) and not ( KEYWORDS=green or KEYWORDS=orange ) 3) search ( AUTHOR=Todd and ITEM=talk ) and ( KEYWORDS=set theory ) The 3rd search will locate all commentaries by Todd that have the keyword "set theory." Searches defined by very long lines, as in the 1st and 2nd searches, must *not* have "hard" carriage returns at the ends of lines. The lines *must* wrap around ("soft" returns). Beware of mailing utilites that, by default, replace hard returns with soft returns at the ends of lines. The search program will send the user the names of files whose indexing words match the words specified in the search command(s). The files can then be retrieved, as described above under the heading "RETRIEVING MTO ITEMS." If no matches are found, the result "No matches found" will be reported. 5. IMPORTANT MTO ADDRESSES: a. General Editor mto-editor@husc.harvard.edu mto-editor@husc.bitnet b. For subscribing/unsubscribing to MTO listserv@husc.harvard.edu listserv@husc.bitnet c. For retrieving: individual items, entire issues, musical examples mto-serv@husc.harvard.edu mto-serv@husc.bitnet d. For retrieving MTO items with anonymous FTP: site-address: husc4.harvard.edu login: anonymous password: guest directory: pub/smt/mto e. For searching the MTO database mto-serv@husc.harvard.edu mto-serv@husc.bitnet 6. IMPORTANT MTO EXPLANATORY DOCUMENTS a. information.txt (the MTO Guide [the present document]) information on: 1) subscription to MTO 2) retrieving MTO items 3) posting announcements, new dissertations, and job opportunities 4) searching the MTO database 5) important MTO addresses 6) important MTO explanatory documents b. software.txt a list of software for MTO, and instructions for retrieving software packages c. authors.txt guidelines for authors MTO editorial policy d. policy.txt MTO editorial policy All of the above documents may be retrieved with the MTO FileServer, mto-serv. Send an email message to one of the two following addresses: mto-serv@husc.harvard.edu (Internet) mto-serv@husc.bitnet (Bitnet) Leave the "Subject:" line blank, and as the text of the message include the following lines (no personal letterheads!): path YourEmailAddress (Bitnet addresses must include .BITNET) send FileName.txt (use more than one 'send' line to retrieve more than one document with a single message) =========================================== END OF MTO GUIDE (inforamtion.txt)