Transcript Braille Music Production at DZB Leipzig

Braille Music Production
at DZB Leipzig
Matthias Leopold
DaCapo
Overview
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What is DaCapo?
Problem of Braille music production
How DaCapo produces Braille music
Working together with publishers
Outlook
Project DaCapo II
Financed by the German ministry for social affairs.
Goals:
– Individual Braille notes
– Easy production of editions
– Braille music production from publisher’s sources
– As quick as possible
– As good as possible
– As efficient as possible
Why Section by Section?
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Focuses on Content, not on form
Most effective with any kind of music
Independent from complexity of music
Breaks for musical reasons: Coda, repeats /
variations, new themes / phrases / verses
• Changing form does not change content
• Efficient production of extracts or special
editions
Formats and Editions
Out of one score (example):
• Choir: A4 portrait format (due to neighbors,
small enough for carrying)
• SCORE: Wide format
• Instrumental music: A4 landscape format
to have it small enough for carrying
Section by Section:
• Easy production of different editions
• Form does not affect the content
Production Process
• Scan notes using CapellaScan
• Process notes under Capella
– Add symbols that are not supported
– Add orders to influence transcription to Braille
– Optimizer (Piano, Guitar, String instruments, …)
• Export score to CapXML
• Transcribe CapXML to Braille fully
automatically
CapellaScan – Scanning Notes
Capella – Post Editing
What Scores can be Produced?
• All Instruments (Piano, Plucking-, String-,
Wind-Instruments, Organ, Accordion,
Basso continuo)
• Chord symbols, Lyrics, Rhythmical
notations
• Including all Braille notations / symbols
that are relevant with Section by Section
Publishers
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Software like SCORE or Amadeus
Special data formats
PostScript based
More and more usage of modern software:
– Finale
– Sibelius
• Special data formats +
Export/Import of MusicXML +
Print to PDF
SCORE – Sources from Publishers
• SCORE format is widely used by
publishers – ten thousands of scores
• PostScript based output
• Semi structured data format
• Create Braille from SCORE automatically
• Problems:
– Note assignment (left hand / right hand)
– Auto sectioning
MusicXML – The Idea
• Exact description of any entity
• Focuses on content
• A text is not a text but a tempo mark,
a fingering, a title, a publisher’s note,
a footnote, a fret …
• MusicXML can be imported and exported
from / to any other Music format
MusicXML – The Reality
• The possibilities of MusicXML are not used –
neither by software nor users
• Input files are generated to look correct, not to be
correct (a simple text will do as fingering, problem
of anchoring elements)
• Exporting software flatten structure (Finger → text)
• Loss of information (figured basses, harmony
symbols, harmonics)
Conclusion:
• MusicXML still is not powerful enough to be a basis
for an automatic Braille score production process
• Anyway – Supporting MusicXML is essential
What‘s next?
• New publications in Finale, Sibelius,
Forte ↔ a lot of different file formats
• Problem: MusicXML-Export
• Musical theory books are needed
• Publishers: different phases → different
versions of the same product
• The later, the more product and sources
are equal
• Idea: Focus on PDF