Appendix B: Tone parameters and flags

Tones are defined as a sequence of notes described with pitch (N or TN) described through length (L), tempo (TE), loudness (V), timbre (TI) and decay (D). All of these parameters can be individually set for each note, changed at any place in the tone string or omitted (all except length) to use default values. Below you can find tables describing the different parameters and the flags used to set them and the values accepted.

TONE parameter detailed description

Parameter	Flag	Accepted value and meaning
Tempo	TE	0 – 4095 Given in quarter notes (crotches) per minute. If no tempo is specified, default is 120.
Timbre	TI	0 – 7 Defines timber of following notes. Please see Table 9 for all available timbres. Default is 0 (Sine).
Volume	V	0 – 255 Sets the volume for the tone. Default is 255 (max).
Decay	D	00 – FF Takes a hexadecimal values that is interpreted as a fixed point decimal number according to this format 0000.0000. Eg 15 = 1.5. As each tone is played, its volume decreases with a variable rate. Low values for this parameter cause notes to decay very quickly, whereas high values cause the notes to continue with an almost constant volume. A value of 005 (meaning 0.5) will cause each note to reach zero halfway through its duration giving a staccato feel. A value of 20 (meaning 2.0) will cause each note to reach half its initial volume when the next note starts. The default value is 20. This allows notes of the same length to be tied together with TN.
Note	N	This describes a note pitch in the format: Note{F/S}[octave] Note is any note in A – G or R. R is used for a rest or pause. It has to be described for consistency with an octave eg R0. The optional F or S following that indicates if the note is Flat or Sharp. Note, not all notes have flat and sharp variants. The mandatory octave parameter gives the note octave. It takes values between 0 – 9. A note is describes as G4 or AS7 for example. Each note must have a length parameter associated with it and following immediately after: G4 L 1
Tied Note	TN	Ties note to next one. This means that the pitch of the note appears to change (as opposed to a new note starting), and the volume continues to decay from the previous note. An appropriate decay must be set for this to work. Tied Notes are described in the same manner as Notes.
Length	L	Ringtone duration. Please look at Table 10 for details.

Note length values and description

Length Values	UK Notation	American Notation
1	Semibreve	Whole note
2	Minim	Half note
4	Crotchet	Quarter note
8	Quaver	Eighth note
16	Semiquaver	Sixteenth note
32	Demisemiquaver	Thirty-second note
64	Hemidemisemiquaver	Sixty-forth note
3	Minim triplet	Half note triplet
6	Crotchet triplet	Quarter note triplet
12	Quaver triplet	Eighth note triplet
24	Semiquaver triplet	Sixteenth note triplet
48	Demisemiquaver triplet	Thirty-second note triplet
96	Hemidemisemiquaver triplet	Sixty-forth note triplet