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Leading the revolution
in music composition

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Opusmodus is aimed at composers of all kinds - of art music, concert music, choral music, film music, jazz, electroacoustic music, music for games and new media, songwriters.

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Opusmodus is a comprehensive computer-aided environment for the whole work of music composition a virtual space where a composer can develop ideas and experiments for projects large and small.

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It is the first application to successfully provide what IRCAM has termed the "Composing Continuum": from first thoughts to the finished score.

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The Opusmodus workspace consists of five integrated panels, each dedicated to a specific purpose.

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Opusmodus speaks fluently to MusicXML and MIDI-file to enable your work to be prepared to meet the needs of professional performance and publishing.

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Together the panels make up a most exciting and flexible workspace for musical creativity.

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How the composer will use the Opusmodus interface with its many features and possibilities will always be a matter of experiment and personal choice.

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One of the objectives around the design of Opusmodus is to respond to the many and various approaches composers have to make in particular projects and circumstances.

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In such a powerful environment as Opusmodus there are just so many things that are not just useful but necessary.

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Opusmodus GPT

We are excited to announce the launch of Opusmodus GPT, a customised version of ChatGPT tailored specifically for the Opusmodus community. Opusmodus GPT incorporates the entire Opusmodus documentation along with comprehensive usage examples. The Opusmodus GPT is accessible in the standard (Free) ChatGPT.

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What is Opusmodus

Opusmodus is a comprehensive computer-aided composition (CAC) environment primarily used by musicians, composers, and researchers. It integrates algorithmic composition techniques, microtonality, and complex music theory concepts into a single, flexible programming platform based on Common Lisp. Opusmodus enables users to generate, analyse, and manipulate musical material through code, facilitating both traditional and experimental music creation.

Lisp-Based Programming

At its core, Opusmodus uses the Common Lisp programming language, which allows for both bottom-up (macro-driven) and top-down design, making it adaptable for various musical tasks. Users define musical parameters and generate compositions using functions and macros, taking advantage of Lisp’s extensibility.

Opusmodus Notation

Opusmodus features its own notation system, called Opusmodus Notation (OMN), which represents musical elements like rhythm, pitch, dynamics, and articulations in a structured list format. This allows users to specify music in code form, which can then be processed and rendered into notation or audio.

Functionality and Libraries

Opusmodus offers a vast library of built-in functions and modules for tasks such as pitch manipulation, rhythm generation, counterpoint, microtonal adjustments, and MIDI interaction. The functions operate on OMN-formatted data and support various advanced compositional techniques, including stochastic processes, pitch-class set theory, and microtonal transformations.

MIDI and Score Output

Opusmodus supports MIDI entry and manipulation, allowing users to input and modify musical material in real-time using a MIDI controller. Completed compositions can be exported as MIDI or rendered as notation, which can then be transferred to traditional notation software if desired.

Customisation

Opusmodus is highly customisable; users can define their own functions, scales, and articulations, adapting the software to unique compositional requirements. The modular structure also supports custom tuning systems, microtonal pitches, and non-standard scales.

How-To In 100sec

I've never liked drawing automation curves, luckily, with Opusmodus, we don't have to. This video shows you how to create accurate automation shapes and apply them to any parameter you want.

Starting with a graph is a great way to come up with new musical ideas. This video will show you how to modulate a sine-wave and map the result to a sequence of pitches.

Being able to visualize a code-snippet can go a long way in understanding how a function works. This video shows you how to create multiple graphs and apply them in a musical way.

It's easy to get stuck with the same old drum patterns, not with Opusmodus though. This video shows you how to use the polygon-rhythm function to create interesting and new patterns.

Writing for four voices traditionally takes a lot of practice and patience, as it should be. Still, it's great to get a little bit of help sometimes. In this video I show you how to use the CHORALIS function to experiment with voice leading in a very straightforward way.

The power of Parametric Composition lies in the ability to separate individual aspects of your compositions. This video will show you how to experiment with different velocities before mapping them again to a row of pitches.

The First Steps In Opusmodus

This course is designed to introduce you to the essential tools and features you need to get started with Opusmodus, the powerful computer-aided composition software. In this series, we focus on the core functions that every user must know, covering the basics of creating lengths, pitches, dynamics and tonalities.

OMN The Language

Anyone can code

OMN is designed as a scripting language for musical events. It’s not about sounds themselves, it is about their control and organisation in a musical composition. As a linear script rather than a graphic stave, musical events can be transformed, extended, reorganised by powerful computer algorithms.

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I. Strawinsky, Petruschka, 1911/21
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W. A. Mozart, Variation KV 265
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A. Webern, Sechs Bagatellen für Streichquartett, op. 9, III, 1913
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J. S. Bach, Goldberg-Variationen, Aria, 1741

Chord Progression

The DIATONIC-CHORD function generates chord sequences based on diatonic chord symbols relative to a specified key. It allows for flexible chord progression creation in both major and minor keys by interpreting chord degrees (e.g., I, ii, V7) within the context of the given key signature.

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Chord progression.
Listen to the score.

Microtonality

Microtonal music continues to be a fertile ground for innovation, offering composers and musicians the opportunity to explore sounds beyond the traditional Western musical framework.

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Luigi Nono, Fragmente-Stille, An Diotima, Violin 1 (fragement, 1979-1980)
Listen to the score.

