Dynamic Notation – A Solution to the Conundrum of Non-Standard Music Practice

This paper discusses dynamic notation—a method allowing, in a notation environment, instant switching between different views or notation styles, thus creating a common ground for practitioners of non-standard music, such as composers, performers, conductors and scholars. A plugin structure for different notation styles based on a set of maps and queries executed during note entry and rendering, affecting music glyph choice and placement was implemented in the MaxScore Editor—a notation editor designed to run in Max or Ableton Live. We will give an in-depth analysis of the methods used for equidistant scales, non-octave tunings, music in just intonation as well as for instrument-specific layouts and will con-clude with a description of a scenario in which dynamic notation was used for the transcription and performance of Alexander Scriabin's piano poem Vers la Flamme op. 72 by an ensemble of acoustic Bohlen-Pierce instruments