Algorithmic Music

Exploring the Language of Music Through the Ages
From the chants of ancient civilizations to the bold innovations of Modernism, music has always been humanity’s universal language. Each era tells its own story through melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, and the unique timbres of voices and instruments.
I’ve just completed a detailed compendium tracing the musical elements across history — not a “complete encyclopedia,” but a deep, engaging journey into how music evolved, shaped culture, and reflected the human spirit.
If you’ve ever wondered why Medieval chants sound so different from Romantic symphonies, or how instruments developed into the orchestra we know today, this work is for you.
Whether you’re a student, teacher, or lifelong lover of music, I invite you to explore and join the conversation about how these elements continue to resonate in our world today.
Music is more than sound — it is history, culture, and humanity expressed in harmony.
#MusicHistory #Education #Learning #Timbre #Melody #Harmony #Rhythm #Texture #Form

his paper presents a framework being developed to clarify discussion of algorithmic musical processes. We will firstly present some of the current terminological problems then discuss related research and background concepts. Following this, two principal attributes that enable intuitive comparison of algorithmic compositional processes will be defined in detail. The framework will then be demonstrated by applying it to some representative examples of differing algorithmic music systems.

Computer language for the description of pattern has been employed for both analysis and composition of music. In this paper we investigate the latter, with particular interest in pattern language for use in live coding performance . Towards this end we introduce Tidal, a pattern language designed for music improvisation, and embedded in the Haskell programming language. Tidal represents polyphonic patterns as a time varying function, providing an extensible range of pattern generators and combinators for composing patterns out of hierarchies of sub-patterns. Open Sound Control (OSC) messages are used to trigger sound events, where each OSC parameter may be expressed as a pattern. Tidal is designed to allow patterns to be created and modified during a live coded performance, aided by terse, expressive syntax and integration with an emerging time synchronisation standard.

Although the 1960s marked the birth of computer art 1 , numerous examples in art history outline issues that still inform the practice and theory of generative art today. This is particularly true in the field of music, the first art form to fully embrace the computer. Algorithmic music, which emerged in the 1950s, is part of a path that stretches from Greek antiquity to integral serialism, a path in which the intertwining of music and mathematics, which has been the object of many different approaches, recurs as a leitmotif. Other themes of particular interest to generative art also punctuate this path: the programmatic nature of the score, the recurrence of combinatorics, the generative dimension of the isorhythmic process or of Steve Reich's phasing, the different views of randomness, from the Musikalische Würfelspiele to John Cage or Iannis Xenakis, the formal and systematic components of serial music, the computational and algorithmic ones of set theory, the relationship between micro and macro, element and structure, or the opposition between inspired genius and objective aesthetics that runs through 20 th century art. On the one hand, the prodromal precedents of algorithmic music shed relevant light on the entire field of generative art. On the other hand, by placing generative art in a historical perspective, they contribute to the recognition of its full belonging to the artistic field.

Repurposing computing technology and turning it into a means for creative practice was common among the 1950s-1960s experimental musicians and electronic music instrument designers. The famous algorithmic composition Illiac Suite (1957) by Lejaren Hiller (1924-1994) laid the groundwork for using computers as a tool for composing. But Hiller represents only one type of early compositional use of computers. Hiller's colleague in the Experimental Music Studios (EMS) at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Salvatore Martirano (1927-1995), pioneered another approach-using the computer as a collaborator in composing music. Let's take a look into the details of two approaches to algorithmic composition developed by Hiller and Martirano by using ILLIAC II.

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Author's version of the article published in Electronic Sound Magazine, Issue 121 "Grassroots: Root Cause": https://www.electronicsound.co.uk

This paper expands upon the concepts presented in the article "Algorithmic Identity Composition System (AICS)," shifting the focus from technical details to a more philosophical perspective. Specifically, it delves into the notion of "Sound Personality," introducing the symbolic constant Sr, representing the "Abstract Representation of Reality," to clarify the theoretical implications associated with the AICS method.
"Sound Personality," or Ps, is described as a behavioral entity capable of connecting concrete elements through dynamic algorithmic structures.

