code music

Ecological computer models and simulations often utilize stochastic properties to examine real world phenomena and principles that are inherently complex, non-linear, or dynamic. Music, both in composition and sound design, has been shown to benefit from chance operations and indeterminacy, non-linearity, and complexity. Rarely have musicians, scientists, and performers utilized both composition and sound synthesis techniques in cutting-edge techniques. With our knowledge and expertise in ecological and environmental science, we hope to develop a fused compositional and sound synthesis web-based tool that allows for an online community to compose, shape, and change a continually evolving soundscape.

As sound generation and composition have evolved in complexity through the use of computers and algorithms, little effort has been made to mesh the two aspects of music. Unique mathematical solutions have been used in composition. These include Game Theory used by Xanni Xennakis, indeterminate solutions of chance used by John Cage, and unique methodology used by Karl Stockhausen. Synthesis techniques include use of analogue and digital synthesizers, unique sound sources and sampling, musique concrete tape manipulations, and hybrid techniques.

Often composition tools generate complex and unique musical phrases that fail to captivate only because of the use of canned general MIDI sounds. Sound design often produces wonderfully complex and engaging sounds that find no context in a compositional framework. With the coupling of a compositional and sound synthesis tools we can fuel the phrase changes from the microsound level to large temporal scale artifacts.

We propose to develop a series of toolbox programs, available to the public, that allow artists to mesh composition and sound synthesis. Though this is not the endpoint of artistic expression for music or sound, the developed programs will utilize various high-level mathematical techniques. These techniques will include fractal composition and sound techniques, neural networks, and non-linear systems dynamic modeling. Primary emphasis will be on sound generation with linkage to suggested composition techniques. The user will be allowed to alter initial system state variables and parameters for sound generation and time, pitch, and part structure of the composition. The generation of both the sounds and composition will be an iterative approach, allowing multiple visits to the sound and composition using various techniques developed in the toolbox.

Previously, we developed a music program that used stochastic features that altered compositional parameters. This program was used to generate 27 short musical compositions (www.zero1media.com/10010010). Though this program was rather simplistic and generated short sequences of music, we plan to develop the program to include new features. The expanded program will harvest new sounds developed using our sound design tools.

michael palace

rob braswell