Re: Midi interface in lilypond Re: Feeding a troll.

[J. David Blackstone]

> Sorry I wasn't a little more clear in first Email.
> Its just that a more immediate method of displaying a screen output  in
> a page layout would go a long way to making
> Linux computerized music typesetting  more efficient.
>
> To answer as to whether or not I'm a troll, well, if I was I sure
> wouldn't be trying to help create something with no serious prospects
> of financial pay back.
>
> What I would love to see is a music notation device that could become a
> swiss army knife to teachers, composers and any musically literate
> player who uses a computer. If this imaginary system could be
> encorperated in the linux os, all the better.
>
> Funny though most of the musicians and teachers I know around here
> (Victoria B.C.) use  older Apples to typeset  music, with either Encore
> or Finale.
> They usually complain bitterly about the price and most of them, because
> of the cost, will not think twice about piracy.
>
> Yes I have tried Lilypond but find that the process of visualisation of
> its output from only its input language is a long climb, not unlike
> writing in c++.
> Not nearly as difficult as Musixtex, but  still a long process.
>
> A gui with a command line and some carefully thought out functions for
> file and settings,
> that could pipe its output to Lilypond and return a rewritten screen at
> each entry should be possible.
> If the system resource  usages are  planned very carefully, then newer
> processors with adequate ram should have no trouble  accomplishing  good
>
> output speed. I feel that this would greatly lessen the learning curve
> in Lilypond and make quick accurate typesetting of original composition
> possible.
>
> Thanks for your reply,
> Musically yours Eric Reesor

Dear Eric,

  Have you looked at Denemo (http://sourceforge.net/projects/denemo/)?

  By all means please make your attempt and share it.  That's the power and
beauty of free software.  Even if no one wants to use it, everyone can
learn something from the attempt.

  I, too, am interested in one day working on a GUI system like you
describe that uses lilypond.  However, I have other priorities that are
coming first (and probably not of general interest enough to be imported
into the official tree, if I ever get the code written).  Like you, I also
have no interest in MIDI output.

  I say, do the work you're interested in doing and share it.  If other
people want MIDI, they can add it themselves or hire someone to do it or
wait until someone wants it enough to add it.

  I guarantee no one will frown on you if you post a link to such a GUI to
the list tomorrow, even if you hacked out MIDI completely.  (It might not
get added into the lilypond tree, though, so don't get your feelings hurt.
:)  Some people also might not want to use it, although I would.)  If your
version goes in a sufficiently different direction that the developers do
not want to incorporate your changes/additions, the GNU General Public
License permits you to maintain and distribute your own version.  (Just
follow the rules, don't try to take credit for the hard work of Han Wen,
Jan, and others, etc.)

  Happy coding!

J. David Blackstone

P.S. I should mention that I definitely don't speak for any of the lilypond
developers.  I have made no contributions to lilypond since I discovered it
six months ago.  But I hope to, some day!