News

Today MakeMusic released Finale 26.2.2 and an updated Dolet 7.5 for Finale plug-in.

The MusicXML improvements for both Finale 26.2.2 and Dolet 7.5 for Finale include:

• • Text in the JazzText, Broadway Copyist Text, and Finale Copyist Text fonts now exports more accurately, especially for codas, segnos, and metronome marks.
  • The Scale Expression with Attached Note setting is supported during export.
  • Staff style changes in the middle of the first measure are now exported.
  • Positions of text repeats at the end of multimeasure rests export more accurately.
  • Metronome font information is now exported.
  • Hyperlinks for measure-attached text blocks are now exported.
  • Accent articulations in a text font are now exported as accents.
  • Hidden smart shapes are no longer exported.
  • Hidden clefs now export as hidden.
  • Hidden time signatures at the start of a part now export as senza misura.
  • Parts with no visible clefs are now imported without clefs displaying.

Finale 26.2.2 also includes MusicXML export of exact slur positions.

These improvements are part of MakeMusic’s work on an upcoming digital sheet music sharing and practice solution. Finale product manager Jon Tschiggfrie interviewed me for a recent post on the Finale blog on “the life and times of MusicXML.”

We hope that you find the improved MusicXML support will make moving your music files between applications even faster and more accurate than before. If you have issues using the MusicXML in Finale 26.2.2 or in using the Dolet plug-in, please let us know in the Finale portion of our Help Center. If you are a music notation software developer and find a problem with MusicXML 3.1 in your development work, please post an issue at the MusicXML GitHub repository.

Today MakeMusic released Finale 26.2 and an updated Dolet 7.4 for Finale plug-in.

Two main areas of focus for Finale 26.2 development are compatibility with macOS 10.15 Catalina and updating the way that document options work inside Finale. The MusicXML code has now been updated to support these changes. Note that since the Dolet for Finale plug-in is only for 32-bit versions of Finale, it will not run on Catalina.

The MusicXML improvements for both Finale 26.2 and Dolet 7.4 for Finale include:

• Default hyphen and beam distance are now correctly exported and imported.
• Unslashed flagged grace notes are imported more accurately.
• Numerals on 1-bar multimeasure rests are imported more accurately.

We have also updated the MusicXML web site to reflect the latest developments in sites with MusicXML music files, MusicXML software support, and publications about research that uses the MusicXML format. The publications section in particular has many updates from recent Sound and Music Computing and International Society of Music Information Retrieval conferences.

We hope that you find the improved MusicXML support will make moving your music files between applications even faster and more accurate than before. If you have issues using the MusicXML in Finale 26.2 or in using the Dolet plug-in, please let us know in the Finale portion of our Help Center. If you are a music notation software developer and find a problem with MusicXML 3.1 in your development work, please post an issue at the MusicXML GitHub repository.

Today MakeMusic released Finale 26.1 and an updated Dolet 7.3 for Finale plug-in. The main improvement in both releases is enhanced support for linked parts in Finale import and export.

Finale 26.1 now automatically generates linked parts after a MusicXML import. Repeats, rehearsal marks, and tempo marks are now imported in a way that works better with these generated linked parts.

In addition, Finale 26.1 includes a new MusicXML export preference to “Include linked parts in compressed files”. When this option is selected, all the linked parts will be included if you are exporting a compressed .mxl file while viewing the score. When importing back into Finale 26.1, Finale will import the differences between the score and parts in page sizes and margins, system breaks, and page-attached text positions into your Finale file.

The Dolet for Finale plug-in does not contain this preference or the ability to automatically generate linked parts after import. However, it does include the import improvements that will let repeats, rehearsal marks, and tempo marks work better with linked parts if you generate them yourself after the MusicXML import.

Another improvement only available in Finale 26.1 is that exporting a folder of Finale files will hide any file conversion or font annotation dialogs that might have appeared in previous versions. This makes it easier to run MusicXML batch exports unattended.

You can see the entire list of the 10 improvements in MusicXML support included in both Finale 26.1 and the Dolet 7.3 for Finale plug-in in the Dolet for Finale version history.

The Dolet for Finale plug-in is 32-bit only and works with Finale 2009 through 2014.5. Starting with v25, Finale now includes all the added features that used to be part of the Dolet plug-in, plus some MusicXML features that only work in 64-bit Finale. All the MusicXML functionality you need is now available directly in the File menu.

