Negotiating the frontier between computer-assisted composition and traditional writing : the utility of each and their effective cross-integration
While computers have had a major influence on music composition, both through electroacoustic music and computer-assisted composition (CAC), there can remain a divide between those pursuing more traditional writing techniques (intuitive composition done by hand) and those incorporating algorithmic elements in their music. The following is an exploration of some of the ways to produce smoother intersections between the worlds of intuitive writing and computer-assisted composition, through the use of a number of different computer-assisted composition software and practises. These range from situations where the computer provides little more than a gentle nudge or a pool of information from which to draw, to situations where, through the user’s input, the computer exerts a high degree of control on the final musical information. Works by Matthew Lane will demonstrate the use of some of these technologies, alongside detailed explanations of how they were incorporated. A first section will look at composition and programming techniques for low integration of CAC, reflecting a more intuitive approach. The works Mutations II, “Waves” and “Run” from Short Pieces on Falling, Never a Moment Lost, and (Let Me Hear) What Maria Hears, amongst others, will serve to demonstrate the efficiency of these techniques. A second section focuses on medium integration of CAC, as demonstrated by the author’s modular progression management system. This framework, developed in OpenMusic, helps in the generation of progression passages, and is adaptable and easily modified for different works. This framework will be examined primarily through the works Melodious Viscosity and Like a Square Peg. The third and final section looks at high CAC integration through gesture, using the author’s software ScoreScrub. Using this software, the user can effectively “scrub” across existing score samples to produce new musical passages. The primary works analysed will be Gift efter Carl Herman Erlandsson and the orchestral work Världen och jag.
OpenMusic Max bach automated composer’s helper Computer-assisted composition CAC algorithmic composition gestural composition