Leading the revolution
in music composition
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, and songwriters. 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. It is the first application to successfully provide what IRCAM has termed the "Composing Continuum": from first thoughts to the finished score. The Opusmodus workspace consists of five integrated panels, each dedicated to a specific purpose. Opusmodus speaks fluently to MusicXML and MIDI files to enable your work to be prepared to meet the needs of professional performance and publishing. Together the panels make up a most exciting and flexible workspace for musical creativity. How the composer will use the Opusmodus interface with its many features and possibilities will always be a matter of experiment and personal choice. 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. In such a powerful environment as Opusmodus, there are so many things that are not just useful but necessary.
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.
Spectral Analysis Tool
The Spectral Analysis window provides a real-time visualisation and control interface for frequency-domain analysis of audio signals. It combines Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing with a configurable analysis environment, supporting in-depth inspection of frequency components over time. The display includes magnitude spectra and peak detection, facilitating detailed timbral and structural audio analysis.
In addition to its analytical capabilities, the environment supports direct integration with compositional workflows. The Export Partials function enables the extraction and preservation of spectral data in a format compatible with the Opusmodus library system. This allows composers to employ spectral data as a generative resource, thereby placing the techniques of spectral composition, including orchestration, transformation, and algorithmic modelling, immediately at their disposal.
MusicXML Import/Export
The newly added functionality allows users to import compositions created in standard notation software, such as Finale, Sibelius, Dorico, or MuseScore, directly into Opusmodus. Imported MusicXML files are automatically devoiced, meaning each notated voice is separated into its own instrument part. This enables detailed computational and analytical work by allowing independent manipulation and examination of individual musical lines. Once imported, users can take full advantage of Opusmodus’s powerful tools to further transform, develop, and vary their scores. For musicologists, the advanced analytical features in Opusmodus make it easy to extract and investigate musical parameters such as pitch-class sets, rhythmic structures, and melodic contours. This algorithmic access to musical data supports rigorous research, in-depth analysis, and creative experimentation, providing a crucial link between traditional music notation and cutting-edge computational techniques within the Opusmodus environment.
Score of Anton Webern’s Op. 5 rendered in Opusmodus Notation, imported from a MusicXML file.
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.
I. Strawinsky, Petruschka, 1911/21
W. A. Mozart, Variation KV 265
A. Webern, Sechs Bagatellen für Streichquartett, op. 9, III, 1913
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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
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
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.
Opusmodus Presentation at 42 School, Paris, France
Opusmodus Books
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
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
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
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
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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