This article presents a compositional method based on Algorithmic Sound Identities, capable of developing an active and dynamic musical thought process. We will refer to this method as AICS (Algorithmic Identity Composition System).
Contemporary computing technology provides the capability to gather and process vast amounts of real-time data, which can be leveraged to construct dynamically evolving algorithms. To make this model applicable, we take inspiration from human language, which serves as an acquired method for learning and expressing thought in its three fundamental components: Semiotics, Syntax, and Semantics. Semiotics pertains to the study of signs and symbols as elements of communication and is crucial for understanding how sounds can be symbolically used within a musical system. This complex aspect, which also involves notational writing, is beyond the scope of this manuscript and will be addressed in future work.
Syntax refers to the structure and rules that govern the combination of sound elements, similarly to how words combine to form sentences in spoken language.
Algorithmic Sound Identities syntactically determine a behavioral model that we will call Sound Personality. Finally, Semantics deals with the meaning and interpretation of these elements within the musical context, analyzing how sounds convey meaning and emotions. This is the aspect tied to the imagination of the composer and represents the abstract depiction of the Sound Personality. This approach allows the structuring of a sonic work capable of evolving autonomously through interaction with data from reality.

In this dissertation, I describe certain developments within my compositional practice and the origins of these techniques in the works Sonate pour piano by Jean Barraqué, Rhea for 12 saxophones by Francisco Guerrero Marín, and Akasha for string quartet by Trevor Bača. By reassessing common assumptions about the æsthetics of musical modernism and developing new techniques for analysing pieces which do not strictly adhere to a single compositional technique, I develop a personal musical language which embraces the admiration for structural coherence found in many modernist compositions while also allowing for freedom in compositional decision-making and allusions to traditional notions of beauty. Barraqué’s Sonate is designed as a structural opposition between freedom and rigor. In this work contrast is provided not by the basic materials employed in each section, rather it is the compositional approach used by the composer which is the source of juxtaposition. Guerrero’s Rhea produces contrast through the juxtaposition of seven highly unique, precisely defined musical materials. Guerrero takes a quasi-mathematical approach to the composition of most of his works, including Rhea, however this work also reveals an underlying binary structure where the contrapuntal distribution of materials is repeated with new materials replacing the old ones. Guerrero also controls dramatic intensity through the density of the material counterpoint. Bača’s Akasha deploys a type of formal structure I define as “variegation” where simultaneous statements of musical ideas are heard as independent streams of information, not merely contributions to one mass texture. Bača’s approach to rhythm is highly systematized and is often able to be used as a distinguishing feature for each musical material. My own works Polillas for string quartet and Alu for sinfonietta use many of the same conceptual frameworks as the previously mentioned compositions. I aim for both systematized stricture and free decision-making as I compose; I produce contrast through the definition of unique materials; and I systematize aspects of rhythm and harmony in my work. I see my compositional practice as an extension of musical modernism, not as post-modernism, due to the realization that modernism is not a monolithic ideology; rather, it is a constellation of many, sometimes contradictory, ideas. Within the broad heading of modernism, I define the term “Rational Thaumaturgy” to refer to works which deploy aspects of formalization without the dogmatic aim of a completely rigorous or unified whole. The term is applicable not only to my own music, but also to the previously mentioned works by Barraqué and Bača.

In modern video games, music can come in different shapes: it can be developed on a very high compositional level, with sophisticated sound elements like in professional film music; it can be developed on a very coarse level, underlying special situations (like danger or attack); it can also be automatically generated by sound engines. However, in all these approaches, no active adaptation of musical elements to user activities can be found. Context dependent and adaptive music elements are no longer background or emotional support structures, but transform to information resources, which can be actively used by the user. Thus, they become a kind of human computer interface. In this paper, we focus on music as active information resource in video games and game-based learning systems.

