Partitura: A Python Package for Symbolic Music Processing

TL;DR

Partitura is a lightweight Python library that simplifies handling, analyzing, and converting symbolic musical data across various formats, aiding music information retrieval and analysis tasks.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive, easy-to-use Python package for symbolic music processing, supporting multiple formats and analysis tools, which was previously lacking in a unified library.

Findings

Supports multiple music formats including MEI, MusicXML, Kern, and MIDI.

Provides tools for pitch spelling, key detection, and voice separation.

Facilitates music analysis and retrieval tasks with accessible features.

Abstract

Partitura is a lightweight Python package for handling symbolic musical information. It provides easy access to features commonly used in music information retrieval tasks, like note arrays (lists of timed pitched events) and 2D piano roll matrices, as well as other score elements such as time and key signatures, performance directives, and repeat structures. Partitura can load musical scores (in MEI, MusicXML, Kern, and MIDI formats), MIDI performances, and score-to-performance alignments. The package includes some tools for music analysis, such as automatic pitch spelling, key signature identification, and voice separation. Partitura is an open-source project and is available at https://github.com/CPJKU/partitura/.