Goldberg: The Music Processor Interface

The third interface for Goldberg is a "music processor system". It is aimed toward what could be called a "traditional composer" -- someone who writes music in standard (Western) musical notation and doesn't necessarily use a computer as part of the composition process.

The music processor interface is similar to a word processor. It provides the user with a blank piece of staff paper and a variety of tools for entering and modifying musical notation. For our mockup, we assumed that the system could take note input from two basic sources:

• A pen-based input device, allowing the composer to simply write notes directly on the virtual staff paper
• A music keyboard connected to the computer via MIDI (the standard communications protocol used by music hardware and software)

Access to the editing tools is provided through four Mac-style menus:

• File. Standard file operations (new, open, save, close)
• Edit. Standard edit operations (cut, copy, paste, merge, undo)
• Vary. Variation functions with straightforward results (transpose, invert, reverse, etc.)
• Randomize. Variation functions which make random changes (change pitches, timing, etc.)

We also included Play and Stop buttons so that the composer can listen to particular musical passages (either through the computer speaker or through the MIDI keyboard).

This pen-and-paper interface is an attempt to mimic the traditional composer's standard tools as closely as possible. In fact, if you ignore the last two menus, this interface is simply an electronic notation program. By treating the variations that Goldberg can create as additional (albeit more fancy) editing functions, we hoped to leave the composer in complete control of the composition process. When s/he wants to include a particular type of variation, the composer can select the appropriate passage and invoke it.