Lo scopo del B.S.W.I è quello di sviluppare una tecnologia funzionale che abbia la proprietà di indurre attraverso stimoli fisico-acustici, una stimolazione a impulsi di frequenza data nella zona del cranio.
Cio' potrebbe favorire una fase di maggior relax nella fase di addormentamento e quindi un coaudiuva- mento al sonno.
Nel 1954 Hess dimostrava che stimolazioni a bassa frequenza (3 -7 Hz) del talamo mediale (tra i tratti di Vico D'.Azur e di Meynert) provocavano nel gatto uno stato comportamentale di sonnolenza seguito da uno stato non differenziabile dal sonno spontaneo.
Studi successivi in cui veniva registrata anche l'attivitá EEG confermarono che stimolazioni a bassa frequenza della lamina midollare talamica inducevano sonnolenza e quindi sonno, non differenziabili da quelli spontanei neanche dal punto di vista elettroencefalografico.
La ricerca si articola in 3 fasi principali:
1) Lo sviluppo di un sistema acustico-fisico che possa ricreare una stimolazione a bassa frequenza nella zona del talamo simile a quelle registrate nell'EEG durante le fasi dell'addormentamento e del sonno.
2) Una codifica di tali sistemi che sia siglabile secondo le fasi del sonno standard (Rechtschaffen, Kales 1968).
3) La creazione degli strumenti tecnici (matematica, software ecc.) che comprenda i punti 1 e 2 di cui sopra e la loro sperimentazione su soggetti a campione. La simulazione delle onde celebrali tramite B.P.S. ha lo scopo di riprodurre per induzione, l'autogenerazione psicologica-acustica e conseguente sincronismo di onde elettriche al di sotto della soglia delle frequenze udibili dell'orecchio umano (Ä 20Hz).
Onde tipiche di queste grandezze sono ad esempio definite come gli stadi del sonno di ritmo a, q, s, d (Loomis, Harvey e Hobart 1937).
L'algoritmo del B.P.S. è in realtà strutturato in due diverse fasi. Una prima fase MF atta a ricreare psicoacusticamente la frequenza del ritmo fn utilizzando il principio psico-acustico della fondemen- tale mancante.
Segue una fase AM atta a raggruppare per sintesi granulare in modulazione di ampiezza l'MF alla stessa frequenza di fn . Le due fasi avvengono comunque in contemporanea generando un'onda unica e omogenea nel dominio del tempo e della frequenza.

MetaCompose is a music generator based on a hybrid evolutionary technique that combines FI-2POP and multi-objective optimization. In this paper we employ the MetaCompose music generator to create music in real-time that expresses different mood-states in a game-playing environment (Checkers). In particular, this paper focuses on determining if differences in player experience can be observed when: (i) using affective-dynamic music compared to static music, and (ii) the music supports the game's internal narrative/state. Participants were tasked to play two games of Checkers while listening to two (out of three) different setups of game-related generated music. The possible setups were: static expression, consistent affective expression, and random affective expression. During game-play players wore a E4 Wristband, allowing various physiological measures to be recorded such as blood volume pulse (BVP) and electromyographic activity (EDA). The data collected confirms a hypothesis based on three out of four criteria (engagement, music quality, coherency with game excitement, and coherency with performance) that players prefer dynamic affective music when asked to reflect on the current game-state. In the future this system could allow designers/composers to easily create affective and dynamic soundtracks for interactive applications.

The field of computational creativity, including musical metacreation, strives to develop artificial systems that are capable of demonstrating creative behavior or producing creative artefacts. But the claim of creativity is often assessed, subjectively only on the part of the researcher, and not objectively at all. This paper provides theoretical motivation for more systematic evaluation of musical metacreation and computationally creative systems, and presents an overview of current methods used to assess human and machine creativity that may be adapted for this purpose. In order to highlight the need for a varied set of evaluation tools, a distinction is drawn between three types of creative systems: those which are purely generative; those which contain internal or external feedback; and those which are capable of reflection and self-reflection. To address the evaluation of each of these aspects, concrete examples of methods and techniques are suggested to help researchers 1) evaluate their systems' creative process and generated artefacts, and test their impact on the perceptual, cognitive, and affective states of the audience, and 2) build mechanisms for reflection into the creative system, including models of human perception and cognition, to endow creative systems with internal evaluative mechanisms to drive self-reflective processes. The first type of evaluation can be considered external to the creative system, and may be employed by the researcher to both better understand the efficacy of their system and its impact, and to incorporate feedback into the system. Here, we take the stance that understanding human creativity can lend insight to computational approaches, and knowledge of how humans perceive creative systems and their output can be incorporated into artificial agents as feedback to provide a sense of how a creation will impact the audience. The second type centers around internal evaluation, in which the system is able to reason about its own behavior and generated output. We argue that creative behavior cannot occur without feedback and reflection by the creative/metacreative system itself. More rigorous empirical testing will allow computational and metacreative systems to become more creative by definition, and can be used to demonstrate the impact and novelty of particular approaches.

