These features included the use of XML as a foundation; the ability to describe a musical object or event comprehensively (as opposed to merely providing a machine-readable format for a traditional musical score, or for a determinate sound recording of one performance); and the division of this comprehensive information into modules (often termed layers in later work), with separate modules for metadata, lyrics, notation, sound, and performance.
These characteristics included utilizing XML as a foundation; describing a musical object or event in detail (as opposed to merely providing a machine-readable format for a traditional musical score, or for a specific sound recording of one performance); and dividing this comprehensive information into sections (often referred to as layers in later work), with separate sections for metadata, lyrics, notation, sound, and performance.