We hope that you find the improved MusicXML support will make moving your music files between applications even faster and more accurate than before. If you have issues using the MusicXML in Finale 26.1 or in using the Dolet plug-in, please let us know in theFinale portion of our Help Center. If you are a music notation software developer and find a problem with MusicXML 3.1 in your development work, please post an issue at the MusicXML GitHub repository.

MusicXML has played a critical role in the launch and development of MakeMusic’s new web-based SmartMusic music practice software. While the classic version of SmartMusic for desktops and iPad uses Finale technology for its music notation display, the new web-based version uses different technology designed for web applications. MakeMusic uses MusicXML to ensure that repertoire is available in both the new and classic versions of SmartMusic.

Since new SmartMusic launched in December 2016 after a limited early release, teachers have been able to upload MusicXML files and assign them to students to supplement SmartMusic’s built-in repertoire. Unlike classic SmartMusic, these music uploads no longer need to be created in Finale. Instead, they can be created in Finale or another other music notation program that exports MusicXML files – which is just about all of them.

Last January, we improved the import process by adding an online notation editor to SmartMusic educator subscriptions. This beta application let you edit MusicXML files that you imported before assigning them to students, or create new music for your students directly in your web browser. It also let you import full MusicXML scores as well as individual MusicXML parts. However, the MusicXML support was still for import only. Scores that you created or edited with SmartMusic could not be taken back to Finale or used in other applications.

That changed yesterday with the release of SmartMusic’s Sight Reading Builder and Compose applications. Sight Reading Builder lets you instantly generate an infinite number of sight reading exercises, custom tailored for your ensembles. The Compose notation editor is now a full-fledged part of SmartMusic, no longer in beta mode. Both applications are included in SmartMusic premium educator subscriptions, and both applications now let you export MusicXML files.

This is a big breakthrough for both MakeMusic and our customers. MakeMusic now has two notation editors using different technologies developed for different needs. Musical scores created in either application can now be freely moved back and forth between these two applications with very high accuracy. Of course this exchange extends to over 200 other applications that support the MusicXML format.

We believe that educators will find that SmartMusic’s two-way MusicXML support makes it easier to get your own custom repertoire to your students. If you have issues using the MusicXML features in  the Compose and Sight Reading Builder tools, please let us know through the SmartMusic Help Center.

Today MakeMusic released Finale v26 and an updated Dolet 7.2 for Finale plug-in. Besides supporting the new features in Finale v26, there are over 25 improvements in our MusicXML support from the previous Finale v25.5 and Dolet 7.1 for Finale releases. You can see the entire list in the Dolet for Finale version history. The most important changes include:

• Version 7.2 changes the default file format for exporting a single MusicXML file from uncompressed (.musicxml) to compressed (.mxl) files. The MusicXML Preferences continue to allow a different setting for batch export of MusicXML files.
• The MetTimes, AshMusic, LeeMusic, and RussMusic fonts are now supported during export.
• Chord symbols now export more accurately, including symbols that use the Finale Numerics and Broadway Copyist Text Ext fonts.
• The “Hide First Measure Number in Region” option is now supported during export.
• Non-arpeggiate symbols and undertie elisions are now imported.
• Lyrics now export more accurately from documents where the default music font is EngraverFontSet.
• Finale v26 speeds up export and import for large batches of MusicXML files.

The Dolet for Finale plug-in is 32-bit only and works with Finale 2009 through 2014.5. Starting with v25, Finale now includes all the added features that used to be part of the Dolet plug-in, plus some MusicXML features that only work in 64-bit Finale. All the MusicXML functionality you need is now available directly in the File menu.

We hope that you find the improved MusicXML support will make moving your music files between applications even faster and more accurate than before. If you have issues using the MusicXML in Finale v26 or in using the Dolet plug-in, please let us know in theFinale portion of our Help Center. If you are a music notation software developer and find a problem with MusicXML 3.1 in your development work, please post an issue at the MusicXML GitHub repository.

Last week the W3C Music Notation Community Group published MusicXML Version 3.1 as a W3C Community Group Final Report.  This is the Community Group’s first report, and the first update to MusicXML since the Version 3.0 release 6 years ago.

MusicXML 3.1 has four main areas of improvement over MusicXML 3.0:

• Better support for the Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL)
• Improved documentation
• Improved packaging, including a new .musicxml extension for uncompressed MusicXML files
• Other improvements for encoding musical semantics and appearance

You can read more about the updates to MusicXML 3.1 in the Community Group Report and the GitHub issue list.