In the last years an increasing interest can be observed for developments in game engine technologies as a versatile creative tool. In particular, the possibility to visualize and simulate real-time complex physical behaviors facilitates the design and implementation of 3D virtual music instruments and the exploration of sound gesture as a result of their kinematic and spatial properties. This paper describes two case examples in the form of linear compositions based on non-conventional instrumental designs where audio is procedurally generated using custom-built APIs in the game engine scripting language (Unity3D-Javascript/C#). Sound events are also organized as a sequence of flexible code instructions, resulting in a quasi-fixed piece duration with subtle timbral variations over multiple playbacks. In both cases, the model presented shows inherit spatial characteristics, which are useful in order to build spatialization patterns in a multichannel loudspeakers configuration and emphasize the strong causal connection between the visual and sonic aspects of these works.

Ziffers is an algorithmic number based musical notation for live coding. It offers concise syntax to support composition and improvisation with complex melodies and rhythms. Ziffers is the result of experiments in unifying several types of musical notation centred around the use of symbols and numbers. It is inspired by the older numbered musical notations (Ziffersystem, Jianpu), contemporary music theory (pitch-class sets, post-tonal music analysis, serialism) and shorthand notations used in live-coding. Ziffers aims for a balance between fixed media music notation and generative notations for live coding performance. In this article, we propose an implementation agnostic numbered notation for algorithmic composition and live coding. As a proof of concept, this article will also present a live-coding framework for Ziffers notation and an export plugin for a general purpose scorewriter. In doing so, we hope to highlight the versatility of our approach in using unified syntax for different contexts of execution and interpretation.

The Open University's repository of research publications and other research outputs Choosers: The design and evaluation of a visual algorithmic music composition language for non-programmers Conference or Workshop Item How to cite: Bellingham, Matt; Holland, Simon and Mulholland, Paul (2018). Choosers: The design and evaluation of a visual algorithmic music composition language for non-programmers. In: Proceedings of 29th Annual Workshop of the Psychology of Programming Interest Group-PPIG 2018. For guidance on citations see FAQs.

Algorithmic composition systems allow for the partial or total automation of music composition by formal, computational means. Typical algorithmic composition systems generate nondeterministic music, meaning that multiple musical outcomes can result from the same algorithm-consequently the output is generally different each time the algorithm runs.

This manuscript explores fuzzy rule learning for sound synthesizer programming within the performative practice known as live coding. In this practice, sound synthesis algorithms are programmed in real time by means of source code. To facilitate this, one possibility is to automatically create variations out of a few synthesizer presets. However, the need for real-time feedback makes existent synthesizer programmers unfeasible to use. In addition, sometimes presets are created mid-performance and as such no benchmarks exist. Inductive rule learning has shown to be effective for creating real-time variations in such a scenario. However, logical IF-THEN rules do not cover the whole feature space. Here, we present an algorithm that extends IF-THEN rules to hyperrectangles, which are used as the cores of membership functions to create a map of the input space. To generalize the rules, the contradictions are solved by a maximum volume heuristics. The user controls the novelty-consistency...

This paper discusses art systems that employ image and sound as equal elements. This can be called the evolution of the "audiovisual discourse" in art and technology. Recent software for manipulation of audio and visual material is briefly described, and audio/visual digital artworks, developed during an artist-in-residence-based project, are illustrated as examples of contemporary artistic projects concerned with this theme. Different artistic approaches in the use of audio/visual systems are identified on the basis of the historical research and the second author's work, as a technologist, in collaboration with the artists participating in the project. Finally, the role of the computer as audio/visual instrument is discussed.

