MusicXML: Music Notation Interchange for the Internet
06:21 PM - Jun 23, 2002
As a musician and web designer/developer, I’ve been especially interested in the development of universal standards for music notation that can be easily shared or exchanged via the Internet. I’ve watched several approaches come and go, but MusicXML has become the most successful standard for Western music notation interchange since MIDI.[1] Although in development quite some time before releasing, MusicXML’s beta version has only been available for seven short months, since October, 2001, so this is quite an impressive start.
Utilizing XML, MusicXML is a universal translator for music notation. In other words, it provides a means for various computer music programs to share data. MusicXML is being used with increasingly more software, including Coda Music’s popular Finale musical notation software, allowing music to be created in a wide variety of print, audio, and interactive formats via the MusicXML technology.
As MusicXML’s creator Michael Good explains, “Up to this point, musical scores have been distributed online either as PDF files or in a proprietary file format. MusicXML gives you a way to move scores easily between different computer applications.”[2]
Curious about what MusicXML is all about, including what it looks like? Check these out:
Using MusicXML technology, Good’s Internet music publishing and software company, Recordare, recently announced its plans to sell music editions from Stanford University’s Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities (CCARH).[3] CCARH built MuseData, one of the world’s largest databases of classical music, so the possibilities here are enormous and exciting.
Project XEMO (eXtensible Electronic Music Object architecture) is an open source modular software environment, written in Java, that develops and provides modular tools for musicians and composers for their creative workflow. These modules can then be integrated into an interactive musical application, called ICE (Integrated Composition Environment).
What do they have to do with MusicXML? Lots. Here’s a nutshell overview.
You can read the details of the above and more at Project XEMO’s site.
MusicXML and Project XEMO’s modules can enable a wide range of possibilities. As Good states about MusicXML,
“If all you can do with downloadable music is play it and print it with one program, why would you buy it compared to paper? But if you can edit the music, use it as a smart accompaniment, look at the musical score together with the playback of a CD, move the music to an electronic music stand, and write new musical programs yourself, the value of the downloadable sheet music increases dramatically. Once the music you download can be used on most any music program on your PC, downloadable sheet music will start to have more value - or different but complementary value - than paper music.”[4]
Although still in its infancy, this technology and collaboration opens up unimagined possibilities for usage. We can have far more interactive music courses, teachers can supply music to students for interactive study, composers can collaborate digitally through this technology, and so much more, all with ease and without formatting barriers. As the MusicXML technology and modules are developed, they’ll also be expanded and built upon for even more capabilities.
While MusicXML adds an exciting new dimension for music publishers, composers and musicians can also greatly benefit, including those of us who are independent musicians. MusicXML provides an avenue of far easier sharing of compositions, for example, with much more on the way.
I’m highly encouraged about MusicXML’s potential and early support. I especially like the fact that it’s based on XML’s extensible, platform-independent framework, and I’ll be closely watching their progress.
In my usual style, I can’t sign off without including resources for more information. First I’ve included links to resources about music notation and interchange formats, including MusicXML and others. Then I’ve provided some links to major music notation software companies, reviews about them, and a few less expensive shareware options as well.
Finale, by Coda Music, and Sibelius compete with each other for the major market share for professional, robust music notation software. Each has held first position and both are highly regarded. They’re comparably priced at about $600 retail, $300 for academic versions. Finale also offers several levels of notation software to meet a variety of needs, including: Finale Notepad, their free basic notation software; a beginning music notation version, Finale PrintMusic! for about $70; and Finale Allegro with working musicians and band members in mind, about $200.
Sibelius and Coda Music (Finale series) offer a variety of teaching packages, free web publishing, scanning from print into MIDI, and more. They are also all available for PC and Mac (Finale is PC only with the Mac version almost ready).
Which is for you? You can download trial versions and check them out to see which works better for your needs.
Here are a few alternatives to Finale and Sibelius in a range of prices and features. MIDI playback and printing capabilities are fairly standard and some also allow composing via the computer keyboard and/or a built-in virtual keyboard. Find more via the Music Notation and Interchange Resources list above, too.
Want to know what others think?
For more, see also the above Music Notation and Interchange Resources list that includes links to music notation software and reviews, too.
Footnotes
[1] MusicXML Software, by Recordare LLC, June, 2002.
[2]Web App, by Gino Robair. Reprinted from Electronic Musician, March 2002.
[3] Recordare Editions Available for FreeHand MusicPad Pro. Press release January 17, 2002 by Recordare.
[4] MusicXML: An Internet-Friendly Format for Sheet Music. White paper for the XML 2001 Conference. By Michael Good, 2001.
[Home: Mobile · Main]