[CM] ETF or MusicXML output for CM?

[Niklas Kambeitz]

I'm a composer using CM for about a year to generate MIDI files, which I 
import into Finale to work on. This works fairly well except that Finale 
makes errors when interpreting rhythms with tuplets and ties; notes tend 
to go missing. I've found that Sibelius makes the same errors as well, 
so perhaps MIDI is not the best format for what I'm doing.

Have there been any plans or attempts to enable CM to output files in a 
format more friendly to the popular notation programs? For example, 
Finale's "Enigma Transportable File" (ETF), which appears to be rather 
ugly and complicated, can be imported by Sibelius too. OpenMusic can 
already save in this format. The MusicXML format seems to be importable 
by more notation programs than any other, so that might be a good choice.

I was thinking it would be nice if the "events" function had a method 
for "*.etf" or "*.xml" files. Or else there could be a way to convert 
from .cmn files, since CMN has already dealt with the complex task of 
interpreting the rhythm and spelling of MIDI sequences.

I would consider tackling this problem myself, but I don't presently 
have the necessary time or expertise in lisp, and first I wanted to know 
if anyone else is working on (or has found) a solution for this problem. 
It seems like it would be a common concern for anyone using CM as a tool 
for computer-assisted composition.

I would appreciate any comments on the subject.


Niklas Kambeitz