2 of 24

Our Situation

In fall 2022, graduate student who plays viola and is blind came to the university.
Would need music in a format that was compatible with her computer setup and could later be printed in Braille.
Experimented with various programs to take music from PDF to .musicXML.

Files from ScanScore3 and MuseScore3 didn’t read correctly for the student.

3 of 24

Software Choice

Settled on two programs from the Dancing Dots Suite:

SharpEye2 – Convert the scanned page to .musicXML.
Lime – Convert .musicXML to .lim.
Both files allowed for different aspects of the music dynamics to be added.

This suite also had separate programs the student used to take the .lim file and work with it on her computer, as well as print it in Braille.
Met with Dancing Dots founder Bill McCann for remediation tips.

4 of 24

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be familiar with the program files .pdf, .tif, .musicXML, and .lim, and how they fit into the conversion workflow.
Participants will learn and practice the music remediation process from a scanned image to a finished, accessible file.

5 of 24

Three Areas of Focus

Music and software
Using SharpEye for OMR of a music file (.tif)
Finalizing MusicXML with Lime

6 of 24

Music and Software

PDF and TIF files

Acrobat Pro DC (version 2023): File menu > Export To > Image > TIFF

Export settings: 300 pixels/inch initially; adjust up or down if resulting file is missing measures.

Where to download free trials of SharpEye2 and Lime

SharpEye (90-day trial): http://www.visiv.co.uk/dload.htm
Lime (Free with suggested donation): https://www.cerlsoundgroup.org/

We have been using an older version, 9.16.

7 of 24

Using SharpEye for OMR of a Music File (.tif)

8 of 24

Editing in SharpEye

Goal – Match what is in SharpEye to the original score as closely as possible
Things to look for:

BLUE TRIANGLES UNDER MEASURES – Rhythm warnings. Too many/few beats in a measure. Entire measure might show up empty in Lime
Notes in the wrong place – It scanned in as a C and should be a D
Notes of the wrong count – It scanned in as a quarter note and should be an 8^th or 16^th
Missing/incorrect elements – Bar line scanned as a note, no clef symbol, etc.
Missing attributes and dynamics – Staccatos, slurs (between different notes), ties (between same notes), de/crescendo markings

9 of 24

Opening, Reading, and Saving in SharpEye

File menu > Open Image for new page
Read Image (Blue arrow) to OMR the image
File menu > Save Music to save in SharpEye’s file format (.mro)

File menu > Open Music when reopening a page

File menu > MusicXML when ready to export to Lime

10 of 24

Left Click – Red Menu

Left Click – Red Menu

Left click an element to display a red menu of changes you can make to it
To select multiple notes at once, Control+Left Click each note, or Shift+Left Click to draw a selection box

Moving Notes – Left click a note and drag it to the correct line on the staff

11 of 24

Right Click – Green Menu

Right Click – Green Menu

Right clicking anywhere opens a green menu of elements. Select the one you want to add, then right click again to place it on the staff

Not all musical elements can be added in SharpEye. If it’s not in the red or green menus, add it in Lime

Examples include glissandos, tremolos, lyrics/text annotations, etc.

12 of 24

Compiling a Finished Score

Open the first page of the score in SharpEye
File menu > Open Music > Select the next page
Window will ask if you want to replace or append the new page. Select Append
Repeat for all pages in piece
When all pages have been added, export with File menu > MusicXML

13 of 24

Troubleshooting SharpEye

These issues are hard to fix in Lime, so try to resolve them in SharpEye

If a page won’t read/is missing measures:

Try exporting the TIF at a different resolution

If missing measures have faded/warped staff lines in the original:

Try to straighten the staff in Photoshop using Warp or Distort tools
Try drawing in clear, straight lines over the ones that won’t read
If all else fails, find a blank music staff and add the notes manually

If notes from SharpEye don’t appear in Lime:

Fix all blue Rhythm Warning arrows
Options menu > Rhythm Analysis Options > Relaxed, Allow Overlong Measures before exporting from SharpEye
Make sure chorded notes are actually in a chord, not just overlaid on one another

Click a note in each chord; if a note head doesn’t turn red, it’s a separate�note. Delete and add back in using Add Head to Chord

14 of 24

Finalizing MusicXML with Lime

15 of 24

Opening and Saving Files in Lime

Opening

When first importing from SharpEye: File menu > Import > MusicXML
After saving as .lim: File menu > Open

Saving

To save in Lime’s .lim format: File menu > Save
To save back as .xml: File menu > Export > MusicXML

16 of 24

Comparing Original to MusicXML

Original Score

MusicXML in Lime

17 of 24

Editing in Lime

Skim the entire score to see if the music displays differently than in SharpEye

If there are obvious differences, try to go back and fix in SharpEye
Missed notes, extra measures, non-chorded notes, "jumbled" notes

Either work page-by-page or element-by-element

Add one element at a time, such as rehearsal marks, through full piece
Add all elements as you go through the page

Mainly adding elements SharpEye can’t add, but worth double-checking everything exported correctly

18 of 24

Piano Window

Note, Annotation, Line, and Curve tabs on left
Add tie, slur, or other elements to selected note

Some buttons (boxed) cycle through different options
Many more options available in toolbar menus

To enter/change a note, double-click in score, use piano window to change the note or value

Use rest symbol on far right to insert rest of selected value

19 of 24

Annotations – Normal Text

Title
Composer
Lyrics
Tempo Markings

Allegro, Tempo I, etc.

Right-click to select/move an annotation, left-click to edit

Annotations are tied to the selected note/rest. Select first note of score when adding title, composer, etc.

20 of 24

Annotations – Music Symbols

Music symbols are typed using backslash codes*

Dynamics

Crescendo, dim, f, pp, etc.

Ornaments

Trill, arpeggio, etc.

Other symbols

Pedal up, coda, 8va, etc.

Annotation Text Assistant automatically formats some symbols

*Full code list available at https://www.dancingdots.com/huge/LimeAloudGuide.htm

becomes…

21 of 24

Making It Work

To add/remove beats when Lime won’t let you:

Edit menu > Enable Duration Edits. Then try to add/kill the note/rest

When Lime acts like there’s a note/rest, but there’s nothing there:

Symbol menu > Show Hidden Symbols

22 of 24

Bill McCann’s Lime Checklist

Enter title/composer/other score annotations on first note/rest of piece
Mark tempo text like “Vivo”, “Swing”, and “Medium Rock” as “Tempo” annotations, not “Other” or anything else
For pieces with anacrusis (pick-up) bars, make sure the anacrusis measure is numbered as bar 0, not 1

Renumber using File menu > Options for Piece > Start Bar Numbers At

Check Parts have instrument names, not “UnnamedPart” or “MusicXML part”

Rename with Voice menu > Parts and Voices on Staff > Rename

Make sure the piece ends with a double bar

Select the final note of piece. Symbol menu > Bar Line

1 of 24