Development of the Presto Pen-Based Music Editor
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DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRESTO PEN-BASED MUSIC EDITOR A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY by Elizabeth P Y Ng University of Canterbury 1998 Abstract Deficiencies in existing methods of music input have made the process slow and tedious; text music editors are difficult to use, graphical music editors are slow, and Optical Music Recognition is inaccurate and requires cumbersome equipment. This research aims to develop one of the fastest and easiest methods for entering music into computers-the pen-based music input. The design of pen music input closely follows the idea of traditional pencil and manuscript for musicians. Musicians draw sketches on the system similar to those they do on paper. The development of smaller and lighter low-cost pen computers enables the system to be portable. This thesis develops an earlier method for using pen computers to input music, called Presto. It extends the gesture set and further develops the system in Presto. The objectives of Presto are to be fast, easy to learn, easy to use, and portable. This thesis first reviews existing gesture sets and graphical music editors. Next, four aspects of Presto are investigated: gestures, editing features, drawing beams, and feedback. The research on each part reviews existing work on the relevant issues, then designs and implements improvements. Presto has become significantly faster than its previous version, and many features are improved to make it more usable. It can be three to more than four times faster than using other methods to input music. The research on the pen-based music input has greatly improved accuracy, functionality, speed, and usability of Presto, making it a useful technique for musicians. i Acknowledgements First, I thank deeply my supervisor, Dr Tim Bell, for his endless assistance, guidance, and advice throughout this research, reading through every draft that I have given him. I also thank Dr Andy Cockburn for helping and correcting me on the human-computer interaction areas, especially during the period when Tim was on study leave. I am also grateful to him for reading all the chapters in this thesis. Thanks to Mr Martin Setchell from the School of Music for his input on the musical aspects. Many thanks also to Dr Roger Buclcton, the Head of Department of the School of Music, Mr Chris Cree Brown also from the School of Music, and the musicians who participated in the experiments. Thanks to Professor Harold Thimbleby, Faculty Director of Research and Professor of Computing Research of the Department of Computer Science in Middlesex University, and Mr Thomas Heck for their ideas and encouragement when they tried the Presto system. I am grateful to the technical and support staff in the department for their help and support during this research. Many thanks also to the librarians in the university library for their time and effort to help me find research materials. Finally, I thank Mr Stuart Yeates for proofreading and commenting on the final draft of this thesis, Mr Jamie Anstice for supporting the pen computing aspects, and Mr Brandon Harris for sharing the joys and sorrows in postgraduate life. Graffiti, Gesture Mosaic, QuickPrint, Finale, and Lime reviewed in this thesis are registered trademarks. 111 Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Aim .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 1.2 Music printing . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 1.3 Pen-based computing .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 1.3.1 Benefits ...................................................................................................... 7 1.3.2 Drawback ...... :............................................................................................ 7 1.3.3 Gestures: An alternative to handwriting recognition ................................. 8 1.4 Pen-based music editing: an emerging concept . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 1.5 Presto gesture set and music editor .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9 1. 6 Synopsis .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10 Chapter 2 Gestures Sets and Music Editors 13 2.1 Gesture sets .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 2.1.1 Unistrokes .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ... .. .. ... .. .. .. ... ... .. .. ... .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 2.1.2 Graffiti........................................................................................................ 15 2.1.3 Gesture Mosaic .......................................................................................... 17 2.1.4 Pitman . .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... .. .. ... .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 19 2.1.5 Char-rec ...................................................................................................... 20 2.1.6 QuickPrint .................................................................................................. 21 2.1.7 Summary .................................................................................................... 22 2.2 Graphical music editors .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 2.2.1 PCS terminals............................................................................................. 22 2.2.2 Mockingbird ............................................................................................... 24 2.2.3 Finale .......................................................................................................... 26 2.2.4 Lime ........................................................................................................... 27 2.2.5 Summary .................................................................................................... 28 v Vl CONTENTS 2.3 Pen-based music editors . 29 2.3.1 Cantor's editor ........................................................................................... 29 2.3.2 SSSP editors............................................................................................... 31 2.3.3 Gregory's Scribe ........................................................................................ 36 2.3.4 CNMAT system......................................................................................... 37 2.3.5 Pitchforth's system .................................................................................... 38 2.3.6 Summary .................................................................................................... 40 2.4 Summary . 40 Chapter 3 Gestures 43 3.1 Issues in gesture recognition ......................................................................... 43 3.2 Notes .............................................................................................................. 47 3.2.1 Design ........................................................................................................ 48 3.2.2 Implementation .......................................................................................... 50 3.3 Rests .............................................................................................................. 51 3.3.1 Design ........................................................................................................ 51 3.3.2 Implementation .......................................................................................... 52 3.4 Other gestures ................................................................................................ 53 3.4.1 Stem direction of notes .............................................................................. 53 3.4.2 Duration of notes and rests ........................................................................ 53 3.4.3 Double bar-line .......................................................................................... 55 3.4.4 Implementation .......................................................................................... 56 3.5 Summary ....................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 4 Editing Issues 59 4.1 Deletion ......................................................................................................... 60 4.1.1 Current deletion ......................................................................................... 61 4.1.2 Proposed deletion .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ...... .. ...... .... .. .. .. .. .. ...................... ................ .... 63 4.1.3 Implementation .......................................................................................... 64 4.2 Undo .............................................................................................................. 64 4.2.1 Current undo .............................................................................................. 66 4.2.2 Proposed undo ........................................................................................... 66 4.2.3 Implementation . .. .. .. .