Music Encoding and Linked Data: A flexible approach to sharing musical information online

Very little in musical or musicological practice involves just one type of material – we operate with scores, recordings, live performances, oral or historical sources, and information on physical spaces and physiological responses of artists and audiences. This creates challenges for digital tools and archives. On the one hand, it can mean that our data becomes siloed – so specific to a single activity that it is of little use to others, even if we publish it openly – or, on the other hand, our methods become reductive – simplified to fit our limited tools, and often confined to just one medium.
At the Oxford e-Research Centre, we have taken a Linked Data approach that breaks down complex, interrelated musical information into separable, small statements within a wider web of knowledge. These statements can be published and then used and re-used, without needing to refer to, or even understand, the whole data structure. By building on pre-existing standards and resources where possible, we maximise the potential for researchers sharing data and tools.

In this presentation, I will explore a range of applications that use or informed the design of the Music Encoding and Linked Data (MELD) library, with examples drawn from an interactive composition for piano and electronics, observations of a string quartet masterclass, a study of audience responses to a performance of Wagner’s Ring cycle, and a digital companion to a musicological essay about Wagner’s use of Leitmotif.