MIT OpenCourseWare: Free Courses from the institute

Video 9b: Introduction to MusicXML

MIT OpenCourseWare: Free Courses from the institute

Summary

MusicXML, a widely used representation format for Western music notation scores, was introduced by Michael Goode around 2000. The format utilizes a system of tags, similar to HTML, to encode musical information such as notes, pitches, durations, and key signatures. Each note is represented with specific tags that detail its pitch, duration, and type, allowing for a clear distinction between how a note is represented visually and how it is understood musically.

The discussion highlights the intricacies of MusicXML, including how it handles complex musical elements like chords and ties. For example, a chord is identified not by the first note but by subsequent notes that reference it. The format also allows for detailed representations of musical concepts, such as different voices within a single measure and the encoding of various musical symbols and attributes.

Despite its verbosity, which can lead to larger file sizes, MusicXML remains a crucial tool for music notation software. The format's ability to convey both the visual and conceptual aspects of music makes it a valuable resource for musicians and musicologists alike. Future developments aim to enhance MusicXML's functionality, including the potential for compressed file formats to streamline the storage and sharing of musical scores.

Show Notes

MIT 21M.383 Computational Music Theory and Analysis Spring 2023Instructor: Michael Scott Asato CuthbertView the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/21m-383-computational-music-theory-and-analysis-spring-2023/YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP62vSB2sI0W8lQFKsmS2-A6RUploaded 15-10-25This video provides a brief introduction to how MusicXML works.License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SAMore information at https://ocw.mit.edu/termsMore courses at https://ocw.mit.eduSupport OCW at http://ow.ly/a1If50zVRlWe encourage constructive comments and discussion on OCW’s YouTube and other social media channels. Personal attacks, hate speech, trolling, and inappropriate comments are not allowed and may be removed. More details at https://ocw.mit.edu/comments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More from MIT OpenCourseWare: Free Courses from the institute

Oct 23, 2026

MIT 21M.383 Computational Music Theory and Analysis Spring 2023Instructor: Michael Scott Asato CuthbertView the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/21m-383-computational-music-theory-and-analysis-spring-2023/YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP62vSB2sI0W8lQFKsmS2-A6RUploaded 15-10-25This session explores musical scores and representation and how one might be more efficient in coding this for a computer.License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SAMore information at https://ocw.mit.edu/termsMore courses at https://ocw.mit.eduSupport OCW at http://ow.ly/a1If50zVRlWe encourage constructive comments and discussion on OCW’s YouTube and other social media channels. Personal attacks, hate speech, trolling, and inappropriate comments are not allowed and may be removed.More details at https://ocw.mit.edu/comments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2026

MIT 6.S897 Machine Learning for Healthcare, Spring 2019Instructor: Peter SzolovitsView the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/6-S897S19YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP60B0PQXVQyGNdCyCTDU1Q5jUploaded 22-10-20Prof. Szolovits gives an introduction to disease subtyping and discusses collecting genome data, precision medicine modality space (PMMS), genotypes and phenotypes, and the history of genetics and genome sequencing. He also discusses the Framingham study.License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SAMore information at https://ocw.mit.edu/termsMore courses at https://ocw.mit.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2026

MIT 8.323 Relativistic Quantum Field Theory I, Spring 2023Instructor: Hong LiuUploaded 12-02-24View the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-323-relativistic-quantum-field-theory-i-spring-2023/YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP61AV6bhf4mB3tCyWQrI_uU5Outline of strategies for computing correlation functions in perturbation theory, path integral formalism for non-relativistic QM: its derivation and some basic results, Gaussian path integrals License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SAMore information at https://ocw.mit.edu/termsMore courses at https://ocw.mit.eduWe encourage constructive comments and discussion on OCW’s YouTube and other social media channels. Personal attacks, hate speech, trolling, and inappropriate comments are not allowed and may be removed. More details at https://ocw.mit.edu/comments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2026

MIT 21M.383 Computational Music Theory and Analysis Spring 2023Instructor: Michael Scott Asato CuthbertView the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/21m-383-computational-music-theory-and-analysis-spring-2023/YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP62vSB2sI0W8lQFKsmS2-A6RUploaded 15-10-25This session covers questions on Problem Set 4, explores what inversion is, and how to analyze large corpora in music21 including OpenScore Lieder, Irish folk music, and Bach chorales.License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SAMore information at https://ocw.mit.edu/termsMore courses at https://ocw.mit.eduSupport OCW at http://ow.ly/a1If50zVRlWe encourage constructive comments and discussion on OCW’s YouTube and other social media channels. Personal attacks, hate speech, trolling, and inappropriate comments are not allowed and may be removed. More details at https://ocw.mit.edu/comments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2026

MIT 6.S897 Machine Learning for Healthcare, Spring 2019Instructor: Peter SzolovitsView the complete course: https://ocw.mit.edu/6-S897S19YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUl4u3cNGP60B0PQXVQyGNdCyCTDU1Q5jUploaded 22-10-20Prof. Szolovits covers Natural Language Processing methods including those which are not based on neural networks representations and those techniques which employ neural network architectures.License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SAMore information at https://ocw.mit.edu/termsMore courses at https://ocw.mit.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See all episodes →