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kolydart / Tassos Kolydas
News 17 March 2023

Music Encoding Initiative: A Tool for Music Librarians and Researchers

A new online video on thematic catalogs and digital critical editions was published by the Greek department of IAML. The seminar was given by Ilias Kyriazis, Curator of Cultural Data, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Germany. Ilias provided a comprehensive introduction to the MEI, which is a standard format for encoding music notation, metadata, and other related information in digital form.

Of particular interest was, among other things, the discussion on the different music coding technologies and their characteristics that followed. In the discussion in which I also participated, special mention was given to the inability of the MEI to describe the notation of Byzantine music and the effects of this deficiency on Greek musicology and music librarianship. I tried to underline - perhaps with a bit of exaggeration - the importance of collaboration between different groups and protocols for the progress of music librarianship, as well as the need to develop a model for the symbolic representation of Byzantine music.

The seminar covered a range of topics, including the structure of subject catalogs and critical editions, general principles of MEI, coding of musical text and metadata, and the application of music coding in the creation of new reference sources. The tutorial provided examples that showcased how MEI could be used to facilitate the comparative analysis of primary sources and the citation of critical comments.

This seminar was specifically aimed at music librarians who are responsible for the organization and management of music collections. However, it was also interesting for music researchers and musicologists, interested in exploring new tools and methods for analyzing music notation.

Many congratulations to the webinar organization team of the Greek branch of IAML. Their efforts are certain to contribute to the progress of music librarianship and musicology in Greece.

You may watch the video here