This is a presentation I gave at the OHM2013 festival. After I finished, pianist Kimiko Ishizaka performed Bach and Chopin for ~2,000 of the event's attendees. We also announced the Fractal Journeys DVD and the Twelve Tones of Bach Tour. More details here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/293573191/fractal-journeys-and-the-twelve-tones-of-bach
1. Open Source Bach
Kimiko Ishizaka
kimiko-piano.com
@KimikoIshizaka
Robert Douglass
robshouse.net
@RobertDouglass
bit.ly/12tonesMonday, August 5, 13
2. Who am I?
Monday, August 5, 13
I’m Robert Douglass. After 20 years spent as a horn player, I discovered software
development, open source, and Drupal in particular.
Having spent 11 years helping the Drupal project grow up, Open Goldberg has helped
me bring the two worlds together - music and software.
3. •What is Open Source Bach, and
why do we need it?
• Notation and Technology:Why can’t the
internet read music?
• Is Open Goldberg the new model for the
industry?
• What comes next?
Open Source Bach
Monday, August 5, 13
These are the questions I’m going to try to cover in this presentation:
•What is Open Source Bach, and why do we
need it?
• Notation and Technology:Why can’t the internet read
music?
• Is Open Goldberg the new model for the industry?
• What comes next?
4. Kimiko Ishizaka
Anne-Marie Sylvestre
MuseScore.com
Teldex StudioBösendorfer 290 Imperial
Monday, August 5, 13
The Open Goldberg Variations team includes pianist Kimiko Ishizaka; MuseScore.com, the
team that provides us with MuseScore, the open source notation program; and IMSLP.org, the
online repository of public domain scores and recordings. We launched our fundraising
campaign on Kickstarter, and in the process had the great fortune of becoming sponsored by
Bösendorfer, who sent us a 290 Imperial to record with. Kickstarter also led us to Anne-Marie
Sylvestre, the phenomenal record producer who produced and edited the recording. The
Goldberg Variations were then recorded in world-famous Teldex Studio, Berlin, one of the
most notable recording studios around.
5. Monday, August 5, 13
We distributed the recording and the score under the Creative Commons license so that they
can be used in any way - they are in the public domain, worldwide.
6. GRINVerlag
Monday, August 5, 13
Creative Commons licensing didn’t stop us from finding a publisher, though. GRIN - Print on
Demand - Munich.
7. Monday, August 5, 13
That was a short clip from an iPad app called the Open Goldberg Variations.
8. Monday, August 5, 13
The Open Goldberg Variations bring joy to people. (video of dancing to Bach)
9. Monday, August 5, 13
The Open Goldberg Variations bring joy to people. (video of dancing to Bach)
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Goldberg_Variations
Monday, August 5, 13
Within one day of publishing, a very active Wikipedia editor and moderator added Kimiko
Ishizaka’s recording tracks to the article on the Goldberg Variations. High quality images and
sound samples are often missing from Wikipedia because of copyright. We helped solve that
problem for the Goldberg Variations.
11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Goldberg_Variations
Monday, August 5, 13
Within one day of publishing, a very active Wikipedia editor and moderator added Kimiko
Ishizaka’s recording tracks to the article on the Goldberg Variations. High quality images and
sound samples are often missing from Wikipedia because of copyright. We helped solve that
problem for the Goldberg Variations.
12. www.opengoldbergvariations.org
Monday, August 5, 13
The results of our hard work can be found online at http://www.opengoldbergvariations.org.
There you can listen to the recording, download the CD-quality files, and get a link to
MuseScore.com where the score lives.
13. What’s Open Source
about all that???
Monday, August 5, 13
At this point, I expect that you’re asking yourself, What’s open source about that?
14. 4 Freedoms of Open
Source Music
• Freedom to play or listen
• Freedom and ability to edit
• Freedom to distribute
• Freedom to remix
Monday, August 5, 13
The Four Freedoms of Open Source Music:
• Freedom to play or listen
• Freedom and ability to edit
• Freedom to distribute
• Freedom to remix
15. Monday, August 5, 13
This is the community I take inspiration from - the Drupal Community. They’ve taught me the
importance of shared ownership, collaboration, sharing.
16. • What is Open Source Bach, and why do we
need it?
•Notation and Technology: Why
can’t the internet read music?
• Is Open Goldberg the new model for the
industry?
• What comes next?
Open Source Bach
Monday, August 5, 13
To really understand why it is important that we make open source, electronic scores of
public domain music, let’s ask ourselves “Why can’t the Internet read music?”
