Representation and rendering of rhythm structures

Abstract

We propose a format and a set of tools in the rendering of computer musical notation. The proposed format is not to be considered as a universal standard. Nevertheless, it appears to be an efficient approach to musical notation. The proposed format might be thought as a contribution to future or existing implementations of musical editors. We will try to provide general guidelines and schemes that will be compatible with any type of programming language. This protocol has been implemented in the OpenMusic environment using the CLOS language environment. This paper is an a posteriori generalization of this implementation.

A Structural Theory of Rhythm Notation Based on Tree Representations and Term Rewriting

“…The tree format that we are proposing has similarities with the Patchwork/OpenMusic Rhythmic Tree (RT) formalism [2]. 6 Still, these two formats present a number of important differences.…”

“…Trees are also a natural representation of rhythms, where durations are expressed as a hierarchy of subdivisions. Computer-aided composition (CAC) environments such as Patchwork and OpenMusic [3,6] use structures called rhythm trees (RTs) for representing and programming rhythms [2]. Such hierarchical, notation-oriented approach (see also [15]) is complementary to the performance-oriented formats corresponding to the MIDI notes' onsets and offsets in standard computer music systems.…”

OpenMusic

“…Music notation and editors [17], quantification and representation of rhythmic structures [23,5], style modeling and pattern recognition [10,28], constraint programming and solving systems [31,34] or sound synthesis and representation in music [6,14] are example of such areas and projects. OpenMusic is also an important platform for computer-aided music analysis, allowing to carry out experiments and modeling processes leading to a new conception of "computational musicology" [8,7,2].…”

Scores, Programs, and Time Representation: The Sheet Object in OpenMusic

“…It might also be worth mentioning that, even if the OpenMusic score editor is far from equaling existing dedicated score-editing software, it includes some notable features such as rhythmic structures (Agon, Haddad, Assayag 2002) that provide unique possibilities of computation and representation of the rhythmic hierarchical constructs, as well as an accurate rendering of polyphonic scores, including polymetric information and individual tempo/meter variations for each voice. The microtonal notation available in the editor also facilitates working in with microtones (Bancquart, Andreatta, and Agon 2008).…”