Higher-level Composition Control in Music Sketcher: Modifiers and Smart Harmony

There is a fundamental tension between working with high-level abstractions which often provide intuitive conceptual manipulations but hide details, and working with low-level data which, while quite powerful, can also be quite tedious. To help balance this tension, we have been developing technologies and higher-level abstractions designed to enhance the composer’s ability to create music, focusing on the compositional concepts of shape, structure, and tension-release. This paper discusses our ongoing efforts in this area, as demonstrated in the Music Sketcher program, with particular focus on the Smart Harmony and Modifier technologies.