MusicML?

Okay, so we've got MathML, and we've got the HTML3 MATH tag. How about a
MusicML?

There's currently no way (aside from graphics) to put standard musical
notation in HTML, but this can be remedied. Here's a proposal. (I'm 
styling it after HTML3's MATH tag.)

The MUSIC tag can go within BODY, and has no attributes. It contains the
tags STAFF and nothing else. STAFF takes attributes CLEF="bass" or
"treble" or "whatever", TIME="3/4" or "6/8" or whatever, and whatever else
is necessary.

STAFF is nonempty (though the /STAFF can be implied, as the /TD and /TR
are). STAFF will contain the musical notation. Now, I don't know much
about musical notation, so what I'm about to say might actually be
ridiculous, but, well, if so, so? Here goes: To make a note sharp or flat,
put a # or b after it. The notes should be in capital letters, with a
number indicating the length (4 for a quarter note, 64 for a sixty-fourth
note, 1 for a note, etc.), and a space after it, thus: <MUSIC><STAFF
CLEF="soprano" TIME="3/4">A4 B#8 C4</MUSIC>. A rest can be indicated by
the string "rest" and the number of notes or the fraction of a note; thus,
"A4 rest/4 B4" is a quarter-note rest between the two notes and "A4 rest4
B4" is a four-note-long rest. Or something like that.

Comments? Suggestions?

Michael Hamm
BA, Math, Jan '01
msh210@nyu.edu
http://pages.nyu.edu/~msh210/

Received on Sunday, 16 August 1998 09:53:52 UTC