OscillaScore is an open-source platform for creating and performing time-based, animated notation in the browser. It supports collaborative performance, synthesis control, and visual experimentation using simple SVG and web technologies.
What Can OscillaScore Do?
- Synchronize score playback across local devices or remote performers
- Trigger audio, events, or OSC messages via cues
- Combine open-form and fixed-form structures for hybrid performance formats
- Animate shapes, symbols, and cues using custom SVG syntax
- Run entirely in the browser — no installation required
- Full documentation and source code on GitHub
What Kind of Software Is OscillaScore?
Oscilla is a hybrid system that sits between score playback engine, cue-based media framework, and distributed performance interface. It is designed to support composers and performers working with contemporary forms of notation, multimedia integration, and distributed coordination.
It is:
- A performance framework for distributed setups, allowing composers and performers to coordinate audio, animation, and media in real time
- A cue-driven score playback and control system for structured, time-based, and media-integrated works
- A networked playback environment supporting multi-client synchronization via WebSockets and OSC
- A score authoring platform supporting compact mini-syntax for animation, transformation, and timing control using SVG ID conventions
It is not:
- A full-featured notation program like MuseScore or Sibelius
- A DAW or audio sequencing environment
Nonetheless, when integrated with external tools such as Inkscape or conventional notation software, OscillaScore offers a robust environment for the composition and design of animated and spatial graphic scores. This hybrid approach supports a range of experimental, electroacoustic, and intermedia practices, enabling composers to work beyond the constraints of traditional notation.
Conceptual Overview
OscillaScore supports both fixed-form and open-form works, and can be used in isolation as a powerful environment for structuring electronic music compositions. It accommodates a range of artistic practices including:
- Animated graphic or symbolic scores
- Distributed improvisation and comporovisation
- Time-based cue sequences and gesture triggers
- Media scores involving video, audio, or text prompts
- Live networked performances and collaborative rehearsals
It builds on the lineage of drawing-based music systems like Xenakis’s UPIC, reimagining the score as a spatial interface for sonic control. With support for animation and OSC, OscillaScore acts as both a form of notation and a performable instrument, allowing users to control sound through movement, timing, and visual gesture.
It operates under two main paradigms:
- A scrolling score model, suited for linear, horizontally-unfolding timelines
- A page-based or hypertextual model, allowing spatial, nonlinear, or interactive structures
These paradigms can coexist within a single score, enabling hybrid forms that mix continuous motion with branching or triggerable segments.
OscillaScore tightly integrates notation, performer cues, media triggers, and animation into a unified timing and control system. This allows complex audiovisual structures to be executed with precise coordination — ensuring seamless transitions between written material, live gestures, and multimedia elements.
Composers and performers can author complex transformations, animations, and media events using a concise SVG ID-based syntax paired with a powerful cue system.
Use Cases
OscillaScore supports a wide range of use cases, including:
- Score composition for ensembles: Design dynamic, cue-based scores using SVG animations and transformation syntax tailored for group performance
- Rehearsal and performance for ensembles: Share synchronized score playback with multiple musicians in real time using WebSockets or OSC
- Telematic and distributed improvisation: Use cues and visual animations to coordinate remote performers across networks
- Mixed-media or hypermedia works: Integrate text, video, sound, and interactivity in dynamic score designs
Solo electronic music composition: Structure and trigger sound processes in synthesis tools like SuperCollider or Pure Data using animated SVG cues and OSC output - Interactive installations: Embed visual or spatial scores in gallery contexts with OSC-driven sound interaction
PonySays trio performing Rob Canning's composition 1:10,560 (6 inches to the Mile), 2025 — intermedia score for electric guitar, synthesiser, and drums — at Dublin Sound Lab’s Music Current Festival, Project Arts Centre, Dublin. The musicians performed using iPads synchronized over a local network with Oscilla, while the projector was connected as a fourth client displaying the score to the audience.
Create Oscilla Scores with Inkscape
OscillaScore is designed to work seamlessly with Inkscape — a free and open-source vector graphics editor. It is also compatible with other SVG-capable tools such as Adobe Illustrator, though some advanced features may vary in support. If you encounter any issues, please report them via the GitHub Discussions or the Oscilla Matrix room.
- Download: inkscape.org/release
- Use OscillaScore templates and naming conventions for animated SVG scores
- See GitHub for templates and examples
Interactive Help Score File
Oscilla comes with an interactive help file help.svg. Here are some screenshots from the help score:
PonySays Trio using Oscilla @ MusicCurrent Festival 2025
Workshops
OscillaScore workshops explore graphic notation, live performance, and networked interaction. These sessions are designed for composers, improvisers, and artists working at the intersection of sound, code, and visual media — exploring new modes of performance, interaction, and notation. OscillaScore workshops can be adapted to:
- Experimental music ensembles
- Improvisation collectives
- Composition/technology courses
- Hacklabs and interdisciplinary events
Workshops typically include live demos, collaborative score creation, and integrations with synthesis, spatial sound, or video. Please get in touch if you are interested in hosting a workshop.
The first Oscilla workshop hosted by the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland as part of the Music Current Festival 2025. More details at cmc.ie.
Photo © Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland, 2025.
Papers in Preparation
One or more research papers related to Oscilla are currently in preparation for submission to peer-reviewed academic conferences. Due to the requirements of the double-blind review process, these preprints cannot be shared publicly at this stage. They will be made available here once the review process has concluded.
Community & Support
- GitHub Discussions
- Join Matrix Chat
- Follow @rob@toot.si on Mastodon