Guide

Getting the best out of LalaScript

LalaScript works best when it knows what you want and gets a clean starting point. This is the short version of how to feed it, how to ask, and where it shines versus what we're still sharpening. Two minutes here saves a lot of "why did it do that."

1Start with the cleanest input

The quality of what comes out depends a lot on what goes in. In order of reliability:

MusicXML (.xml) or compressed MusicXML (.mxl) are the gold standard. In MuseScore: File → Export → MusicXML. These read perfectly, every time.
A clean PDF exported straight from notation software (MuseScore, Sibelius, Dorico) now reads almost as well as MusicXML.
Scanned or photographed pages are the least reliable. Handwriting, skewed scans, and phone photos can confuse the reader. If a scanned PDF comes out wrong, that's usually why.

If a result looks off and you started from a PDF, the fastest fix is to export the source as MusicXML and upload that instead.

2Adapting a score: how to ask

Adapt takes a score plus a plain-English request. Be specific about the outcome you want. It handles one clear instruction beautifully, and every piece includes five free edits to refine it afterward — one credit adds five more.

Works Simplify this for a beginner pianist, keep the melody intact Works Transpose down a half step Works Arrange this for violin and piano Works Make the chords playable for small hands Vague Make it better. Better how? Tell it the goal.

Once you see the result, use the editor to nudge it: "no double notes in the right hand," "put the melody on top," "a little easier still." Every piece includes five free edits — transposes, tweaks, and rewrites alike — and one credit adds five more.

3Creating from a prompt: how to ask

Create writes original music from a description. Give it style, mood, key, length, and instrument, and it does great work. The one thing it can't do is copy a specific existing song, it writes something new in that spirit instead.

Works An 8-bar blues jazz guitar solo in E minor, slow and expressive Works A gentle folk ballad in the style of 60s protest songs Works A simple 8-bar violin melody in G major, beginner level Won't Make the song "Blowin' in the Wind". It can't reproduce a specific copyrighted song. Describe the style instead.

Creating a piece uses one generation and includes five free edits to refine it ("make it happier," "add a cello," "transpose to G"). Want to keep polishing? One credit adds five more edits. A brand-new piece is a new generation.

4Humming, singing, or playing a melody

You can hum, sing, or play a melody into your mic and LalaScript will turn it into notation you can build on. It works best with a single line, one note at a time, a solo melody, not chords or a full backing track. Keep it clear and not too fast, and it'll follow you.

5What it does well, and what we're still refining

LalaScript is in beta, and we'd rather be honest about where it is than have you guess.

Reliable today: simplifying and adapting difficulty, transposing and key changes (exact, every time), arranging for different instruments, generating short original pieces, and single-line melody transcription.

Still sharpening: complex multi-part reharmonization, very long or dense scores, messy scanned PDFs, and matching a specific stylistic feel exactly. We're actively refining the output so it holds up the way a trained musician would do it, and every correction you make teaches it. So if something isn't quite right, it's often the input or a still-maturing corner, not you, and your "needs work" feedback is exactly what makes the next version better.

6If a result isn't right

Started from a PDF? Export the source as MusicXML and upload that instead.
Was the request vague? Say the specific outcome you want and try again.
Close but not perfect? Nudge it with a follow-up edit — every piece includes five free edits, and one credit adds five more (or start a new piece for a fresh direction).
Still off? Hit Needs work and tell us what you'd change. It goes straight into training and genuinely helps.

That's it. The rest you'll pick up by playing with it.

Open the studio →