A Music-Workstation Based on Multiple Hierarchical Views of Music

The input/output channel is a long time problem of theoretical computer systems in music research. Musicians aid tools, on the other hand, provide convenient input/output channels, but are based on weak and task specialized data structures. This paper describes the initial steps in building a music workstation, that is based on a view of music as a (possibly multiple) hierarchical structure, organized over a time scale. This view captures the basic notion of grouping, found in any aspect of music, while avoiding further assumptions about level, kind, or form. Therefore it seems appropriate for standardizing music processing for both, theoretical and practical purposes. The temporal-hierarchical view is realized by a data structure called music structure, and is further extended by an attribute mechanism that provides information about the structured objects. Attributed music structures subsume all music representations known to the author. The music workstation is currently under development in COMMON LISP on a SUN 3/50 machine.