Algorithmic music nowadays performs domain specific tasks for which classical algorithms do not offer optimal solutions or require user's expertise. Among these tasks is the extraction of models from data that offer an understanding of the underlying behavior, providing a quick and easy to use way to explore the data for first (sometimes on-the-fly) insights. Learning rules from examples is an approach often used to achieve this goal. However, together with the aforementioned requirements algorithmic composition needs to create new material so that it is perceived as consistent with the material of the data. In addition, the input data sets are usually small because the human is the bottleneck when generating them. In this contribution we present a fuzzy rule induction algorithm focused on generalizing a set of data, complying with the previous requirements, that offers good results for small data sets. For its evaluation-in a field where there are no benchmarks available-data sets obtained during user tests were used. The visual representation offered by the fuzzy chart helps to reduce the cognitive complexity of the devices used in algorithmic music. The results obtained show that this approach is promising for future developments. Index Terms-fuzzy rules, algorithmic music, perceptual spaces, classification, parametric devices 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.

We present GESMI (Generative Electronica Statistical Modeling Instrument)-a computationally creative music generation system that produces Electronic Dance Music through statistical modeling of a corpus. We discuss how the model requires complex interrelationships between simple patterns, relationships that span both time (horizontal) and concurrency (vertical). Specifically, we present how context-specific drum patterns are generated, and how auxiliary percussion parts, basslines, and drum breaks are generated in relation to both generated material and the corpus. Generated audio from the system has been accepted for performance in an EDM festival.

This paper explores the design of digital, composition-based games that enable players to enact creative musical decisions via symbolic gameplay interactions with a stochastic music generation system. Digital game technologies continue to emerge as a versatile platform for researching generative music systems, with past applications ranging from the design of new instruments and interactive "sound toys" to assistive compositional tools. Underrepresented in this space is an exploration of the interplay between musical decision-making processes and more formal gameplay interactions - or rather, "composition games". The authors investigate this intersection as an avenue for exploring new forms of interactive composition in an accessible and engaging environment. Related media are first reviewed to inform a discussion of the conceptual differences between the proposed composition games and existing musical applications of game engines. The authors then detail the use of Max (Cycling '74) and Unity (Unity Technologies) in the ongoing development of a set of demonstrative creative works, the examination of which suggests key design elements for future composition games. The research indicates that further investigation at the nexus of generative music systems and formal game design holds the potential to unearth new insights regarding real-time interactive music composition.

This article presents practice-based research exploring the interplay of real-time music creation and competitive gameplay. Musically creative video games, apps, and sound art are first surveyed to highlight their characteristic avoidance of competitive game elements. The relationship between play, games, and musical activity is then examined with reference to theoretical perspectives from ludomusicology and game studies, revealing a series of mechanical and aesthetic design tensions emerging between competitive gameplay and music creation. Two original music games are presented to explore this interplay across contrasting design approaches: EvoMusic engenders an abstract competitive dialogue between the player and system for authorial control, while Idea presents a more explicit ludic framework with goals, progression, danger, and victory. The games are evaluated in a comparative user study to capture the player experience of composing within competitive game settings. Participant ...

A study on force-feedback interaction with a model of a neural oscillator provides insight into enhanced humanrobot interactions for controlling musical sound. We provide differential equations and discrete-time computable equations for the core oscillator model developed by Edward Large for simulating rhythm perception. Using a mechanical analog parameterization, we derive a force-feedback model structure that enables a human to share control of a virtual percussion instrument with a "robotic" neural oscillator. A formal human subject test indicated that strong coupling (STRNG) between the force-feedback device and the neural oscillator provided subjects with the best control. Overall, the human subjects predominantly found the interaction to be "enjoyable" and "fun" or "entertaining." However, there were indications that some subjects preferred a medium-strength coupling (MED), presumably because they were unaccustomed to such strong force-feedback interaction with an external agent. With related models, test subjects performed better when they could synchronize their input in phase with a dominant sensory feedback modality. In contrast, subjects tended to perform worse when an optimal strategy was to move the force-feedback device with a 90°phase lag. Our results suggest an extension of dynamic pattern theory to force-feedback tasks. In closing, we provide an overview of how a similar force-feedback scenario could be used in a more complex musical robotics setting.

These implementations are taken to be a part of the creative process. This research is about creating and investigating stimulating experiences where connections between one domain and the other are perceivable and where this connection itself provides an aesthetic experience. They are not intended to be fixed and permanent (although may remain so for the duration of a composition). The research is about creating dynamic environments, not musical instruments or general purpose tools.

