Meta Instruments 3 PDF

Symposium on Computer Music Composition
Author(s): Curtis Roads, Marc Battier, Clarence Barlow, John Bischoff, Herbert Brün, Joel
Chadabe, Conrad Cummings, Giuseppe Englert, David Jaffe, Stephan Kaske, Otto Laske, Jean-
Claude Risset, David Rosenboom, Kaija Saariaho and Horacio Vaggione
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Computer Music Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1 (Spring, 1986), pp. 40-63
Published by: The MIT Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3680297 .
Accessed: 20/02/2013 21:58
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
The MIT Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Computer Music
Journal.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
EditedbyCurtisRoads,withMarcBattier,
JohnBischoff,Herbert Symposium Computer
on
ClarenceBarlow,
Brun,JoelChadabe,Conrad Cummings, Music Composition
GiuseppeEnglert,DavidJaffe,Stephan
Kaske,OttoLaske,Jean=Claude Risset,
DavidRosenboom, KaijaSaariaho,and
HoracioVaggione
Introduction Otto Laske (Boston, Massachusetts USA)

Jean-ClaudeRisset (Marseille, France)
From the very first research in music composition David Rosenboom (Oakland,California USA)
with computers carriedout by LejarenHiller and KaijaSaariaho(Paris,France)
his associates in the mid-1950s, the computer has Horacio Vaggione(Paris,France)
offered enormous potential to the composer. Com-
At the time of their responses, the composers ranged
puters are among the most malleable tools ever de- in age from 22 (Kaske)to 66 (Brfin).They live in the
veloped by human beings, and in the three decades
since that early research, many hundreds of com- USA, France,and Germany,although their coun-
tries of origin include Italy, India, Argentina, and
posers have adaptedcomputers to their own musi-
cal needs. Poland, as well.
The views representedhere cover a wide spec-
Articles in Computer Music Journaland other
trum of opinions and attitudes, edited lightly for
publications' point to the broadapplication of com-
puters in musical tasks, especially to sound syn- publication. Because of the way the responses were
thesis, live performance,and algorithmic or proce- gathered (by written questionnaire), it is important
dural composition. to consider each reply by itself, that is, not as a re-
This symposium is the product of a questionnaire sponse to the previous composer'sreply. No com-
sent in 1982, 1983, and 1984 to over 30 composers poser saw the responses of the other composers.
The orderof responses was determined by the editor.
experienced in the computer medium. The ques-
tionnaire contained 21 questions. Composers were
asked to respond to at least five of them. The com-
What was the most important part of your musical
posers were also invited to submit scores and other
graphics that describe their work. These fourteen training?
composers respondedto the challenge: David Jaffe:The most important parts of my tradi-
Clarence Barlow (Cologne, West Germany) tional education were the practical experience of
Marc Battier (Paris,France) playing violin and mandolin in both classical and
JohnBischoff (Oakland,California USA) improvisational contexts, conducting, and compos-
Herbert Briin (Urbana,Illinois USA) ing and hearing my music. The music of eastern
Joel Chadabe(Albany,New YorkUSA) Europe,particularlyJewish music, which I learned
Conrad Cummings (Oberlin, Ohio USA) from my father, has had an important influence on
Giuseppe Englert (Paris,France) my style, as have my many years as a bluegrass
David Jaffe(Stanford,California USA) musician.
Stephan Kaske (Munich, West Germany) As for my theoretical background,one experience
stands out above the rest. At Bennington College, I
had the opportunity of witnessing and participating
Copyright ? 1985 by Curtis Roads. in the spatial and orchestrational experiments set
1. See Curtis Roads,ed., 1985, Composersand the Computer, up by Henry Brant.The spatial and orchestrational
published by William Kaufmann,Inc. (LosAltos, California)for planning that has gone into my recent computer
articles on nine prominent composers. music pieces can be traced back to this training.
40 Computer Music Journal

