MusicXML based on Extensible Markup Language
MusicXML is an XML-based file format for representing Western musical notation. The format is open, fully documented, and can be freely used under the W3C Community Final Specification Agreement.History
MusicXML was invented by Michael Good and initially developed by Recordare LLC. It derived several key concepts from existing academic formats (such as Walter Hewlett's ASCII-based MuseData and David Huron's Humdrum). It is designed for the interchange of scores, particularly between different scorewriters. MusicXML development was managed by MakeMusic following the company's acquisition of Recordare in 2011. MusicXML development was transferred to the W3C Music Notation Community Group in July 2015.Version 1.0 was released in January 2004. Version 1.1 was released in May 2005 with improved formatting support. Version 2.0 was released in June 2007 and included a standard compressed format. All of these versions were defined by a series of document type definitions (DTDs). An XML Schema Definition (XSD) implementation of Version 2.0 was released in September 2008. Version 3.0 was released in August 2011 with improved virtual instrument support, in both DTD and XSD versions. Version 3.1 was released in December 2017 with improved support for the Standard Music Font Layout (SMuFL). Version 4.0 was released in June 2021 and resolved multiple issues.The MusicXML DTDs and XSDs are each freely redistributable under the W3C Community Final Specification Agreement.