OMARO
A reference vocabulary and a model for attributed, contextual and reviewable organological statements.
OMARO provides a reference for organological terminology and classification. Its public browser supports searching and inspecting the vocabulary across languages. The first published release described here is 0.1.0.
A reference is not a source quotation
A controlled concept helps relate records. The original wording in a source remains evidence in its own right. Mapping that wording to a reference concept is an interpretative step and should stay attributable.
OMARO and POD have independent versions. A dataset release can refer to a vocabulary without turning that vocabulary into part of the dataset’s own release identity.
More than a multilingual label list
OMARO expands to Ontology for Multiperspectivity, Assertions, and Review in Organology. It records statements together with their source, applicability and review status. The reference dataset provides a concrete foundation for lookup and comparison, while the model allows an interpretation to be documented without assuming that every perspective must collapse into one universal classification.
| Reference release 0.1.0 | Scope |
|---|---|
| 643 classifications | Hornbostel–Sachs reference classifications. |
| 2,724 resolved concepts | Instrument concepts derived from the source reference material. |
| 13 languages | Preferred and alternative labels support multilingual discovery. |
| 5 unresolved source references | Retained as unresolved rather than silently assigned. |
Cuntz · Illustrative scenario#
Does the word “organ” settle the classification?
A controlled vocabulary supplies identified concepts and labels. SKOS describes concepts and their relationships; OMARO additionally retains perspectives, source assertions and review status.
Work through the example 3 STEPS
“Cuntz positive organ” is a label for a particular instrument. “Positive organ” is also a type concept that may occur in a vocabulary. A label match connects a research question, not automatically an identity.
Separate object from concept
The museum organ is a physical subject. The vocabulary concept describes a kind of instrument. Many objects can be described using one concept.
Keep the classification attributable
If a source classifies the Cuntz instrument, record the source and relevant instrument state. Do not infer an exact Hornbostel–Sachs code merely from a familiar English label.
Retain source words during normalization
A source stop label such as Holzgedackt 8′ remains evidence even when a normalized concept is added. The proposed mapping needs the documented pitch, division and context.
BASIS FOR THIS EXAMPLE
- MODAVIS Ontology Network 0.1.0 ↗
Identity, state, configuration, evidence, assertions, context and provenance. Teaching examples explain its distinctions without inventing new normative properties.
- Cuntz Positiv · VAO 0.5.0-rc.2 ↗
Published manifest: identities, measurement observations, realization digests, profiles and rights. Exact examples checked against this release.
- OMARO 0.1.0 ↗
No new OMARO assertion or Hornbostel–Sachs classification of the Cuntz instrument is claimed in this example.
The useful distinction. A vocabulary improves comparison by identifying meanings while preserving the source’s wording.
An example of careful vocabulary reuse
Suppose an inventory contains a historical instrument name. Start by preserving the literal wording and its language or uncertainty. Look up candidate reference concepts, inspect their identifiers and source context, then record the grounds for a mapping. A modern preferred label can make discovery easier without replacing the historical expression in the evidence.
The reference corpus and an expert assessment are different resources. A source-derived classification expresses what the source assigns; it does not itself establish a new scholarly review of the object. A reusable mapping should therefore retain its status, scope and source instead of presenting every imported classification as a freshly endorsed conclusion.
Keep releases independent
OMARO’s ontology, reference data and tooling have separately meaningful version identities even when their published labels coincide. A POD release or Navigator snapshot may use a particular OMARO state. Cite the reference actually used and keep the original source identifier where supplied; do not infer a new dataset version simply from a changed vocabulary interface.
Sources & further reading
- OMARO 0.1.0
Organological reference vocabulary.
- Pipe Organ Dataset 1.6.0
The fixed dataset release, methods and checksums.
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