Fascinating article, Val!
I also came across an article about algorithms being involved in the composition/improvisation of music while I was reflecting on how ‘machines’ ‘think’, how ‘humans’ ‘think’, and the blurred boundaries between the two from a posthuman standpoint.
Talking of computers being able to ‘swing’, jazz pianist and programmer Dan Tepfer uses a special ‘player piano’ (a piano with an onboard computer that can ‘play’ itself). In practice, the piano is able to ‘listen’ to what Dan plays and ‘respond’ (e.g. play additional notes) through an algorithm Dan has written.
It’s interesting how Dan speaks out about the process (“I’m not writing a piece, I’m writing the way the piece works”), and how this article describes the piano as ‘his composing partner’ (rather than as a ‘tool’ he controls):
NPR – Fascinating Algorithm: Dan Tepfer’s Player Piano Is His Composing Partner
Michael saved in Pocket: ‘When Robots Write Songs’
Excerpt
When Pharrell Williams accepted five Grammy Awards this year on behalf of the French group Daft Punk, the duo were dressed as robots. This may have foreshadowed a coming invasion by real music robots from France. Computer scientists in Paris and the U.S.
Michael saved in Pocket: ‘Concert Music’
Excerpt
This 3-movement work explores contrasting approaches to the use of algorithms in musical composition, a subject I’ve been increasingly fascinated by in recent years.
Michael Wolfindale: