David MacDonald unboxes the Odla music notation controller

David MacDonald reviews the Odla music notation controller at Scoring Notes.

Odla, an input device that “touches” the music | Scoring Notes:

Despite all the developments users have seen in music notation software and related technologies, the ways we actually get notes into the software hasn’t changed much in the last couple decades. Odla, an Italian music technology startup, is changing that with their new hardware controller for MuseScore and Dorico.

While other input devices rely on an instrument-style controller like a MIDI keyboard or “music alphabet” shortcuts on a computer keyboard, Odla directly models the five-line staff itself. The bright red staff-line buttons make Odla look pretty cool, and the connection between input and notation was obvious and intuitive from the moment the device hit my desk. As Odla’s tagline goes, it is “music you can touch”.

This device seems really interesting, and I like the idea of having MIDI input devices that embrace the visual nuances of staff notation.

David has an immeasurable amount of experience with notation software and gets straight to the point while testing this thing out. Check out the Odla here.