Hello, I'm interested in exploring algorithms when creating music. I was wondering where I can read up about using algorithms whether it be Csound or some other program. I never used algorithms before and I am curious to see what kind of results I can get. Please let me know if you have any recommendations on what books to read or what programs I can use to experiment with them. Thank you.
Best,
John
What sense of "algorithm"?
The word "algorithm" is ambiguous in this context. Some electronic-music lingo uses "algorithm" to mean "a configuration of signal-processing units" (eg filters, phasers, etc); whereas in software "algorithm" means basically "an unambiguous recipe for accomplishing a given task". And "algorithmic music", as I understand it, refers to compositions that are created by computer programs that produce a score as a side affect of performing some other computation (which is necessarily implemented by an "algorithm" in the software sense); I think this kind of composition is sometimes also referred to as "aleatoric" composition, because the algorithmic nature is not really the focus. And "aleatoric" also refers to music that arises from the conversion of some natural or random process into music; in the "algorithmic music" case the "natural process" is the underlying computation that generates the score.
So the question is, which sense of "algorithm" do you intend?
Cheers,
-- JK
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleatoric
here's a good source of
here's a good source of information about algorithmic composition
http://www.flexatone.net/algoNet/sysDate.html
-mario