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About SharpEye

Optical Music Recognition (OMR) software for RISC OS

Contents


System requirements

You need an Acorn-compatible computer running RISC OS 3.5 or later. SharpEye is fully compatible with RISC OS Select, and has been tested successfully on the latest version 4.33 of RISC OS. It is also now compatible with the new RISC OS 5 as featured on the IYONIX pc. The software does use a fair bit of memory and processor time, and 16Mb of RAM is a reasonable minimum for serious use. A StrongARM processor is highly recommended, and an XScale processor provides the best performance by a comfortable margin. If you want to process large images such as orchestral scores, or run other programs alongside SharpEye, you may need more than 16Mb of RAM. If you are in any doubt about your setup, please try out the demo version first.

You will need a scanner in order to scan in printed music. You will also need to have TWAIN installed in order to scan directly from SharpEye.

You will almost certainly want a music notation editor or MIDI sequencer (if you don't already have one) in order to make use of the output from SharpEye.

What does it do?

The SharpEye Music Reader converts a scanned image of printed music into a MIDI file, a Rhapsody 4 file or a PMS file. You can scan directly into SharpEye, or use previously scanned sprite files as input.

Used at its simplest, you drag an sprite file into a window, choose a menu option and wait for the conversion to take place. The output is shown in conventional music notation in another window. You then save the output in the usual way, in the format of your choice.

Usually there will be some errors in the output: SharpEye has a built in editor for correcting them. Almost all the editing can be done with the mouse and the Delete key. The input image window automatically scrolls to the right place in the image as you edit, allowing you to check one against the other. SharpEye also shows warnings for each bar which doesn't make musical sense. This acts a bit like a spell-checker, and directs your attention to likely errors.

SharpEye does not cope with handwritten music.

Here is a screenshot of SharpEye in use. The front window is the SharpEye editing window, containing the version of the music that the software has read; behind it is the window showing the original scan. As you click in the editing window, the score window scrolls to show you the original printed music. Note that in this example, no post-editing has been done; the window shows the music exactly as SharpEye read it.
 
Click the screenshot to see a full-size copy in a new browser window.
  SharpEye in use

How well does it work?

It is very difficult to convey how accurate SharpEye is in words. Top priority was always given to musical accuracy during the development of SharpEye, and tests suggest that it is more accurate than programs costing a lot more. Try the SharpEye demo and make up your own mind.

What does it cost?

SharpEye costs £60 including disc, printed manual, and p&p. (There is no VAT.)

How to buy

Please send a cheque, made payable to Richard Hallas, to:

Richard Hallas
KeyNote
31 Skelton Crescent
Crosland Moor
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire
HD4 5PN
UK

If you are not in the UK, you can convert £60 into your own currency and make out a cheque for that amount. Please do not make out a cheque in pounds unless it is drawn on a UK bank.

More information

If you would like more information before downloading and installing SharpEye, you can download a Zip archive containing an HTML version of the manual (see the download page).


SharpEye Index  •  About SharpEye  •  Download Page  •  Brief Guide & Licence  •  Version History