Better Midi, anyone?

[Peter Chubb]

Hi folks,
        The artemis orchestra competition has specified Lilypond as
its input format (see
https://www.artemisia-association.org/artemis_orchestra ) for robotic
instruments.  We're trying to put together an entry (our robotic
violinist was entered last year, with some success;
(http://www.nicta.com.au/news/previous_releases3/2007_media_releases/syo_violinist_performs_with_award-winning_robofiddler
)

Anyway, to the point.  We want to use MIDI as an intermediate language
for controlling the robot, but Lilypond's midi output ignores most of
the input.  For example, articulation (staccato, tenuto, accents and
slurs), dynamics (I can't work out how to get a smooth crescendo on a
single note), and ornaments (trills, mordents, turns etc., are not
expanded).

Before I start working on any of this, is anyone else doing anything
in the area?  Most of it may be doable by scheme scripts inserted into
the source file before calling Lilypond.

Harder stuff is interpreting the purely textual annotations.  For
example, `poco rall', `molto rit.', `a tempo', 'Tempo I',  'estinto',
'sotto voce', or (some of my favourites, from a piece by Messaien)
`perdu', or `comme oiseaux'.
It'd be possible to translate some of these into metronome markings or
\pppp or similar; others, I have no idea about.


Non-notated repeats are also going to be hard (`dal segno al coda',
`dal segno al fine')
--
Dr Peter Chubb  http://www.gelato.unsw.edu.au  peterc AT gelato.unsw.edu.au
http://www.ertos.nicta.com.au           ERTOS within National ICT Australia