Re: Open Score Format - a MusicXML-based package spec

Hi Robin,

Thank you for raising this issue, and I apologize for the delay in replying.

I think that Open Score Format has some valuable ideas regarding standardized archive structure and structured metadata that could be useful for the future. In the past I have tried to get the MusicXML community interested in expanding the metadata features, but without much success. This might be similar to OSF's experience. Perhaps things have changed enough that there will be more interest now?

I think our next steps would be to make sure that the OSF use cases are collected within our music notation use case document on the group Wiki. These could be updated to be more general than the specific requirements for NoteStar. The use case document is at:

https://www.w3.org/community/music-notation/wiki/MusicXML_Use_Cases <https://www.w3.org/community/music-notation/wiki/MusicXML_Use_Cases>

Also, if Yamaha were to contribute Open Score Format to the Music Notation Community Group, that could give us the most flexibility if the group decides to pursue these use cases in the future.

I think this is very much on-topic for this list. We still want to be collecting and elaborating on our use case document while we work on the MusicXML 3.1 and SMuFL 1.2 releases.

Best regards,
Michael

> On Jan 28, 2016, at 8:58 AM, Robin Kidd <robin.kidd@yamaha.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
>  
> I am Robin Kidd, working for Yamaha Corporation. I have been watching the discussions, but have had no input to give on a technical level as I am not a composer, engraver or software engineer. However I have been working with MusicXML since around 2009, when Yamaha began work on a project that would eventually become NoteStar (www.notestarapp.com <http://www.notestarapp.com/>), an iPad app with score bitmaps (rendered by Noteflight) based on MusicXML packages provided by the publishers Music Sales and Hal Leonard.
>  
> When we were developing this project, we identified the need for a packaging specification for MusicXML files, which could contain all of the related metadata, audio files, album artwork, MIDI, PDFs or anything else the developer of a MusicXML-based service might want to use in their digital score application. In short, an OSF file is a zip archive containing the files and metadata described above, with Metadata based on the Dublin Core initiative. http://dublincore.org/ <http://dublincore.org/>  The idea was that people could make content for one application and then reuse it in a completely different one without the need to change the way content is packaged and described, thus benefitting both content makers, and developers of applications who want to use that content.
>  
> I apologise if this is off-topic from the MusicXML 3.1 development discussion. However, I can’t imagine a more appropriate group of people, some of whom might have the skills and knowledge to help update Open Score Format, incorporating the forthcoming changes and making a specification that is fit for future purposes. Although slightly daunting, I think the existing specification could be updated to accommodate any MusicXML 3.1 document with just a few tweaks and updates to the spec.
>  
> You can find the project on Sourceforge, which goes into more detail about the project: http://openscoreformat.sourceforge.net/ <http://openscoreformat.sourceforge.net/>  
>  
> The full packaging specification document is available here <http://openscoreformat.sourceforge.net/assets/PackagingSpecification.pdf>.
>  
> Since it was released in 2009, OSF has failed to go into general use. As far as I know, it is only used in NoteStar. I think in part due to: 
>  
> 1.       It was designed by Yamaha and our partner publishers for a very narrow purpose (i.e. supporting Piano Vocal Guitar (PVG) scores)
> 2.       Obscurity / lack of community – it was never actively promoted
> 3.       Lack of active development (it still specifies MusicXML 2.0 as the baseline)
> 4.       Some errors in documentation caused confusion in early development of NoteStar
>  
> Given the development now happening in the W3 community, I wonder if now could be the time to resurrect Open Score Format and develop “OSF 2.0” to support the MusicXML 3.1 updates. Perhaps with less emphasis on PVG scores, in order to open it up to a wider user-base.
>  
> If anyone has any thoughts or ideas on this project, please feel free to offer them here. I would be more than willing to open up the project to interested parties, as the developer who originally designed the project left Yamaha a number of years ago, and we at Yamaha no longer have the resources to update it. Also, with some input from the community, it would be great to see it in more general use, perhaps with less emphasis on PVG scores, in order to open it up to a wider user-base. 
>  
> I hope this is not a distraction from the MusicXML 3.1 discussions and development. If people are interested, perhaps a separate distribution list could be started to reduce the noise!
>  
> Best regards,
> Robin Kidd
>  
> Product Planning Specialist
> Yamaha R&D London