Music Troubleshooting

The music integration in OpenMarch is currently extremely minimal. The best think we can ask for right now is your patience as we work through it. 😊

We have many plans to fix and improve the experience so that it can work for many different types of projects. It’s not a trivial issue. There’s lots of different tempo combinations and syncing methods to think about. We want to make sure our next crack at it is done right. In the meantime, here is a list of tips and tricks to get music to work for you.

This video walks through the steps if you prefer not to read.

Play

If OpenMarch ever seems broken, refreshing the page Ctrl + R will often fix it.

Current limitations

Since the music integration is so bare bones, keep in mind the following limitations:

• Accelerandos, deccelerandos and other gradual tempo changes are not supported
  • If you must change the tempo gradually, only change the tempo at the start of the measure
• The less information the MusicXML has, the better (with one exception)
  • The parser OpenMarch uses to extract the tempo information from MusicXML files is not perfect
  • Remove all notes from the staff and only have one part. Then, add a single note to the first beat.
  • If it’s still not working, try removing all staff notes and other markings
• If you have a count-in, the MusicXML must also include that

Creating your MusicXML

If you have the sheet music file

Follow these steps if you have the sheet music to open in Musescore, Dorico, etc.

1. Open your score in your notation software
   • If you don’t have any notation software, Musescore is free and is what this project is tested on
2. Save a copy of the file
3. Create a new part that has no notes in it
4. Delete all of the other parts
5. Add a single note to the first beat of the first measure of the new part
   • This is important, as if there are no notes at all, the parser will ignore it
6. Ensure that you have a tempo defined on at least on the first note
7. Click File → Export
8. Ensure you have Main Score checked
9. Import this file into OpenMarch by clicking Music → Import MusicXML
10. If nothing seems to have happened try refreshing the page with Ctrl + R
    • If it’s still not working, reach out on the community Discord or dev@openmarch.com for troubleshooting

If you don’t have the sheet music file

If you only have an audio file and no sheet music file, this is a lot trickier, but possible! I have done this personally. It’s annoying and not clean, but it works.

The TLDR is that you need to find some way to convert the tempo information in your audio file (.mp3 or .wav) into a .midi file. Once you have a .midi file, you can import it into a music notation software (like Musescore) and create your MusicXML.

I’ve only done this in MacOS. Try to find a Windows/Linux alternative of GarageBand or Logic Pro that is free

It needs to be able to import audio files and also support midi instruments. Audacity comes to mind, but I’ve never used it for this.

1. Open a DAW of some kind that can support audio files and software MIDI instruments.
2. Get the project’s tempo to align with the audio file’s.
3. Make sure that if there are tempo changes, they only happen once at the start of a measure
   • Gradual tempo changes will not work
4. Add a MIDI software instrument track
5. Add a single note at the start of each measure
   • This is to make sure the MIDI that we export uses the whole project
6. Validate that the tempo lines up as intended
7. Export the project as a .midi file
8. Import the .midi file into Musescore
9. Follow the steps above

Disclaimer

Please know that we are aware of the shortcomings of the current system and are working hard to fix them. I invite you to use OpenMarch’s many shortcomings as opportunities to hack your way through and figure out how you can make it work 🙂.

As always, this project is made up entirely of volunteers doing the best they can with the free time they can spare. Please consider donating to the Patreon to show your support for our team.