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It's more the other way around. The MIDI has extra information that obfuscates the original sheet music. Most commonly, timing variation which can be intentiona
by modeless 6y ago
It's more the other way around. The MIDI has extra information that obfuscates the original sheet music. Most commonly, timing variation which can be intentional and quite large, but also other kinds of variation and even mistakes.
Additionally, the system described in the article works on scanned paper sheet music, not electronic sheet music, so you also have to factor in OCR issues. All things considered it would be very difficult to manually write an algorithm to do this reliably.
- PaulDavisThe1st 6y agotechnically, that would be a case of the MIDI data having noise in it, not extra information.
- kevingadd 6y agoIt seems unreasonable to call something "noise" if it's meant to be kept. Most traditional definitions of that word would not apply to things like syncopation and variation
- PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago"Timing variations" as mentioned in the comment I was replying to was, in context, "noise". If the performer was adding syncopation or other "planned" variation, then sure, it's information, but I don't think that is what was meant.
- modeless 6y agoThat is what was meant, in part, as indicated by the comment "which can be intentional". And even unintentional variation can be desired, as it makes the sound less robotic. Noise can be information too.
- PaulDavisThe1st 6y agoMy reading of this was different. I felt that the commenter was noting how the timing information in MIDI is not restricted to the note types represented in sheet music, and can include swing and shuffle that could not be represented in that format. If those timing variations were intentional, then I agree they represent information. If they are just sloppy playing, they are noise. And if the performer is just applying a stylistic form ("swing these bars"), then it's an inefficient encoding of the musical intent.
- cordellwren 6y agoConsistent microtiming deviations or other forms of "expressive timing" are an essential element to "groove" or rhythmic "feel" in almost all modern popular styles of music. Things can get even crazier with world music styles like Samba, and let's not even get started with classical rubato. And yet notating any of that information in every bar as, say, three-quarters to one-and-a-half hemidemisemiquavers early or late to each offbeat defeats the purpose of having a readable score. The score is a reduction that's intentionally lacking tons of information that defines the essence of a performance. That's not a bug, but a feature.
- PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago>The score is a reduction that's intentionally lacking tons of information that defines the essence of a performance. This is precisely part of my point, or would be if you corrected it. The score contains, either implicitly or explicitly, global performance clues that will tell the performer what to do about timing (and if it doesn't that's because it is expected to come from a conductor or other similar source). It's a highly efficient mechanism precisely because it is a global property of the score (or perhaps locally scoped to sections). Much better than providing timing information for every note (as MIDI would do). The MIDI version is an inefficient means of information transfer. BTW, things do not get even crazier with "world music styles like samba". Samba is an extremely regular groove that is very easy to understand. This is true of most Afro-Cuban derived rhythmic structures - the complexities come from layering a set of very simple patterns. Things do get "even crazier" with rhythmic traditions from Indian, Balinese and some parts of Africa, places where conventional western ways of describing things really don't do a good job at all.