The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music PDF
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The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music Oxford Handbooks Online The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music Edited by Roger T. Dean and Alex McLean Print Publication Date: Feb 2018 Subject: Music Online Publication Date: Feb 2018 (p. iv) Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: McLean, Alex | Dean, R. T. Title: The Oxford handbook of algorithmic music/edited by Alex McLean & Roger T. Dean. Description: New York, NY: Oxford University Press, [2018] | Series: Oxford handbooks | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017013174| ISBN 9780190226992 (cloth: alk. paper) | ISBN 9780190227012 (oxford handbooks online) Subjects: LCSH: Computer composition. Classification: LCC MT56.O94 2017 | DDC 781.3/4—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017013174 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Page 1 of 2 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). date: 04 March 2019 The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America Page 2 of 2 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). date: 04 March 2019 Contributors Oxford Handbooks Online Contributors The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music Edited by Roger T. Dean and Alex McLean Print Publication Date: Feb 2018 Subject: Music Online Publication Date: Feb 2018 Contributors (p. ix) Torsten Anders, Senior Lecturer in Media Arts and Course Leader for Music Technology, University of Bedfordshire Sarah Angliss, Visiting Research Fellow, Sound Practice Research Unit, Goldsmiths, University of London Jan Beran, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Konstanz Oliver Bown, Senior Lecturer, Arts and Design, University of New South Wales, Sydney Andrew Brown, Professor of Digital Arts, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University Jamie Bullock, Integra Lab, Birmingham Conservatoire Page 1 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). date: 04 March 2019 Contributors Warren Burt, composer and lecturer, Box Hill Institute, Melbourne Baptiste Caramiaux, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow at McGill University and IRCAM Alexandra Cárdenas, composer and improviser, Berlin Nick Collins, Reader in Composition in the Department of Music, University of Durham Geoff Cox, Associate Professor, Department of Aesthetics and Communication and Participatory IT Research Centre, Aarhus University Palle Dahlstedt, Obel Professor of Art and Technology, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University Roger T. Dean, Research Professor of Sonic Communication at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University Alice Eldridge, Research Fellow in Digital Humanities/Digital Performance, Department of Music, University of Sussex Kristin Grace Erickson, Technical Coordinator, Digital Arts and New Media, University of California Santa Cruz Page 2 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). date: 04 March 2019 Contributors Mark Fell, independent artist, Rotherham (p. x) Rebecca Fiebrink, Lecturer, Department of Computing, Goldsmiths, University of London Jamie Forth, Lecturer, Department of Computing, Goldsmiths, University of London Christopher Haworth, Lecturer in Music, University of Birmingham Mileece I’Anson, Founder, Children of Wild, Los Angeles David Kanaga, independent composer and designer, Oakland Yuli Levtov, founder of Reactify, London George E. Lewis, Edwin H. Case Professor of American Music, Columbia University, New York Thor Magnusson, Senior Lecturer in Music, Department of Music, University of Sussex Charles Matthews, composer and researcher, London Page 3 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). date: 04 March 2019 Contributors Kaffe Matthews, founder of Bicrophonic Research Institute, London Alex McLean, postdoctoral researcher in Weaving as a Technical Mode of Existence, Research Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Deutsches Museum, Munich Andrew J. Milne, Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University David Ogborn, Associate Professor, Communication Studies and Multimedia, McMaster University Morten Riis, postdoctoral researcher, School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University Charles Roberts, Assistant Professor in the School of Interactive Games and Media at the Rochester Institute of Technology Julian Rohrhuber, Professor for Music Informatics and Media Theory, Robert Schumann School of Music and Media, Düsseldorf Carla Scaletti, President and Founder of Symbolic Sound Corporation Jan C. Schacher, Research Associate, Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology, Zürcher Hochschule der Künste Page 4 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). date: 04 March 2019 Contributors Margaret Schedel, Assistant Professor, Music Department, Stony Brook University Mary Simoni, Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Laurie Spiegel, composer, New York (p. xi) Graham Wakefield, Assistant Professor, School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design, York University Renate Wieser, Researcher in Media Aesthetics, University of Paderborn Geraint Wiggins, Professor of Computational Creativity, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary, University of London (p. xii) Page 5 of 5 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). date: 04 March 2019 Musical Algorithms as Tools, Languages, and Partners: A Perspective Oxford Handbooks Online Musical Algorithms as Tools, Languages, and Partners: A Perspective Alex McLean and Roger T. Dean The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music Edited by Roger T. Dean and Alex McLean Print Publication Date: Feb 2018 Subject: Music, Music Theory Online Publication Date: Feb 2018 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190226992.013.24 Abstract and Keywords This is an introductory chapter to The Oxford Handbook of Algorithmic Music, and the practical, historical, philosophical, and cultural perspectives that it covers. This chapter outlines the structure and scope of the book, provides some background and motivation for its focus, covers points of terminology, and summarizes the development of the field in the modern era. It then signposts the following chapters and relates them to one another in terms of some of the key issues that are covered. As algorithmic music is a fast- developing field, the chapter then outlines contemporary directions in order to look forward to the next steps in both research and practice. The chapter concludes with further signposting, this time to literature which may be read in partnership with the present volume. Keywords: algorithmic music, terminology, review 1.1 Introduction (p. 3) IN this chapter we introduce the landscape of algorithmic music, and point to some of its burning issues and future possibilities. We also use the chapter to provide some guidance as to how we have organized the book, and where major topics are discussed: we summarize the structure in the next paragraph, and comments on individual articles in the book are made throughout this chapter. The book has been arranged to provide contrasting views on core topics, on the one