The
**metpos
representation consists of simply a set of numerical
values indicating the order of events.
Normally, a
**metpos
spine simply encodes a set of ascending integers
marking the succession of events:
The
**metpos
representation also recognizes **kern-like
barlines.
The presence of an equals-sign
(=)
in the first column of a
**metpos
spine is used to denote a barline.
Immediately after the equals sign there may follow an optional integer value
indicating the measure number (e.g.
=107
-- for measure 107).
In addition, a lower-case alphabetic character may be appended to the measure
number -- as in:
=14b.
This convention permits the user to distinguish measure numbers for
first and second endings.
Measure numbers refer to the information immediately
following the barline, thus the token
=23
occurs just prior to the encoded beats for measure 23.
Double barlines are indicated by using two or more successive equals signs
(==).
Several consecutive equals signs may be encoded
in order to enhance readability (e.g.
=======).
An additional attribute for barlines is the
pause
-- which is represented by the-- icolon (;).
Thus the token
=4;
means that the barline starting measure number 4 has a
pause written above or below it, while the token
=====;
means that a double barline contains a pause indication.