Counterpoint

In Opusmodus the COUNTERPOINT function designates patterns to a number of voices with defined methods for each voice.

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Bruno Maderna, Serenata Per un Satellite (1969)
Listen to the score.

Tonnetz

In musical tuning and harmony, the Tonnetz (German: tone-network) is a conceptual lattice diagram representing tonal space (net) first described by Leonhard Euler in 1739. Various visual representations of the Tonnetz can be used to show traditional harmonic relationships in European classical music.

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Tonnetz space 11
Listen to the score.

Micropolyphony

Micropolyphony is a polyphonic musical texture developed by György Ligeti which consists of many lines of dense canons moving at different tempos or rhythms, thus resulting in tone clusters vertically. According to David Cope, "micropolyphony resembles cluster chords, but differs in its use of moving rather than static lines"; it is "a simultaneity of different lines, rhythms, and timbres".

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Micropolyphony example for two choirs.
Listen to the score.

Made In Opusmodus

Videos and audio files shared by users working with Opusmodus

Jor van der Poel

Jor van der Poel

Janusz Podrazik

Janusz Podrazik

Yuichi Yoga

Stéphane Boussuge

Brian Cope

Robert Scott Thompson

Stéphane Boussuge

Ivan Elezovic

André Meier

André Meier

Janusz Podrazik

Timothee Boussuge

Stéphane Boussuge

Opusmodus Books

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Fundamentals of composition with Opusmodus - Book 1

Marco Giommoni - Janusz Podrazik

This is the first volume of a series of publications specifically dedicated to composition and analysis of music using the Opusmodus system. This volume focuses on the basic elements of the system and on the fundamental strategies in defining symbolic expressions in a text-code i.e. generation and transformation of musical material to create a score. 

ISBN 9791280270078

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Study and Practice in Composition with Opusmodus - Book 2

Julio Herrlein

This is the second volume in the series of publications specifically dedicated to composing and analyzing music using the Opusmodus system. The primary purpose of this book is to provide a narrative of the compositional process in Opusmodus and demonstrate the interplay of functions in a typical daily workflow of practicing and studying composition.

ISBN 9791280270566

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From Sign to Code

Marco Giommoni

Knowing the past to understand the present and plan the future. This is the goal of Marco Giommoni who, with this highly original book, fills a serious gap in theoretical studies of contemporary composition assisted by computer science – now increasingly present in the life of all musicians – and offers a systematic approach to current compositional and analytical practices using the Opusmodus system.

ISBN 9791280270580

Learn By Composing

with Stéphane Boussuge

Opusmodus offers lessons to students and professionals interested in composing music with Opusmodus. We provide lessons for beginners and advanced users with or without programming knowledge, online or on site. The lessons are created to give you a greater understanding of the Opusmodus design and introduce you to the main features focusing on different composing approaches.

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Opusmodus Presentation at 42 School, Paris, France

License

Not sure where to start? Try our trial version, which offers unrestricted access to all Opusmodus features for an entire month. Alternatively, you can opt for a full license and pay in instalments, with no additional charges. We are sure you will love it.

Personal License

£399.00

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Academic License

£250.00

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Personal License
in 12 Instalments

£33.25

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Academic License
in 12 Instalments

£20.84

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Janusz Podrazik
Photo © Emanuel A. Klempa

Founder and Creator

Janusz Podrazik

The Opusmodus Music Composition System was developed by Janusz Podrazik and team to take music into new directions and to contribute to unique outcomes.

Programmers

Bill St. Clair
Ernst van Waning
Gail Zacharias
Greg Pfeil
Janusz Podrazik
Martin Simmons
Matthew Emerson
Yehouda Harpez
Zachary Beane

Documentation

Dominik Šedivý
Janusz Podrazik
Marco Giommoni
Nigel Morgan
Stéphane Boussuge

Contributors

Achim Bornhoeft
André Meier
Didier Debril
Fabio De Sanctis De Benedictis
Gioia Meller Marcovicz
James Sutton
Jesper Elén
Jor van der Poel
Julio Herrlein
Marco Giommoni
Nigel Morgan
Rangarajan Krishnamoorthy
Sungmin Park
Stéphane Boussuge
Torsten Anders
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Opusmodus is currently the most advanced software for computer-assisted composition available. It comes with the highest development potential to fulfil the aesthetical and technical requirements for contemporary composers. At the University Mozarteum, Salzburg Opusmodus is already part of the compositional education and will be the preferred production environment in the future.

Univ. Prof. Achim Bornhoeft
Head of Studio for Electronic Music, Head of Institute for New Music
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I come from a Lisp background and have worked with Common Lisp Music, Common Music, Fomus, CL-Collider, and the new CLAMPS, which allowed me to realize my musical ideas. However, as a Mac user, it became increasingly difficult to use JackAudio, and tasks like plotting required installing multiple packages. This meant constantly switching between plotting and playing music via the REPL.

What truly amazed me, though, was the usability and simplicity of Opusmodus and its all-in-one concept. Despite being a reasonably skilled Lisp coder by now, there’s still so much to learn, and I find the Opusmodus notation to be an incredibly powerful tool.

This is why I ordered Opusmodus both for our AI project for the Klais Hyper-Organ Würzburg and privately for my own music.

PD DR. Daniel Hensel
Composer and Musicologist
Artistic-scientific staff in the field of organ art – creativity concepts – AI (HTA)
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