A Natural Language System for Music

As computer music systems become more complex and sophisticated, there is often a corresponding increase in the level of expertise required to use them effectively. As a result, a musician typically spends a lot of time "learning the system," instead of making music. What is needed is a user interface that musicians can use with little or no formal training, yet is sufficiently powerful to handle all of their requests. This paper describes a natural language interface for musical applications that is both easy to use and sophisticated enough to handle complex programs. The system described is designed to be tailored to a number of computer music applications ranging from musical score editing and Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) recording to digital editing and automated mixer/patch-bay control. In its initial application, it serves as a "front end" to eled (Decker et al. 1986), which serves as a score editor and MIDI sequencer.