To celebrate the centenary of John Cage’s birth in 1912, Western Australian new music ensemble Decibel undertook the realization of the American composer John Cage’s (1912 – 1992) complete Variations I – VIII. The works offer a unique insight into the development of Cage’s approach to composition practice, aleatoric approaches, spatial arrangements and the use of electronics. Entitled the “John Cage Complete Variations Project”, Decibel created a performance of the eight pieces in around an hour. The preparation and reading of the scores that make use of transparent sheets (Variations I, II, III, IV and VI) has been adapted using digital score creators and readers. This permits real time generation of measurements and graphics, as well as the assemblage of performance symbols, that can occur during the actual performance of the works. This paper examines the approach to the Variations whose instructions result in the employment or creation of maps: Variations IV (1963), V (1965) and...

This paper examines the screening of music notations and the impact of this configuration in a live music performance situation. Before the development of graphical computing, Traditional music notation, was rarely shared with the anyone other than other musicians, composers and analysts; let alone displayed during the performance. However, some composers experiment with scores and their visual presence in performance by employing automated ‗score-players' or actual films specifically developed to be interpreted by musicians. This paper raises some questions and possibilities for this new way of sharing musical qualities of composition and performance.

The proliferation online music scores for various instruments and musical styles can<br> be very positive for music learners, who would now witness an increase in score availability<br> for a variety of styles, which could give them autonomy over what styles and<br> songs to invest in learning. However, with the increase of data comes the question of<br> accessibility; how can we aid learners, often without the availability of teachers, to<br> identify good candidates of music scores to learn next given their current skill level?<br> To solve this problem computationally, there needs to be a method by which difficulty<br> can be measured computationally, and effectively. In this master thesis, our<br> goal is to re-visit computational music score difficulty analysis, which as a research<br> problem has been sidelined for some years. We apply the 2 approaches that have<br> been used within the research community on datasets ...

The fields of media archaeology and data sonification have not been without contestation regarding means and methods. However, in combination, these fields present an opportunity for a novel approach to the creation of media archaeologically informed sound-based art. This article discusses the artistic use of data sonification techniques and the need to balance the musification of data while maintaining a sense of the underlying data. The use of data sonification techniques within media archaeology to facilitate the organisation of sound is briefly discussed. A framework is presented for utilising data sonification to facilitate the organisation of sound within the lens of media archaeology inquiry. Such an approach provides a novel method in media archaeologically informed sound-based art that utilises the sound of the artefact as a method of expression between genealogically related forms of media. A sound installation developed by the authors is presented that critically examines...

Algorithmic music nowadays performs domain specific tasks for which classical algorithms do not offer optimal solutions or require user's expertise. Among these tasks is the extraction of models from data that offer an understanding of the underlying behavior, providing a quick and easy to use way to explore the data for first (sometimes on-the-fly) insights. Learning rules from examples is an approach often used to achieve this goal. However, together with the aforementioned requirements algorithmic composition needs to create new material so that it is perceived as consistent with the material of the data. In addition, the input data sets are usually small because the human is the bottleneck when generating them. In this contribution we present a fuzzy rule induction algorithm focused on generalizing a set of data, complying with the previous requirements, that offers good results for small data sets. For its evaluation-in a field where there are no benchmarks available-data sets obtained during user tests were used. The visual representation offered by the fuzzy chart helps to reduce the cognitive complexity of the devices used in algorithmic music. The results obtained show that this approach is promising for future developments. Index Terms-fuzzy rules, algorithmic music, perceptual spaces, classification, parametric devices 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.

Force-feedback controllers have been considered as a solution to the lack of sonically coupled physical feedback in digital-music interfaces, with researchers focusing on instrument-like models of interaction. However, there has been little research applied to the use of force-feedback interfaces to the control of real-time generative-music systems. This paper proposes that haptic interfaces could enable performers to have a more fully embodied engagement with such systems, increasing expressive control and enabling new compositional and performance potentials. A proof-of-concept project is described, which entailed development of a core software toolkit and implementation of a series of test cases.