MakeMusic has been using earlier versions of MusicXML 3.1 in our Finale and new SmartMusic products for several months. We find that the new features really help to transfer scores from Finale to SmartMusic more accurately. For instance, many of the SMuFL features are useful even when preparing music without SMuFL fonts. Since SMuFL provides a  large taxonomy of musical symbols, MusicXML 3.1 was able to add greater expressiveness without a corresponding increase in complexity

We have updated the MusicXML web site for the MusicXML 3.1 release, including the tutorial, alphabetical index, and musical examples. We have also updated the community publications and music pages to include the MusicXML projects discussed at the latest International Society for Music Information Retrieval (ISMIR) Conference.

2017 has been a productive year for the MusicXML community, the W3C Music Notation Community Group, and MakeMusic’s MusicXML development. MusicXML is now supported by more than 230 applications worldwide. ISMIR 2017 shows that MusicXML is being used more frequently than ever in music information retrieval and musicology research. We wish everyone in the MusicXML community a happy holiday season and new year.

Today MakeMusic released Finale 25.5 and an updated Dolet 7.1 for Finale plug-in.  These updates improve Finale’s MusicXML 3.1 support to match the latest MusicXML 3.1 version from the W3C Music Notation Community Group.

There are 20 improvements in our MusicXML 3.1 support from the previous Finale 25.4 and Dolet 7.0 for Finale releases. You can see all of them in the Dolet for Finale version history, plus 6 more improvements that are unrelated to the new features in MusicXML 3.1. The most important changes include:

• Measure number text is now exported for multi-movement pieces where measure numbers are reused, as well as other situations involving more complex use of measure number regions.
• Buzz rolls and unmeasured tremolos are now supported.
• Line lengths are now supported for doit, falloff, scoop, and plop elements.
• Finale expressions with a mix of text and musical symbols from any Finale built-in font (not just Maestro) are now supported.
• Grace cue notes are now supported.
• Image height and width attributes are now supported, for better transfer of scaled bitmap graphics.
• More percussion pictograms and other music symbols are now supported.
• Files without any measure number regions now correctly export that measure numbers are not displayed.

Finale 25.5 also has several improvements for translating folders of Finale or MusicXML files. First are improvements in the performance and reliability of these translations, especially for folders with large numbers of files.

Next are the new “Include subfolders” options for export and import. These let you export or import files from not just a single folder, but all the subfolders within that folder. So if you have files in the My Scores, My Scores/Bach, and My Scores/Bach/CPE folders, you can translate a single My Scores folder and get all the files converted at once.

We have also added work in progress dialogs that appear when translating a folder of Finale or MusicXML files. This dialog displays which file is currently being exported or import, and lets you cancel out of the folder translation once the current file is finished.

With this version of the Dolet for Finale plug-in, we have removed support for Windows XP. Windows Vista or later are now required to run the Windows version of the Dolet 7.1 for Finale plug-in. Stay with the Dolet 7.0 for Finale plug-in if you are still using an older version of Finale on Windows XP.

The Dolet for Finale plug-in is 32-bit only. Finale v25.5 includes all the added features that used to be part of the Dolet plug-in, plus some MusicXML features that only work in 64-bit Finale. With our 64-bit Finale v25, all the MusicXML functionality you need is available directly in the File menu.

We hope that you find the improved MusicXML 3.1 and folder translation support will make moving your music files between applications even faster and more accurate than before. If you have issues using the MusicXML in Finale v25.5 or in using the Dolet plug-in, please let us know in theFinale portion of our Help Center. If you are a music notation software developer and find a problem with MusicXML 3.1 in your development work, please post an issue at the MusicXML GitHub repository.

Today MakeMusic released Finale v25.4 and an updated Dolet 7.0 for Finale plug-in.  Together with the new SmartMusic, these are the first commercial products supporting the MusicXML 3.1 format.

MusicXML 3.1 is the latest version of the world’s standard interchange format for music notation, and the first to be developed at the W3C Music Notation Community Group. MusicXML 3.1 is still in beta test, but our implementation experience with Finale, Dolet, and SmartMusic made us confident that supporting it now would benefit our customers. Early implementations of new formats are encouraged in World Wide Web Consortium projects. This helps ensure that problems that do show up in real-life use are resolved before the standard is finalized.

Ever since the earliest days of the MusicXML format, Finale support for MusicXML has driven adoption of the format and its new versions across the industry.  We believe that the same thing will happen with MusicXML 3.1 – Finale’s support for the format will encourage other developers to adopt the features.

For now, the biggest benefits to Finale customers will be in transferring MusicXML files from Finale to the new SmartMusic, and in transferring Finale files to older versions of Finale that pre-date the compatible .musx format (Finale 2009 to 2012).

