![]() FrankenScore is our current working title. It's fitting for now, as I'm essentially stitching together old ideas with new ones in a highly charged electrical atmosphere somewhere in a metaphorical Transsylvania. But as the project progresses, it's clear this isn't just resurrecting or recombining; it's the creation of something rather different. When we go open-source, the project will become Ooloi. For those unfamiliar with Octavia Butler's work, the Ooloi are alien beings with a knack for genetic manipulation and transformation. It's a decent metaphor for what we're doing: taking the DNA of music notation software and turning it into something new. This future name change isn't mere whimsy. Where FrankenScore suggests our current closed-source phase of experimentation, Ooloi represents what comes next. It's organic, sci-fi, modern, mind-bending. A bit like the software itself, one hopes. Ooloi is also just a good name. It's odd, memorable, and stands out in a field not exactly known for its naming creativity. So, there it is. When this project eventually emerges from its closed development, it'll do so as Ooloi. A name that, with any luck, will suit the software it represents. The metamorphosis is coming. Eventually.
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FrankenScore is still private. There is a number of things that need to be in place before the project can go public and I can start inviting collaborators, so let's touch a little on names, releases and versions.
At this stage I'm finalising the robust, high-performance platform for ACID-compliant transactions which forms the basis of everything in FrankenScore and is manifested through the backend API. FrankenScore becomes Ooloi when released as open source. But the first release doesn't need to be Ooloi 1.0, which by definition would be feature-complete. In fact, it should be Ooloi 0.n with an n as low as possible, meaning it's best to go public as early as possible, yet feature-complete enough so Ooloi's promise is immediately apparent. Here's a very rough project plan:
So, point 9 represents the point where the project goes public and Ooloi 0.n appears. It remains to be seen how feature-complete the notation must be to confidently take that step. However. There might of course be room for collaborators in the project before the public release as open source, as there are points in the above list that cover isolated features that could be delegated to an experienced Clojure programmer. Hmm. Let's think about that. ![]() Twenty-five years ago, I embarked on a journey to revolutionise music notation software with Igor Engraver. Today, I'm resurrecting that spirit with FrankenScore. But why now? Why breathe new life into a project that's been dormant for a quarter-century? A Vision Deferred Igor Engraver was always meant to be freeware, a tool for musicians and composers to express their creativity without financial barriers. Commercial considerations, however, steered us away from that vision. Now, with FrankenScore, we're returning to those roots by embracing open-source development. This aligns with my original intentions and the spirit of accessibility that drove Igor Engraver's creation. The Tech Landscape: Then and Now Back in '96, when Igor Engraver was born, the technological landscape was vastly different:
Today, we have multi-core processors, cross-platform development tools, and languages like Clojure that offer powerful abstractions and concurrent programming models. These advancements allow us to build FrankenScore as a more robust, efficient, and flexible tool than was possible with Igor Engraver. The State of Music Notation Software Igor Engraver was conceived because the available options at the time – Finale (as user-friendly as a cactus) and Sibelius (marginally better) – weren't up to the task. They fell short in usability, flexibility, and output quality. I hated using Finale (and I've written an entire opera in it). Instead of enhancing your creativity – which, at the end of the day, is what a music processor should do – Finale and all other similar programs hampered your creativity. Surprisingly, a quarter-century later, the field hasn't progressed as much as you might expect. While there have been improvements – some of them clearly inspired by Igor Engraver! – there's still a significant gap between what's available and what's possible. Why FrankenScore, Why Now? The time is ripe for FrankenScore, and I can't help but feel a sense of excitement and purpose. We're at a unique intersection of technological readiness and persistent unmet needs in the music notation world. The tools and platforms available to us now make it possible to build something truly revolutionary – a modern, efficient, and cross-platform solution that was merely a dream when Igor Engraver was conceived. What strikes me is how, despite the passage of time, the music notation software landscape still leaves much to be desired, especially in terms of usability and flexibility. It's both frustrating and motivating. But here's the kicker – we now have this thriving open-source ecosystem at our fingertips. It's the perfect environment for collaborative development and continuous improvement, something I could only have wished for back in the day. There's also a personal element to this timing. I feel a renewed focus, unburdened by the commercial constraints that ultimately derailed Igor Engraver. We can, as a community, now pour our energy into creating the best possible tool for musicians and composers, staying true to the original vision of accessibility and innovation. And you know what? Those years weren't wasted. The experiences from Igor Engraver – our successes, our setbacks, the lessons learned – they're all invaluable insights that we're bringing to FrankenScore's development. It's like we're picking up where we left off, but with 25 years of additional wisdom and technological advancements in our toolkit. FrankenScore isn't just a revival; it's a reimagining. We're taking the core ideas that made Igor Engraver revolutionary and implementing them with modern technology and development practices. Our goal is to create a music notation tool that's not just incrementally better, but fundamentally transforms how musicians interact with notation software. We're excited to embark on this journey, and we invite you – musicians, developers, and enthusiasts – to join us in shaping the future of music notation software. Together, let's bring Igor Engraver's vision to life in FrankenScore. ![]() (Oh, and by the way, FrankenScore is just a pre-release working name. When we open the repo, make it open source and invite collaborators to participate, we will switch to Ooloi, just like the domain you're on right now. I'll explain the reasons in a later blog posting.) |
AuthorPeter Bengtson –composer, organist, programmer, cloud architect. Currently windsurfing through parentheses. Archives
September 2024
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FrankenScore is a modern, open-source music notation software designed to handle complex musical scores with ease. It is designed to be a flexible and powerful music notation software tool providing professional, extremely high-quality results. The core functionality includes inputting music notation, formatting scores and their parts, and printing them. Additional features can be added as plugins, allowing for a modular and customizable user experience.
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