Menu Band fleet scores #

A score is a saved, re-runnable composition for N computers. Each *.mbscore file (JSON inside) declares how many machines it is composed for and one voice per machine.

Double-click to play (host = this machine) #

.mbscore is a registered Menu Band document type. Double-click one in Finder (or open foo.mbscore) and the Menu Band on that machine becomes the host and plays the whole composition locally — all voices layered at one shared start, robot badge lit. No conductor, no ssh. This is the portable, shareable form. The conductor (../bin/conduct.mjs) assigns each voice to a host and fires them all at one shared startEpoch, so the machines lock to the same downbeat — NTP-synced wall clocks, no LAN or Multipeer required (it posts a …menuband.play DistributedNotification directly on each host, locally or over ssh).

Run #

node ../bin/conduct.mjs --list                     # list saved scores + machine count
node ../bin/conduct.mjs prelude-in-c               # show requirements, don't play
node ../bin/conduct.mjs prelude-in-c blueberry neo # perform it across two machines

A host token runs locally when it matches this machine's hostname (or is local/self); otherwise it is reached over ssh. Voices are assigned to hosts in order. If you pass fewer hosts than the score needs, it prints the requirement and stops.

Format #

{
  "title": "Prelude in C — split",
  "composer": "J.S. Bach (BWV 846), arr. for Menu Band fleet",
  "machines": 2,          // composed for N computers (defaults to voices.length)
  "bpm": 76,
  "lead": 3.0,            // seconds between firing and the downbeat
  "description": "…",
  "voices": [             // one per machine, assigned in order
    { "name": "arpeggio",       "program": 6, "velocity": 100, "notes": "…" },
    { "name": "basso continuo", "program": 6, "velocity": 88,  "notes": "…" }
  ]
}

Each voice is a …menuband.play payload. Besides notes a voice may carry any play key — notes2/notes3/notes4 (parallel tracks on that machine), velocity2…, per-voice program/bpm, etc. notes syntax is comma-separated token:beats, where token is a MIDI note number (60 = middle C) or a drum letter (k s h ho c rd cr), and r is a rest — e.g. 60:0.25,r:0.5,67:1.

Composing for more machines #

Set machines to 3+ and add that many voices (SATB choir, a rhythm section, a round). The conductor scales to whatever roster you hand it; a score composed for 4 needs 4 hosts. Clock sync is NTP across the fleet (~tens of ms in practice), tight enough for ensemble playing.