Orca

would permit me to enter in the chords and notes I want (like all these tools do), and at the same time, give me a window into insights like "adding this next chord progression would take it into a more jazzy realm" or "if you spread these notes over two measures and drop them an octave it will get really interesting." I suppose it is a lot to ask a computer to make those qualitative analyses of the music, but it seems like at least it could gather up some options. Computers are good at pattern matching. And, I've also yet to see these editors offering a way to collaborate, either in person, or over the internet. With a shared language and networks, we can do this. Timing is the biggest thing, but music has a consistent tempo (so your collaboration might not arrive in this measure, but we could guarantee it enters the composition on the next measure at the exact right time). I remember a FOSCON with _why (the lucky stiff). He came with a band to FreeGeek in Portland, and did this interactive music thing, where he put up a ruby program that all the attendees to the event could attach to with their own IRB session. And, then people could collaborate on the performance with him. It didn't go well. A veteran Perl programmer said "it was like watching a train wreck" (Perl people were pretty jealous of Ruby at that moment). It didn't go well, indeed, but it was so a fascinating idea to try and I wish there were more examples of this kind of thing. That would be such a great way to teach music.