Svg to Osc Transcoding: towards a Platform for Notational Praxis and Electronic Performance

In this paper we present a case study for the creation of an open system for graphically developing symbolic notation which can function both as professional quality print or online documentation, as well as a computer performable score in electro-acoustic music and other computer aided contexts. Leveraging Adobe Illustrator’s graphic design tools and support for the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format, the study shows that SVG, being based on Extensible Markup Language (XML), can be similarly used as a tree-based container for score information. In the study, OpenSoundControl (OSC) serves as middleware used to interpret the SVG representation and finally realize this interpretation in the intended media context (electronic music, spatial audio, sound art, kinetic art, video, etc.). The paper discusses how this interpretive layer is made possible through the separation of visual representation from the act of rendering, and describes details of the current implementation, and outlines future developments for the project.