How I made HUBBUB.

The problem.

I got knotted up trying to write a choral speech piece in notation software. Pasting screenshots and drawings into a word processor wasn’t working, and every change took ages.

I wanted a simple way to draw a score, set it against time and share it with the people who’d perform it. Nothing did quite what I needed, so I decided to make it.

How I made it.

I explored conventional development routes, approached the Growth Hub and Innovate UK Business Growth about funding, investigated grants, and spoke to institutions about potential support. I also tried to collaborate with a software developer, but he didn’t have the capacity to take the project on.

The funding wasn’t available, institutional resources were stretched, and the cost of commissioning the application was beyond my reach.

But I believed in the idea. I knew what I wanted to create, how it should work and why it might be useful. What I didn’t have was the ability to write the code myself.

AI gave me a way to bridge that gap. Without it, HUBBUB would probably still be an idea rather than something people can actually use.

Every creative decision was mine.

I designed HUBBUB from the original concept to the functionality, design and user experience. AI wrote the code to my direction. I tested each feature on my own scores, on a computer and an iPad, and sent it back for changes until it worked the way I wanted, often many times over.

AI also helped me draft and edit some of the text on this website. I questioned and approved all of it.

I used automation to remove a technical barrier, not to remove the human creative act.

HUBBUB keeps people in charge. You decide every mark on the page, and your score comes to life when people perform it, in rehearsal rooms, classrooms, studios and performance spaces, with voices, instruments, bodies and found sounds.

What you can do with it.

HUBBUB is designed to support human creativity, not replace it. It doesn’t generate compositions for you. It gives you the tools to imagine, experiment, collaborate and create something entirely your own.

Draw a score in minutes, press Play to watch it unfold in time, then share a link with your performers or print their parts. It’s made for composers, teachers, choirs, ensembles, film-makers, choreographers and anyone with an idea. Find ideas to start from, or see how it works.

Your work stays yours.

I know many people have concerns about AI, around copyright, consent, employment and the environment. I share them: as a professional voice artist, I’ve seen the effects of AI on my own work. So I’ve built HUBBUB to respect yours.

• There’s no AI inside HUBBUB. It never creates marks or music for you, and your scores will never be sold or used to train AI models.
• Your recordings and films stay on your computer. When you add a reference recording or film to play alongside your score, it opens in your browser only. It isn’t uploaded to HUBBUB or saved with your score.
• Images you add become part of your score. They’re saved with it, in your account if you’re signed in, and only the people you share the score with can see them. Please only add images you have the right to use.
• Your scores belong to you. Download any of them at any time, and keep them even if your plan ends.
• Your privacy is respected. No ads, no tracking, and HUBBUB’s database is hosted in the European Union. Read the privacy policy for the details.
• A fair price. HUBBUB costs £3.50 a month, and I intend to keep it affordable.

No digital product is perfect, but I’ve made every choice I can with people and their work in mind.

What HUBBUB is for.

And the choral speech piece? I’m writing it in HUBBUB now, as part of my research. It’s exactly the kind of piece HUBBUB was made for: voices, timing and texture that standard notation struggles to hold.

But HUBBUB was never just for me. I believe technology is at its best when it gives more people the opportunity to make things, express themselves and participate in creative life.

That’s what HUBBUB is for.

Emma Clarke
Founder, HUBBUB

Questions or thoughts about any of this? Email hello@hubbub-music.com. I’d like to hear them. You can also read more about me and HUBBUB.