Variations2: Retrieving and using music in an academic setting

Variations2, a digital music library system, which provides online access to both scanned and encoded musical scores is discussed. It is implemented as a Java Swing client communicating with the server through Java remote method invocation. Variations2 is based on a relational metadata model focusing on the work that manifests itself as an instantiation. The separation of entities in the variations2 metadata model enables more powerful and precise metadata-based searching for classical music than is found in many other music search systems. The system employs a disambiguation process to aid users in finding instantiations of a specific work. It scores images in a viewer window that supports bookmarking, zooming, and single two-page views. Variations2 synchronized playback and navigation of scores and sound recording is a timesaver for anyone studying a particular piece of music.