hand, from theorists and analysts and, on the other, from practitioners. Happily for us, in many cases our authors pursue both types of involvement. But we have asked another group of authors (who contribute the Perspectives on Practice chapters) to foreground their own thoughts about algorithmic Page 1 of 15 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Subscriber: University College London; date: 21 June 2018 Musical Algorithms as Tools, Languages, and Partners: A Perspective music and how they make it. At the same time, we have encouraged all authors to give specific musical examples of what they discuss, and to feel free to mention their own work. Our volume brings together a diverse range of authors to explore algorithmic music in the large. We engage with meta- and post-human perspectives—pointing to the question of what new musics are now being found through algorithmic means which humans could not otherwise have made. In reciprocation with this, we also explore cultural aspects— how is algorithmic music being assimilated back into human culture, and what is its social function or meaning? Over the chapters we will gradually widen our scope, first grounding the topic and introducing its terms by exploring its artefacts, philosophies, and histories. We then survey the range (so far!) of technical (p. 4) approaches to composing algorithmic music, and the metaphors used that seek to install those approaches in human understanding. Then practical aspects are explored in some depth: the role of the algorithm as co-performer, and in supporting musical coordination between human performers. Finally, we explore wider cultural aspects, such as the role of algorithmic music in society, education, and commerce. Perspectives on Practice sections (PoPs) are interspersed throughout the book as short interjections outside the main flow. But they provide prime value to the reader, connecting issues in the text with direct reflections on musical activity. PoPs provide introspection by authors on their own practice, as opposed to introductions to and analysis of the field provided by the other chapters. Authorship of chapters and PoPs divides roughly along the lines of researchers and practitioners, but not strictly; we include some practitioners who are independent researchers amongst chapter authors, and invite some respected researchers to reflect upon their practice. We have included ourselves amongst the PoPs in the form of a joint article at the end of the book: amongst other things, this serves to indicate why we came together to catalyse this volume (supported by the encouragement and enthusiasm of our OUP editor, Norm Hirschy). This brief introduction may seem quite episodic, even sometimes temporarily taking surprising directions. But we hope it will sensitize readers to the wide range of topics to be addressed, and that after reading the book they will be left with practical understanding both of how algorithmic music is made and of what makes this activity musical. 1.2 Background An algorithm, essentially, is a finite sequence or structure of instructions, and we will elaborate on this terminologically in the next section. We note here that our emphasis is on algorithmic music-making, and on primarily digital computational approaches. The histories of manual and analog algorithms (mainly addressed in this chapter and by Collins in chapter 4), include experimental process music, from the 1960s in particular Page 2 of 15 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Subscriber: University College London; date: 21 June 2018 Musical Algorithms as Tools, Languages, and Partners: A Perspective (by Brecht, Wolff, Glass, Stockhausen, and others), in which a piece was constructed from a precise or vague process description. But they also include musical and musicological theory (from Ancient Greece to Hiller, Ligeti, Xenakis, and beyond) and its algorithmic embodiments, including musical style modelling (Cope, Ebcioğlu, and onwards). Leigh Landy has elaborated the often useful distinction between note-based and sound- based musics (Landy 2009). Note-based music involves a conception of discrete sequences of events, largely capable of being described in symbols (such as score notation), and most usually characterized in part by pitches: such music permits tonal, harmonic, and rhythmic hierarchies. On the other hand, sound-based music puts more emphasis on the spectral content of sounds, which may be slowly transforming, with relatively fewer discrete events and little emphasis on pitch (and usually no spectral hierarchy, but rather in-depth spectral organization). Sound-based music may also depend (p. 5) less on rhythmic pattern than note-based. Using this framework, we can summarize by saying that the book deals primarily with the process of creating tonal, post-tonal and sound-based music, and any other forms of music in which innovative and individual works can result from algorithmic approaches. We do not seek to provide anything more than pointers to the major algorithmic composers of the period up to about 1990, since our emphasis is on process, methods, ideas, and developments. We put little focus on work directed towards recreating earlier styles. Similarly, we try to distinguish music which is mainly an overt fulfilment of the algorithm (which might be primarily of academic interest) from that which can be musically creative. Nierhaus (2009) mentions these issues, and considers that most approaches he discerns are primarily about algorithmic ‘imitation’. He covers substantially this imitative or recreative aspect and aspects concerning practical procedures. So we resurvey these aspects relatively briefly but adequately, and with a different perspective: essentially, whether and how any particular algorithmic approach might provide a path to music which is really new. A related general question within or behind several chapters is: has there been any evaluation of the algorithm and of its products? We argue this needs to be done both by non-experts and by expert musicians, and that the field at large could usefully study features present in both the most and the least favourably evaluated works. This relates to the question of the relevance of algorithmic generation methods to perception and cognition, and the argument that syntax is either not a relevant concept in much music or it is a consistency created perhaps transiently, and in any case locally to a work. We are now well placed in the development of algorithmic music to build upon the technical and evaluative issues to discuss cultural issues. There are a great many subcultures supporting the development of algorithmic music in diverse situations, from the close rituals of performance to the mass-market activity of smartphone and tablet ‘apps’. We therefore round off the book with a section rich with viewpoints on the social function and cultural value of algorithmic music; where we use algorithms to reach for the post-human, how do cultures grow and adjust to bring the music back into the human realm? Page 3 of 15 PRINTED FROM OXFORD HANDBOOKS ONLINE (www.oxfordhandbooks.com). © Oxford University Press, 2018. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Subscriber: University College London; date: 21 June 2018
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