17. imslp.org
Monday, August 5, 13
Thank goodness for IMSLP - the biggest library of public domain photocopies of sheet music.
18. Monday, August 5, 13
Scores on IMSLP are essentially photocopies.
Imagine if Wikipedia were scans of Encyclopedia Britannica.
Notice what great handwriting Bach had.
19. Monday, August 5, 13
And the public domain editions are old and sometimes really crappy. No serious pianist
would study this score for modern performance.
20. Monday, August 5, 13
Note how Musescore offers downloads in meaningful formats such as MusicXML and MIDI.
21. Monday, August 5, 13
Note how Musescore offers downloads in meaningful formats such as MusicXML and MIDI.
23. Why can’t I copy and
paste notes on the
internet?
Monday, August 5, 13
24. Monday, August 5, 13
Noteflight isn’t going to become the golden standard as long as they use Adobe Flash.
25. Monday, August 5, 13
Noteflight isn’t going to become the golden standard as long as they use Adobe Flash.
26. Monday, August 5, 13
Here you have the score to the Goldberg Variations linked to a YouTube video
27. Monday, August 5, 13
Here you have the score to the Goldberg Variations linked to a YouTube video
28. J.S. Bach, Fugue in C# minor, BWV 849
Monday, August 5, 13
With an electronic score, I can teach you a bit about how fugues are built. With the photocopy
version from IMSLP I’d have to use coloring crayons to do this.
29. J.S. Bach, Fugue in C# minor, BWV 849
Monday, August 5, 13
With an electronic score, I can teach you a bit about how fugues are built. With the photocopy
version from IMSLP I’d have to use coloring crayons to do this.
30. J.S. Bach, Fugue in C# minor, BWV 849
Monday, August 5, 13
With an electronic score, I can teach you a bit about how fugues are built. With the photocopy
version from IMSLP I’d have to use coloring crayons to do this.
31. J.S. Bach, Fugue in C# minor, BWV 849
Monday, August 5, 13
With an electronic score, I can teach you a bit about how fugues are built. With the photocopy
version from IMSLP I’d have to use coloring crayons to do this.
32. J.S. Bach, Fugue in C# minor, BWV 849
Monday, August 5, 13
With an electronic score, I can teach you a bit about how fugues are built. With the photocopy
version from IMSLP I’d have to use coloring crayons to do this.
33. J.S. Bach, Fugue in C# minor, BWV 849
Monday, August 5, 13
With an electronic score, I can teach you a bit about how fugues are built. With the photocopy
version from IMSLP I’d have to use coloring crayons to do this.
34. Score Following
Monday, August 5, 13
Electronic versions teach the computer what the music is supposed to sound like. It can then
recognize the music when it hears it. That’s how we broadcast the Open Goldberg Variations
to the entire state of Wisconsin, and let people follow the music in their web browser - in real
time!
36. If storage of music data
were standardized, and
editable, we could have
a Wikipedia for sheet
music (that goes
beyond photocopies)
Monday, August 5, 13
37. • What is Open Source Bach, and why do we
need it?
• Notation and Technology:Why can’t the
internet read music?
•Is Open Goldberg the new model
for the industry?
• What comes next?
Open Source Bach
Monday, August 5, 13
40. What does an “Open Goldberg” cost?
Item Cost
Studio €10,000
Engineering and Mastering €5,000
Production €5,000
Promotion €10,000
Distribution €20,000
Pianist ???
€50,000
Monday, August 5, 13
How much does it cost to do a project like Open Goldberg?
41. At €50K, the value
proposition has to be
pretty incredible on
both sides.
What does an “Open Goldberg” cost?
Monday, August 5, 13
42. What does an “Open Goldberg” cost?
Monday, August 5, 13
43. Monday, August 5, 13
Value, ownership - dedications. The dedications from our top sponsors made the Open
Goldberg Variations very personal and meaningful.
44. Monday, August 5, 13
Value, ownership - dedications. The dedications from our top sponsors made the Open
Goldberg Variations very personal and meaningful.
45. • What is Open Source Bach, and why do we
need it?
• Notation and Technology:Why can’t the
internet read music?
• Is Open Goldberg the new model for the
industry?
•What comes next?
Open Source Bach
Monday, August 5, 13
53. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
54. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
55. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
56. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
57. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
58. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
59. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
60. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.
61. Well-Tempered Clavier
Monday, August 5, 13
We have many partners, including MuseScore, IMSLP, Bösendorfer, GRIN Verlag, Parma
Recordings, Daveconservetoire.org, and Anne-Marie Sylvestre.