We used a recurrent neural network as a fitness function for a genetic algorithm to generate monophonic solos. The genetic algorithm is based on GenJam as described in Biles (1994). We conducted training sessions with human participants in order to compare and quantify some of the differences between human-feedback and RNN fitness functions. We found that the RNNs can effectively play the role of human fitness feedback, but still suffer in many areas. Our results suggest that certain types of recurrent neural networks can address the issues with human feedback, and thus should be explored in future research.

In daily marital lives, spouses often engage in various conflicts and employ a mixture of different strategies when resolving these. According to family development theories, conflict resolution processes influence couple relationship well-being. This chapter examines and compares different attempts to convert intimate marital conflicts into video game mechanics. Are games self-aware about the delicate, intimate, and intensely emotional nature of marital conflict, and thus the difficulty of conveying such conflict in a medium oriented towards entertainment values? Using strategies borrowed from textual analysis, the chapter considers how digital games make sense of marriage life and marital conflict experiences. Examples are drawn from a range of games, e.g. Façade (2005), The Novelist (2014), Firewatch (2016), Gone Home (2014), and Grand Theft Auto V (2013). Ultimately, the chapter argues that games struggle and partially fail to overcome the key difficulty lying in the fact that emotional involvement in personal conflict demands personal experience and memory-based connections with the parties involved. Nonetheless, the different mechanics these games employ to overcome this challenge provide valuable lessons on current capabilities and limitations for personal conflicts in the digital game medium.

The fields of media archaeology and data sonification have not been without contestation regarding means and methods. However, in combination, these fields present an opportunity for a novel approach to the creation of media archaeologically informed sound-based art. This article discusses the artistic use of data sonification techniques and the need to balance the musification of data while maintaining a sense of the underlying data. The use of data sonification techniques within media archaeology to facilitate the organisation of sound is briefly discussed. A framework is presented for utilising data sonification to facilitate the organisation of sound within the lens of media archaeology inquiry. Such an approach provides a novel method in media archaeologically informed sound-based art that utilises the sound of the artefact as a method of expression between genealogically related forms of media. A sound installation developed by the authors is presented that critically examines...

Algorithmic composition, automated composition, meta-music, process and systems music, generative music, adaptive and procedural audio-all these terms indicate the extent to which composers have become conscious of system-building. Whilst the grand history of music attests that formalism is not a new idea of the computer era (Roads 1996, Loy 2007, Essl 2007), energetic exploration has certainly been facilitated by computers. Generative music itself is to some just a fashionable relabelling of realtime algorithmic composition, dating to publicity circulating around Brian Eno's work in the mid 1990s, particularly the 1996 Generative Music 1 installation/program release built with the Koan software. To others, generative music is a broad conceptual category within generative art. 0 Boden and Edmonds (2009) suggest that generative music might encompass any rule-based 0 0

These implementations are taken to be a part of the creative process. This research is about creating and investigating stimulating experiences where connections between one domain and the other are perceivable and where this connection itself provides an aesthetic experience. They are not intended to be fixed and permanent (although may remain so for the duration of a composition). The research is about creating dynamic environments, not musical instruments or general purpose tools.

To celebrate the centenary of John Cage’s birth in 1912, Western Australian new music ensemble Decibel undertook the realization of the American composer John Cage’s (1912 – 1992) complete Variations I – VIII. The works offer a unique insight into the development of Cage’s approach to composition practice, aleatoric approaches, spatial arrangements and the use of electronics. Entitled the “John Cage Complete Variations Project”, Decibel created a performance of the eight pieces in around an hour. The preparation and reading of the scores that make use of transparent sheets (Variations I, II, III, IV and VI) has been adapted using digital score creators and readers. This permits real time generation of measurements and graphics, as well as the assemblage of performance symbols, that can occur during the actual performance of the works. This paper examines the approach to the Variations whose instructions result in the employment or creation of maps: Variations IV (1963), V (1965) and...

Construction in Kneading is an immersive live audiovisual work incorporating elements of both auditory display and music. It involves simultaneous data sonification and visualisation of a generative system based on the Mandelbox. This text introduces techniques found in the work and their precedents including "audiovisualisation" (simultaneous data sonification and visualisation), "self-similar sonification" (sonification at different timescales), sonification as auditory display / music, and sonification at audio rate as audification and non-standard synthesis.

