Peregrinus© has two panes: on the left the original on four lines, on the right the transcription on five. Every change you make on the left shows up on the right straight away.
- Opening a score
- Checking the reading
- Listening and transposing
- Exporting
- How it transcribes
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Limits
Opening a score
Use Load score or drag the file onto the window. Peregrinus© accepts PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF and BMP in square notation on a four-line stave, and GABC files (the Gregorio format used by GregoBase).
For PDFs the resolution is chosen automatically. For photos, a straight, sharp, well-lit image works best: a 300 dpi scan is ideal.
The first time text is read, the app prepares Latin recognition: this takes a few seconds.
Checking the reading
On the original, Peregrinus© draws what it has recognized: ● notes, ● syllables (uncertain ones in italics), ● divisiones, ● custos (the guide at the end of a line, which is not transcribed).
Click an element to see its details at the bottom. You can:
- move a note by dragging it, or with the ↑ ↓ keys;
- mark punctum mora, episema, ictus, quilisma and notae liquescentes;
- correct a syllable and say whether the word continues;
- add notes, divisiones, flats and clef changes with the buttons at the top;
- rewrite all the syllables of a stave at once by clicking the stave.
Listening and transposing
Listen plays the transcription: the sounding note lights up on both scores. If a note is selected, playback starts there.
Transp. moves the piece up to six semitones up or down, and the key signature changes accordingly. In the settings you will find the octave treble clef for men’s voices, and the speed and sound of playback.
Exporting
PDF and PNG are ready to print, on A4 pages. MusicXML opens in MuseScore, Sibelius, Finale and Dorico, to arrange the piece or add an accompaniment.
You can put your choir’s name and logo at the bottom of PDF and PNG pages: set them in Settings → Export footer.
How it transcribes
| In the original | In the transcription |
|---|---|
| Every note | an eighth note |
| Punctum mora | one more eighth (a quarter note) |
| Episema horizontale | one more eighth, with a tenuto mark |
| Distropha, tristropha, bivirga (repeated notes on one syllable) | a single longer note |
| Ictus | small vertical stroke; lengthens the middle note of a salicus |
| Quilisma | wavy sign above the note |
| Nota liquescens | note with a small head |
| Divisio minima, minor, maior, finalis | matching bar lines |
| Melisma | slur below the notes; extender line on the last syllable of a word |
The piece is written in treble clef, in the octave that centres it on the stave. All these choices can be changed in the settings.
Keyboard shortcuts
↑ ↓ pitch · ← → previous and next element · ⌫ delete · M mora · E episema · T syllable · L same neume as the previous note · N B F C add note, divisio, flat, clef · Esc select · ⌘Z undo
Limits
Peregrinus© is designed for printed editions in square notation (Liber Usualis, Graduale Romanum, Antiphonale, editions typeset with Gregorio). Manuscripts and adiastematic notation cannot be read. Always check accents and syllable divisions: text recognition can make mistakes.