MusicXML
≈ 3 min read
Names in other languages
No names in other languages are held for this entry yet.
Article bodies are English and are not machine-translated. A name in another language is not a translation of the article.
MusicXML is an XML-based file format for representing Western musical notation. The format is open, fully documented, and can be freely used under the W3C Community Final Specification Agreement.
MusicXML is an XML-based file format for representing Western musical notation. The format is open, fully documented, and can be freely used under the W3C Community Final Specification Agreement.
History
MusicXML was invented by Michael Good and initially developed by Recordare LLC. It derived several key concepts from existing academic formats (such as Walter Hewlett's ASCII-based MuseData and David Huron's Humdrum). It is designed for the interchange of scores, particularly between different scorewriters. MusicXML development was managed by MakeMusic following the company's acquisition of Recordare in 20111. MusicXML development was transferred to the W3C Music Notation Community Group in July 2015. Version 1.0 was released in January 20041. Version 1.1 was released in May 20051 with improved formatting support. Version 2.0 was released in June 20071 and included a standard compressed format. All of these versions were defined by a series of document type definitions (DTDs). An XML Schema Definition (XSD) implementation of Version 2.0 was released in September 20081. Version 3.0 was released in August 2011 with improved virtual instrument support, in both DTD and XSD versions. Version 3.1 was released in December 20171 with improved support for the Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL). Version 4.0 was released in June 20211 and resolved multiple issues. The MusicXML DTDs and XSDs are each freely redistributable under the W3C Community Final Specification Agreement.
Support
, over 270 notation programs have at least some MusicXML interchange capability. These programs include: Most scorewriting programs, including Finale, Dorico, Sibelius, and MuseScore Most optical music recognition programs, including SmartScore, PhotoScore and Audiveris Most music sequencer programs, including Cubase, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, and SONAR Additionally, web support is possible through the use of the HTML5 canvas element and JavaScript resulting in the rendering of legible music within a web browser. Features include key and time signatures, clefs, beaming information, stem directions, slurs, ornaments, barlines, and written repeats, though the support differs between programs.
Example
Like all XML-based formats, MusicXML is intended to be easy for automated tools to parse and manipulate. Though it is possible to create MusicXML by hand, interactive score writing programs like Finale and MuseScore greatly simplify the reading, writing, and modifying of MusicXML files. The following example is a score consisting of a single whole note middle C in the key of C major on the treble clef. Music 1 0 4 4 G 2 C 4 4 whole The textual representation listed above is verbose; MusicXML v2.0 addresses this by adding a compressed zip format with a suffix that can make files roughly one-twentieth the size of the uncompressed version.
See also
List of document markup languages Comparison of document markup languages MIDI Music Encoding Initiative (MEI) Music Markup Language Notation Interchange File Format (NIFF) Scorewriter Musescore
References
External links
MusicXML 4.0 Final Community Group Report W3C Music Notation Community Group MusicXML viewer at Soundslice IEEE 1599 at IEEE.org
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1376937966 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.