Notetrace is an objective interface with music, which is both a general-purpose music notation system and a computer-music high level language.

It has the potential to stimulate and expand the musical practice into the masses by simplification, while offering important advantages which are not possible on the Traditional Music Notation, that justify its use by any musician.

Notetrace is not a reform to the TMN; instead it is a complete alternative system which is not limited to improve the notation of music for performers, it also allows to take better advantage of technology applied to music, as well as being a better alternative to the traditional description of harmony which has been a long time suggestion inside the community of scholars.

All three achieved goals and additional possibilities converge harmonically into a simple, useful, robust and esthetic system which opens a door for millions of peoples to enter the world of a solid musical practice.

Notetrace is also the natural responce to keep up with important events which occured after the TMN was a consolidated and universally known system, such as the aceptance of the twelve tone equal temperament (12-TET) as the dominant standard and the invention of computers, these two major and remarkable events should not be tied to the restrictions of a system which did not considered them at all in its evolution.

Its objective design and closer relationship to codification of music makes it a better tool than the TMN to take better advantage of this technological era in:

a.     Computers commanded performance and music production.

b.    Production of complex music scores generated directly from music files with a minimum or no human intervention.

c.     Production of faultless harmony descriptions by computer applications.

d.    Analysis of music.

e.     Hardware and software applications to read and play music.

f.      Hardware and software applications to teach and learn music.

Our beautiful and ornate TMN and also music theory are what they are and not what we would like them to suddenly be, reforms will only be possible the same very slow way they have always been because we don’t want nor can get rid of its enormous legacy.

However in this technological era it is possible and justified the coexistence of a complete alternative solution as the way to solve a great cumulous of issues especially when there are so many people that need it.

While the reasons why the TMN has come to be what it is may be justified, it is not correct to assume that it should remain the only option and continue tied to its limitations, ignoring also the so many frustrated people along the way, and the excessive time invested by those who partially or fully can use it.

Certainly music notation could have been easier or should have been free of unnecessary complications but so could have been in English and other languages, however the particularity of music of being:

·       a kind of language bound to real time

·       not as generally and frequently used in ordinary life as the articulated ones

·       interactive with complex musical instruments

Altogether make the need of an alternative simpler interface with it much more important and necessary than in other language in which could also be desirable improving its writing.

Nevertheless we could go on only with the traditional interface for ever but the huge musical illiteracy and semi-literacy disproportion that we have today will also continue increasing, and millions of people will continue deprived of a full practice.

Or we could take advantage of the much simple and practical concept of our tuning standard to open a door which will represent to music theory, perception and in general to our musical practice the equivalent of what it did to performance in the fixed-tone musical instruments many years ago.

By adopting the 12-TET it was sacrificed a little bit of beauty to gain a lot of functionality and finally we won much more than what we lost, it was a solid step toward simplification and thanks to technology we are ready for the next necessary step on the same direction and consolidate a complete much simpler solution and the musical practice and music literacy could be for the masses.

There is a history that shows the difference before and after adopting a better technology and how it opened new possibilities, allowed greater participation or both; among them are the Hindu-Arabic numerals, equal temperament, staff notation, Cherokee syllabary, Korean Hangul, Feynman diagrams and logarithms.

Notetrace is a fresh starting point without legacy, without interference or confusion with the traditional system, as much solid and complete as I can provide but open to improvements and not exempt of facing the inevitable renovation imposed by its use in time.