SwaraNotebook – a notation editor for Indian classical music

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SwaraNotebook – a notation editor for Indian classical music

As an enthusiast of Indian classical music, I needed to write music notations in the traditional typeset format. When I didn't find any existing editors, I developed a Swara Notebook, a mobile focused web app to write North Indian Classical ( Hindustani ) music notations. The notes (called Sargam , similar to Solfege) can be written in English, Devnagri and Bangla scripts. The transcribed song can be played back in 6 different rhythmic cycles ( Taal ) to the accompaniment of the Tabla (a type of drum) or a metronome. Here's an example of a transcribed song https://swaranotebook.com/view/vlB9hVgb5OdKcadbhOOYyzKwvpl2/... Since North Indian classical music is oriented around Ragas (similar to modes in western classical music), the keyboard adapts to the notes of a Raga , making it contextually easier to key in notes. A common question I get: can it handle microtones? I chose to not support microtones and other pitch ornamentation such as glissando (called Meend ) since a mobile interface is not the easiest place to add such details. I also find it a useful tool for ear training, by typing out notations to songs I know, and playing it back to know if I guessed the notes right. It is an open source project written in Clojure/script https://github.com/Studio-kalavati/bandish-editor