LSound: An L-System Framework for Score Generation

Abstract

Visual language or visual representation has been used in the past few years in order to express the knowledge in graphics. One of the important graphical elements is fractal and L-Systems is a mathematics-based grammatical model for modelling cell development and plant topology. From the plant model, L-Systems can be interpreted as music sound and score. In this paper, LSound which is a Visual Language Programming (VLP) framework has been developed as a tool that can model plant to music sound and generate music score and vice versa. The objectives of this research have three folds: (i) To expand the grammar dictionary of L-Systems music based on visual programming, (ii) To design and produce a user-friendly and icon-based visual language framework typically for L-Systems musical score generation which helps the basic learners in musical field and (iii) To generate music score from plant models and vice versa using L-Systems method. This research undergoes four phases methodology where the plant is first modeled, then the music is interpreted, followed by the output of music sound through MIDI and a score is generated. Technically, LSound was compared to other existing applications in the aspects of the capability of modelling the plant, rendering the music and generating the sound. LSound is a flexible framework in which the plant can be easily altered through arrow-based programming and the music score can be altered through the music symbols and notes which encourages non-experts to work with L-Systems and music.