- From: James Ingram <j.ingram@netcologne.de>
- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:37:28 +0100
- To: www-svg@w3.org
Hi Domenico, Thanks for the rave review. :-) This is really all about symbols. A symbol has a graphic representation (SVG) and a meaning. In this case, temporal meaning. All I'm proposing is that the meanings should be embedded in the symbols [1]. Its really that simple. And because its that simple, there are a large number of applications. The MIDI standard should not be underestimated. There is a whole hardware industry devoted to it, and it is used heavily in the live-music business. I think it has been used successfully outside music too, but I'd have to research that some more to give any examples. > ...I still haven't gone through all there is on your site, > did you do anything about filters yet? What's a filter? :-) > How would you feel about making a group so that some can jump in? (I > certainly would). Perhaps implementers? Yes, of course. Ideally, we would need at least three types of member: SVG specialists, MIDI specialists and maybe those with an interest in symbols who have a background and interest outside these areas (e.g. mathematicians or linguists). As I understand it, I would have to become an invited expert before joining or starting a W3C Working Group, so I'd like to ask anyone who is interested in joining such a WG to say so, so that we can move on. I've been working on my own for a rather long time. Not because I'm a loner by nature, but because its been difficult to see quite how anyone else could help. Also, my background is as a professional music copyist. Breaking into the appropriate institutions sideways has not been possible. As an (advanced amateur) programmer, my programs are really just proofs of concept. I program in order to make the concepts precise. And my programs really do work. So it would be nice if the some of the projects I have in mind could be professionally programmed. That will only happen if there's a standard to which the programmers can work. Yes, of course I'd like to be part of a group developing this into a public standard. > If there is need for argumentation we can provide it, don't you think? Of course. > I would like to be able to hear soon your and other scores played natively by the browsers. Me too, but not because I'm a composer on an ego-trip. I want to see written music developing again. There are several reasons why written music stagnated in the 20th century, not least of which was the invention of recordings. But writing is a key cultural technology. Western harmony and counterpoint would never have developed without it. I think recorded music is currently stagnating, so something has got to happen. Apart from getting the browsers to play such scores by themselves, I also want to enable their live performance by the browser's users. This can be done for users of all levels of competence using software-assistance. > I reckon that the browser must be able to address the sound > hardware resources the same as it can address the graphic hardware > resources. Is this correct? As far as I know, practically every computer has a simple, built-in MIDI synthesizer nowadays. Presumably, users would be able to route the browser's MIDI output to an external synthesizer if they have one attached... I'd like browsers to be able to take MIDI input too. Maybe one could implement a MIDI-keyboard on a touch-sensitive screen? Do touch-sensitive screens register the speed at which the finger hits the screen? My Assistant Performer software can take input from an ordinary querty keyboard, but that's not the best solution. > I think it's important to make it clear that we don't need to physically > write or see a score to hear it, correct? Yes. SVG-MIDI files can be thought of as MIDI files in which the MIDI info has been spread around and attached to the symbols arranged on the page. If you want to play the MIDI info, you just have to align the MIDI commands in time before playing them back. You don't need to look at the graphics to do that. > ...standard notation's inadequate (Ptolemaic) time-paradigm. :-) Wheels within wheels got left over from the Middle Ages which had it from the Antique. The underlying problem with standard notation is that it measures time with rational numbers. Nowadays, especially when computers are involved, we measure time with integral numbers: The number of oscillations of a particular crystal. Remember the introduction of digital clocks? Time hasn't been the same since... All the best, James [1] The current state of my SVG Score Extensions is at: http://james-ingram-act-two.de/svgScoreExtensions.html
Received on Thursday, 24 March 2011 14:38:27 UTC