This paper describes the procedures and theory behind Construction in Self, a generative work based on the Lorenz oscillator, implemented in the programming environment Max/MSP. After a brief survey of relevant works, the following are described: properties of the Lorenz system and the exploratory, self-similar and “open” form it suggests; calculations and parameter mappings; modified nonstandard synthesis methods and the construction of a deterministic yet emergent structure aided by limited self-evaluation. In conclusion, its potential for creativity and future work are discussed.

The author's Construction in Self (2009) belongs to the interdisciplinary context of auditory display/music. Its use of data at audio rate could be described as both audification and non-standard synthesis. The possibilities of audio-rate data use and the relation between the above descriptions are explored, and then used to develop a conceptual and theoretical basis of the work.

Vickers and Hogg's term ‘indexicality’ is used to contrast audio with control rate. The conceptual implications of its use within the digital medium and the possibility for the formation of higher-order structures are discussed. Grond and Hermann's notion of ‘familiarity’ is used to illustrate the difference between audification and non-standard synthesis, and the contexts of auditory display and music respectively. Familiarity is given as being determined by Dombois and Eckel's categories of data. Kubisch's Electrical Walks, Xenakis's GENDYN and the audification of seismograms are used as examples. Bogost's concept of the alien is introduced, and its relevance to the New Aesthetic and Algorave are discussed. Sound examples from Construction in Self are used to demonstrate the varying levels of familiarity or noise possible and suggested as providing a way of bridging the divide between institutional and underground electronic music.

To celebrate the centenary of John Cage’s birth in 1912, Western Australian new music ensemble Decibel undertook the realization of the American composer John Cage’s (1912 – 1992) complete Variations I – VIII. The works offer a unique insight into the development of Cage’s approach to composition practice, aleatoric approaches, spatial arrangements and the use of electronics. Entitled the “John Cage Complete Variations Project”, Decibel created a performance of the eight pieces in around an hour. The preparation and reading of the scores that make use of transparent sheets (Variations I, II, III, IV and VI) has been adapted using digital score creators and readers. This permits real time generation of measurements and graphics, as well as the assemblage of performance symbols, that can occur during the actual performance of the works. This paper examines the approach to the Variations whose instructions result in the employment or creation of maps: Variations IV (1963), V (1965) and...

This paper explores the idea of live coding programming environments as notational systems. The improvisational practice of live coding as combining both composition and performance is introduced and selected systems are discussed. The author's Threnoscope system is then intro- duced, but this is a system that contains both descriptive and prescriptive scores that can be changed in real-time.

This conversation between Thor Magnusson and Claudia Molitor introduces the idea of composition as cultural technology, where compositions are understood as systems that create spaces within which ‘things’ can occur and can be explored. In this conception of composition, the composer becomes the curator of an experience for an audience, shifting the focus of the work on the encounter of the audience. Talking about some of Molitor’s pieces from the past decade, the discussion explores how these ideas can manifest in compositional practice.

Computer code is a form of notational language. It prescribes actions to be carried out by the computer, often by systems called interpreters. When code is used to write music, we are therefore operating with programming language as a relatively new form of musical notation. Music is a time-based art form and the traditional musical score is a linear chronograph with instructions for an interpreter. Here code and traditional notation are somewhat at odds, since code is written as text, without any representational timeline. This can pose problems, for example for a composer who is working on a section in the middle of a long piece, but has to repeatedly run the code from the beginning or make temporary arrangements to solve this difficulty in the compositional process. In short: code does not come with a timeline but is rather the material used for building timelines. This article explores the context of creating linear ‘code scores’ in the area of musical notation. It presents the ...

The author discusses live coding as a new path in the evolution of the musical score. Live-coding practice accentuates the score, and whilst it is the perfect vehicle for the performance of algorithmic music it also transforms the compositional process itself into a live event. As a continuation of 20th-century artistic developments of the musical score, live-coding systems often embrace graphical elements and language syntaxes foreign to standard programming languages. The author presents live coding as a highly technologized artistic practice, shedding light on how non-linearity, play and generativity will become prominent in future creative media productions.