The most notable improvement for Finale users may be how expressions that mix descriptive text with music notation symbols can now be transferred between applications. We have seen this a lot in our educational SmartMusic repertoire and it is great to have MusicXML support this in a standard way that works between applications. Other improvements that MusicXML 3.1 makes possible include support for:

• Parenthesized accidental marks
• Circled noteheads for percussion notation
• Distinguishing the two styles of percussion clef (rectangle vs 2 vertical lines)
• Highest/lowest notes without leger lines
• The sfzp, n, and pf dynamics
• Arrowhead characters in the Engraver Text fonts
• Enclosures with up to 10 sides
• Unexpected musical symbols in Finale articulations

One other change is that uncompressed MusicXML files now have a .musicxml file extension, rather than the generic .xml file extension. This will allow applications to better distinguish MusicXML files from XML files used by other applications that might be on the same computer system.

You can see all the updates to MusicXML in Finale 25.4 and Dolet 7 for Finale in the Dolet 7 for Finale version history. There are even more changes that MusicXML 3.1 makes possible that we plan to add in future Finale and Dolet updates.

Note that the Dolet for Finale plug-in is 32-bit only. Finale v25.4 includes all the added features that used to be part of the Dolet plug-in, plus some MusicXML features that only work in 64-bit Finale. With our 64-bit Finale v25, all the MusicXML functionality you need is available directly on the File menu.

We hope that you find MusicXML 3.1 will make moving your music files between applications even faster and more accurate than before. If you have issues using the MusicXML in Finale v25.4 or in using the Dolet plug-in, please let us know in theFinale portion of our Help Center. If you are a music notation software developer and find a problem with MusicXML 3.1 in your development work, please post an issue at the MusicXML GitHub repository.

We are happy to announce that beta versions of the Dolet 7 for Finale plug-in are now available! You can download both the Mac installer and the Windows installer.

Dolet 7 for Finale adds support for reading and writing MusicXML 3.1 files. MusicXML 3.1 is the latest version of the MusicXML format and the first one to be developed within the W3C Music Notation Community Group.

By making Dolet 7 for Finale available for beta testing, we hope to assist other music software developers who want to add support for MusicXML 3.1 by being able to test exchanging MusicXML 3.1 files with Finale.

The MusicXML 3.1 features that Dolet 7 for Finale supports include:

• Uncompressed MusicXML 3.1 files are now saved with a .musicxml file extension by default.
• Finale expressions with a mix of Maestro musical symbols and text are now exported and imported.
• Finale expressions with a mix of text and note symbols from other Finale built-in fonts are now exported.
• Unexpected symbols in Finale articulations can now be exported in a way that can be exchanged with other applications.
• Unexpected symbols in MusicXML files can now be imported into Finale articulations.
• Parenthesized accidental marks are now supported.
• Circled noteheads for percussion notation are now supported.
• The two styles of percussion clef are now distinguished during export and import.
• The n dynamic character is now supported.
• The sfzp and pf dynamics now use the corresponding new MusicXML elements.
• Highest / lowest notes without leger lines now use the standard MusicXML 3.1 feature for greater interoperability.
• Arrowhead characters in the Engraver Text fonts are now supported.
• Enclosures with 5 to 10 sides are now supported.

The Dolet 7 for Finale plug-in is a 32-bit plug-in that works with Finale 2009 through Finale 2014.5 on Mac and Windows.

Please share your experiences with MusicXML 3.1 and the Dolet plug-in at the W3C Music Notation Community Group. If you find a problem with MusicXML 3.1 in your testing, please post an issue at the MusicXML GitHub repository.

Thank you for your help in making the MusicXML format an ever more powerful way to exchange scores between applications that use music notation.

We held the second annual Musikmesse meeting of the W3C Music Notation Community Group on Friday, April 7 in Frankfurt. As in past years, we had about 40 people attending. Here are videos of the meeting taken by Peter Jonas. You can find the full meeting minutes, slides, and links to audio and video recordings on the W3C Music Notation Community Group blog.

The first video includes the discussion of MusicXML 3.1 and SMuFL 1.2,. The second video includes the discussion of MNX, the Community Group’s project on a next-generation music notation standard. We are now planning to release MusicXML 3.1 and SMuFL 1.2 by the end of June 2017. MNX is a longer-range project.

Please join the W3C Music Notation Community Group if you would like to participate in the development of these standards. Membership is free of charge and does not require membership in the W3C. Click the JOIN THIS GROUP button on the Community Group home page to get started.