'[b]Music Macro Language'[/b], or MML, is a type of composing by programming the music directly in text form rather than through a graphical interface like a '[[Tracker[tracker] or piano roll. MML was introduced to the general public as the internal music driver in Microsoft BASIC for Japanese personal computers in the early 80s. It has since been adopted by and evolved through '[[MML[many sound drivers] over the decades since, and still has its own scene even after trackers popping up, though it's mostly Japanese.

Since it's just a method of writing music, MML can target many different soundchips, only limited by the drivers available ('[[MML[of which there are many]). Drivers are what take your source text file of programmed music and convert that into playable music. The text formatting will differ between drivers and chips, but the core concepts will remain the same.

BotBr '[l[https://battleofthebits.com/barracks/Profile/pedipanol/[pedipanol] has written a fantastic guide to MML which can be found '[l[https://mml-guide.readthedocs.io/[here]. If you are new to the format, it will certainly help you to understand the concept. If you're familiar with reading/writing sheet music at all, it may even be more familiar than you'd expect. Currently this guide also dives deep into using MML with '[[Professional Music Driver (PMD)[PMD], a popular MML driver for the '[[pc-x801 (format)[PC-x801 format].

'[#[Tools]
A good text editor, such as Notepad++, will be helpful.

There are lots of options for MML drivers, many of which are listed '[[MML[on the MML lyceum page]. The tools needed will be specific to the drivers.

'[#[Restrictions on submit]
The BotB format allows for all MML driver possibilities, but make sure to submit both the source MML and any additional files + info required to compile your song. Share what driver you're using and where to get it, if applicable. Certain bitpacks may require usage of specific driver(s).

'[#[Playback (for voting)]
Compile the MML using the relevant tools/drivers, then play it back using the relevant tool. This will strongly depend on what's used in the entry, which is why documenting how to compile is so important here!

'[#[See also]
- '[[MML] - it's got a big list of drivers and relevant links!
- '[[Professional Music Driver (PMD]
- '[[PPMCK]
- '[l[https://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=31558[AddMusicK] or its fork '[l[https://github.com/KungFuFurby/AddMusicKFF[AddMusicKFF]
- '[[MDX (MXDRV MML for Sharp X68000)]