Research & Upcoming Features

Meet the SyMusOMR beta

SyMusOMRcodename turns score images into editable musical notation using a compact, on-device MusicOMR engine. Explore what the current beta recognizes, review known boundaries, read about the research, and request an invitation to test it.

Request Beta AccessExplore Recognized FeaturesRead How It Works

The beta is under active development. Recognition coverage and behavior may change as testing expands.

Runs on deviceCamera + scansEditable score outputActive beta
Fully recognizedExpected to import directly in supported beta conditions.
Recognized with caveatsMusical content is retained; some visual layout may be normalized.
Limited recognitionOnly the supported properties are imported.
Coming soonNot part of the present beta recognition set.
SyMusOMR beta overview • recognized notation, current boundaries, and research
Fully recognized

Notes and rhythm

The engine reads musical relationships across the page before constructing an editable score. Dense passages can take longer because more elements must be related and decoded.

Pitch range: C0-C9

Supported note pitches span the full practical range from C0 through C9, subject to the active clef and written accidentals.

Beamed rhythms through 32nd notes

Single and multiple beams are recognized through 32nd-note values when stems and beams are visually connected.

Tuplets and dotted rhythms

Tuplet groupings and single- or multi-dotted durations are interpreted as musical timing, not merely as separate marks.

Multiple voices on one staff

Independent upper and lower voices can be imported from the same staff, including opposing stem directions.

Supported Pitch Span Extreme pitches are shown with octave-transposition indications rather than excessive ledger lines. Low Extreme [22mb] 𝄢 written C3 → represents C0 High Extreme [22ma] 𝄞 written C6 → represents C9
Supported pitch span. Extreme ledger-line passages remain sensitive to image clarity and cropping. Cleaner scans and uncropped ledger lines improve the most extreme passages.
Mid-Measure Clef and Time-Signature Changes A clef or meter change can appear inside the staff line, not only at the beginning. 𝄞 4 4 𝄢 6 8 change occurs inside the line treble clef • 4/4 bass clef • 6/8 the score continues after the change
A single passage may change both clef and meter; the importer carries those changes into the editable score.
Staff Count Can Change from System to System Each musical line is interpreted independently. 4 staves 2 staves
Flexible score layouts are supported across single-staff, keyboard, ensemble, and larger multi-staff pages.
Fully recognized in supported conditions

Scans, photos, and clean handwriting

The beta is designed for both exported/scanned pages and camera images. Perspective, rotation, lighting, and noise can be tolerated, but cleaner inputs remain faster and more reliable.

Scanned pages

Handles clean exports and scans with common scanner noise, compression, and moderate skew.

Camera images

Supports photos with moderate perspective distortion, rotation, and uneven lighting.

Multiple resolutions

Current beta target: images from roughly 100 x 100 through 2000 x 2000 pixels. Avoid extreme downsampling of dense scores.

Clean conventional handwriting

Filled or open oval noteheads, connected stems and flags, conventional beam thickness, and clearly marked rests work best.

Rotation and perspective

The engine can normalize common viewing angles; severe keystone distortion or cropped systems may reduce accuracy.

Lighting and image noise

Even illumination, readable staff lines, and adequate contrast reduce ambiguity and processing time.

best results: conventional ovals, connected stems/flags, clear rests
Handwriting does not need to be typeset, but it should preserve standard note, stem, beam, flag, and rest relationships.

Why some pages take longer

SyMusOMR first builds an understanding of the page, then writes the score. Processing time generally grows with the number of staves, voices, notes, rests, and structural changes - not just the image dimensions.

Recognized with caveats

Musical content first, visual layout second

Some notations carry both musical meaning and page-layout meaning. In the present beta, the engine prioritizes the playable/editable musical result.

Cross-staff beams and chords

Notes, rests, pitches, durations, chords, and beam content are recognized. On import, a note may remain assigned to its originating staff rather than reproducing the visual crossing exactly.

  • Musical timing is retained
  • Pitch content is retained
  • Cross-staff placement may be normalized

Variable staff counts

Within one page, one system may contain a different number of staves than the next. SyMusOMR does not assume a fixed staff count across the page: it infers each system from the image as it reads. Dense layouts have been tested reliably, though note accuracy can fall below the ~90% seen on clean, larger, clearly written music when systems are unusually tight, small, or cropped.

  • staff counts may change between systems
  • cleaner, larger notation yields the highest note accuracy
  • beta tested through 12 staves
𝄞𝄢What is recognizedpitch, duration, chord/beam contentCurrent import caveatnotes remain assigned to their source staff
Cross-staff example: the music is imported, while the visual staff crossing may be simplified.
𝄞upper voicelower voice
By contrast, multiple independent voices within one staff are imported explicitly.
Limited recognition and roadmap

What the current beta does not yet reproduce

These boundaries help prospective testers understand which results are currently expected and which capabilities remain on the roadmap.

Custom notehead styles

Staff position and duration are imported, but the specific x, circle-x, triangle, slash, parenthesized, or other custom notehead symbol is not yet preserved.

Chord symbols and lyrics

Textual chord symbols and sung lyrics are not part of the current beta recognition set.

Tablature

Guitar and other tablature systems are planned but are not imported by this beta.

Titles and annotation text

Titles, composer names, part names, and free-form page annotations are not presently recognized as score metadata.

More dynamics and expressions

Dynamics, articulations, expression text, and other special marks not listed as supported should be treated as roadmap items.

Requested notation types

Beta feedback will help prioritize commonly encountered symbols, score types, and layouts.

xcircle-xtriangleslashparenthesizedregularCurrent beta: staff position and duration import; notehead style does not.
The beta reads where the note is and how long it lasts, but does not yet preserve the visual notehead category.

Best input checklist

Capture the full system; keep staff lines sharp; avoid motion blur and hard shadows; use the highest practical resolution; and leave a modest margin around the music. For handwriting, connect stems, flags, and noteheads clearly.

Beta behavior may change as recognition coverage expands. Participants will receive guidance for distinguishing unexpected omissions from features that are still on the roadmap.