MusicFlow:

Music notation has evolved to the point in which music scores can be digitalized to give composers a different dimension of music composition. Traditional method of music notation using pen and paper requires much time and effort especially during reviewing and editing of hand written music scores. On the other hand of the spectrum, computerizing the entire music composition process can potentially reduce the workload; however, previous approaches in digitizing music notation suffer from the overwhelming functions and the lack of human touch. In this paper, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a multi-touch application called Musicflow, which allows for automatic transcription of composers’ music into digital music scores through one’s fingertips. To facilitate natural, efficient interaction, MusicFlow supports many multi-touch gestures such as music notation, editing and playing back for reviewing. In addition, Musicflow includes a collaborative teaching tool which further enhances music education by engaging both the teacher and students actively on a multi-touch table. Our initial evaluation indicates that MusicFlow is intuitive to use and effective for music composition. © (2010) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.