FRONIMO (v2.1) is a Windows based early music publishing program designed by Francesco Tribioli. A FRONIMO file can contain numerous pieces in any combination of mensural notation and lute tablature (French, Italian, Spanish, Neopolitan or German).

FRONIMO comes with four custom tablature fonts -

RECERCARE A character set suitable for Italian and French Renaissance tablatures.

BRANLE The French tablature set is from the lute book by Nicolas Vallet (1616).The Italian tablature set is from the lute book by Giovanni Girolamo Kapsberger printed in Roma in 1611.
RONDEAU A French tablature set  modelled on that used in La Rhéthorique des Dieux by Denis Gaultier(1652).
GAVOTTA Contains two hand-written character sets for Baroque tablatures. The French tablature set is based on a French book on playing basso continuo on the theorbe by Henry Grenerin, printed in Paris (c.1682) The Italian tablature set emulates that used in the lute book by Giovanni Zamboni (1718).

 

RHYTHMIC SYMBOLS.A huge variety of rhythm symbols, time signitures , repeat markings. The example below shows the rennaisance font Recercare and Fronimo's ability to produce groups of rhythm signs joined by a vertical line, typical of English sources.
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MULTIPLE STAVES AND MENSURAL NOTATION.The advent of Fronimo 2.0 allows the use of multiple staves and staff notation for lute duets, songs etc.There are 3 different mensural fonts including a "period font" that can be seen below[IMAGE]

DIAPASONS.14 courses in French tablature and up to 16 courses in Italian tablature. Stopped diapasons are also available in both styles.

ORNAMENTS.A huge variety of ornament signs suitable for every period. Left hand fingering numbers and right hand fingering dots are also available

MIDI. This is one of my favorite features of Fronimo. You can hear the tablature using Fronimo or export it as a midi file for use with a sequencer program (No more transcribing Tablature into staff notation by hand). Fronimo allows you to set the tuning, tempo and midi patch number for every piece individually. The great thing about this is you can check your files for mistakes and you can play duets with your computer!!!!!

TAB FILE IMPORT AND EXPORT.Fronimo files can be exported as TAB files for Wayne Cripp's Tab Program and Tab files can be imported into Fronimo.

Use one of the links below to download FRONIMO. The file includes both a demo version (without a save function) and the full version for which you will need  a password. It should be noted that users of licensed copies of FRONIMO 2.0 - 2.0.9 need to contact Francesco Tribioli for a new password.
For a summary of changes from v.2.0.4 - 2.1 click here.

Fronimo 2.1 (1.85mb) - ftp://ftp.arcetri.astro.it/pub/fronimo/fronimo-2_1.exe
Fronimo 2.1 (1.85mb) - http://members.aol.com/picomirandola/fronimo-2_1.exe
A  licensed version of FRONIMO 2.1 for personal use costs  150 US$, users can upgrade to the next  version  of  the program  for half the price of that version. Francesco's plans  for the next version of FRONIMO include the ability to add MIDI input, a  semi-automatic transcription from tablature to modern  notation and some tablature transposition tools.
To obtain a license for FRONIMO or for more information contact its creator Francesco Tribioli.
 
A Renaissance style TTF Font A Renaissance style TTF Font 


  • Q. What do I need to be able to use the FRONIMO files on this Page?
  • A. You need a Windows based computer system (Win95/98/2000 or NT) and a demo or fully licensed version (V2.1) of FRONIMO. You may also need a program such as WINZIP to decompress some of the downloaded files and the Uechi font looks great for titles and allows you to keep my original page layout.

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  • Q. Why can FRONIMO cannot open files downloaded from this or other sites?
  • A. Older versions of FRONIMO are unable to open files created with newer versions, so it important to have the latest version if you want to use files on this or other pages.

    •     Another problem is with the file extensions used by FRONIMO, in order to avoid conflict with the Wayne Cripps TAB file format (that use the extension .tab), FRONIMO files have now extension .ft2 .  So the old extension .wct for Wayne's format is no longer used and you can import TAB files using the name they have originally.
     
  • Q. Can I use Fronimo on my MAC ?
  • A. It is possible to use FRONIMO on a Macintosh computer by using a Windows emulator such as Virtual PC.
    • Virtual PC Homepage.
  • Q. Are there any alternatives to FRONIMO?
  • A. The most obvious is TAB, this runs not only on windows based systems but also Mac, OS/2 and Unix systems. A few midi music Programms such as Score, Cubase etc. can also produce tablature, but these programms are not designed for special needs of lutenists and are generally much more expensive.

    • Stringwalker is a new tablature program for WIN95 that can be used by itself or as a frontend for TAB, I personally find it's output inferior to TAB or FRONIMO but you can build your own opinion by visiting the Stringwalker homepage.
    Stringwalker Homepage
  • Q. What is TAB?
  • A. TAB is a freeware program written by Wayne Cripps. The tablature is written as a plain text file and TAB converts this into a Postscript or dvi. format. If you do not have a postscript printer then you will need a postscript previewer such as ghostscript.
    • Wayne Cripps Lute Page
  • Q. Should I use TAB or FRONIMO?
  • A.The biggest problem with TAB is that its not exactly user friendly. Typing the tablature in Plain text Format is not easy and if you don't have a lot of computer experience then you probably won't even be able to install the program in the first place ! On the other hand you can exchange Tab files with players that use other computer systems.

    • Fronimo is easy to install and has a WYSIWYG interface,you can change the layout or tablature style with one mouse click.The Midi compatibility allows you to hear what you have typed, and even play Duets with your computer! Fronimo is only available for Windows computers but FRONIMO can export it's files as TAB files (see below).
     
  • Q. Are TAB files compatible with FRONIMO?
  • A. TAB files can be Imported into FRONIMO . Some layout commands are not converted in this process and so it is helpful to also have TAB on your computer (see below) if you want to import or export a lot of TAB files into Fronimo.Wayne is also constantly working on new commands for TAB and these may also be incompatible with FRONIMO's import process.

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  • Q. Do I need TAB if I use FRONIMO?
  • A. If you are going to import or export lots of TAB files into FRONIMO then it can be helpfull to also have TAB as it allows you easily to correct the incompatibilities in the FRONIMO import process. As I mentioned earlier the installation of TAB for windows is not easy. I tried in vain for many hours with no success and only with the help from Rainer aus dem Spring did I get it running (or better said HE got it running). Rainer is  the world expert on TAB for WIN95 so if you have any queries then contact him.
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    Rainer aus dem Spring
  • Q. Do I need FRONIMO if I use TAB?

    • A. Some people use FRONIMO to input the tablature and then use TAB for the layout. And the FRONIMO's Midi option is not to underestimate in it's usefulness, especially if you have a good soundcard with a wavetable. Also FRONIMO from v2.0 upwards supports multiple Tablature and Mensural staves a feature not available in TAB.
     
    A Variety of Lute Lessons