I want to build an app that would use musical notation, and I cannot find plugins or a music notation resource that has a restful API. Anyone have any suggestions?
What would you like to do with musical notation?
Create it from written chords/notes and return a sheet of music in musical notation?
The MVP:
The app I want would ingest music notation of a solo transcription, and then analyze and provide suggested trombone slide positions for each note in the solo.
Enhancement: given across-the-grain alternative slide positions, integrate the use of alternate slide positions for optimum speed.
I knew I played trombone in high school for a reason!
What form is the musical notation that you’re ingesting? Is it structured in Javascript, XML or some other language or is it sheet music in pdf form or image?
Aha! A fellow trombonist! I have been hoping to find someone for quite some time who might understand what I want!
Example: Using a site like MuseScore I can access and download a Clifford Brown trumpet solo on his tune “Joy Spring” and I can download into XML or PDF… likewise I can use my Finale software to generate the file as well.. so let’s just say XML for an example.
There are applications that can look at a pdf and convert that to a usable notation file but my experiences with those have been pretty bad.
The idea here is using across-the-grain positions, we can basically blow and move our slide and play lots of notes without having to tongue each one, thus achieving the speed needed to play a Clifford Brown solo. Utilizing these slide positions would result in a movement or shape/pattern of slide movement that can be replicated or “fretted” up and down the slide, thus applying to other keys. I would eventually like to be able to build a visual graphically showing the movement and the shape.
There is a video I did a few years ago that describes what I’m talking about
Got it!
So you essentially want a programatic version of the visual guide you had in that video?
Well, the first objective would be an algorithmic calculator that would give us optimal slide patterns for a given musical passage… make sense?
The app would look at the sheet music and assign slide positions to each note…
So, looking at that Joe Henderson solo, the algorithm would analyze and look for the best opportunities to play against the grain in a sensible way
So high level you’ve got:
- Ingest musical score (ideally structured)
- Identify slide positions on a per note basis
- Optimise the slide positions across multiple notes where possible
- Visualise the optimised slide position for a given note/group of notes
To return to your original question, I’d be quite surprised if there’s a restful api that does much of that.
I was able to find a javascript library that renders musical notation (GitHub - 0xfe/vexflow: A JavaScript library for rendering music notation and guitar tablature.), which could easily be turned in to a Bubble plugin (happy to have a call to discuss how I can help you develop that if you like).
As for the preceding step of identifying the correct slide position, that itself shouldn’t be too difficult. I’m imagining the determination of whether you remain in the current position or move up/down the slide is a result of comparing the current and following note. Or is it more complex than that?
If you fancy it, I’d be happy to do a free consultation call with you to get more into the weeds of what you might need and how I could help.
Yes, I think you have all of the basic points down pretty well. Especially the note choice because it really would be a function of decision tree choices from one note to the next, depending on whether or not it would cross a partial. I would love to talk on the phone about this sometime or Zoom Call or whatever.