Herbert Briin: Listening to music in concerts and Herbert Briin: The universally accepted, academi-
on records in the company of friends. cally perpetuated, consumer-oriented routine of ac-
Jean-ClaudeRisset: I consider my piano studies as cepting the consequences of composition as if they
the most crucial part of my traditional music train- were the properties of the composed music. I had,
ing. This may look paradoxicalfor a composer, es- alas, to suffer it, but I did not ever believe in it.
pecially one who seldom uses real-time computer
facilities. I shall explain why.
The first reason is personal. I had a remarkable What was your most important educational
piano teacher, Robert Trimaille, who demandedand experience?
obtained very much from his piano students. With-
out the intense musical experience and the secure Marc Battier: My most important educational ex-
feeling of professionalism I received through his perience was the first computer music class in the
training, I am not sure I would have daredto ven- music department at the University of ParisVIII,
ture into the profession of music. Also, working on Vincennes. The class, taught by PatrickGreussay,
the piano repertorywas a thorough and active intro- was mostly directed toward artificial intelligence
duction to a large body of music. To be revived in techniques in music, using languages such as Lisp.
performance,works have to be studied both in their
details and their overall form. A great deal of musi-
cianship is demandedof the teacher here. Robert Before you worked with computers, what was your
Trimaille and Huguette Goullon were admirable main compositional medium?
guides to me.
Having to realize the pieces in sound-with ten Marc Battier: I had the chance to study computer
fingers-implies deep learning (in both head and music early in my student days, back in 1969. Be-
body) about phrasing, contrast, and the use of regis- fore that, however, I had intensive experience in the
ters. One has to steer the sound, to understandthe practice of traditional tape music, mostly musique
correlates of musicality in performance,to realize concrete. Aside from working with computers, I
illusions such as playing legato on a piano. Such have continued this electroacoustic activity. These
knowhow is invaluable training for the realization days, I consider the two media as integrated with
of pieces through computer synthesis, where all one another.
these aspects must be handled by the composer. HerbertBriin: Instruments in chamber ensembles.
But I must also mention that studying composi- David Jaffe:Beforeworking with computers I wrote
tion was very enlightening, especially orchestration for a wide variety of instrumental ensembles. I con-
with Andre Jolivet, who had a deep feeling for the tinue to write instrumental music along with my
idiosyncracies of the instruments. Studying har- computer music. I preferwriting for large groups.
mony and counterpoint is very useful to gain a However, since performancecommitments from
thorough understandingof western tonal music, large ensembles are difficult to procure, much of
while offering the opportunity to try one's hand in a my music has of necessity been for chamber en-
domain with explicit rules and criteria. Of course, sembles. I find that the two media-computer mu-
these criteria correspondto styles of the past, and it sic and instrumental/vocal music-complement
is debatable whether the study of harmony and each other. Instrumental music continually re-
counterpoint is a must for the composer of today. It minds one of the depth and richness of expression
does seem worth studying at least one established that is possible with real instruments played by
musical language or system. skilled performers. Computer music allows expres-
sion of compositional ideas that would be difficult
to realize with performers.
What was the least important part of your tradi- I have mixed feelings about the combination of
tional musical training? live performers and computer sound. I have written
Roads 41

Fig. 1. Herbert Brfin'sMu-
tatis Mutandis33, com-
position for interpreters,
with ink graphics drawn
by a plotter under control
of a computer programmed
by the composer.
~~x
VzI cS
r] ,L$LD
z
IDED[D? ~f$ $+
32Xxit m r i
I~L~El
+X mt
for such combinations, as in my piece May All cality allow a composer to add structure from the
Your Children Be Acrobats, in which eight gui- groundup in making an instrument. Therefore, the
tars, a sopranovoice, and stereo computer sound composer has a chance to experience more clearly
are combined. However, one factor plagues all at- the operation of those structures. Forexample,
tempts at combining computer sound with tradi- Jim Horton in Berkeley,California has developed
tional instruments: the discrepancybetween the numerous melody-generatingsystems that he and
projection of an unamplified instrument and of a others have listened to extensively over the past
loudspeaker is so pronounced that the two seem in five years. One can almost hear melodic spinning
completely different worlds. Many composers have wheels turning in these programs.They do not just
handled this problem by amplifying the instru- simulate a broadlyrecognizable musicality (a se-
ments. I consider this solution inadequate because quencer does this instantly), but rather they try to
it is, in effect, lowering the instruments to the level build an original musical entity from the bottom
of the speaker. I believe EdgardVaresemay have had up. This is unique to music by computers.
the right idea in his composition Deserts, in which Otto Laske: I turned to the computer because of an
he avoids ever combining the taped and live sounds. inner necessity in my compositional thinking, ex-
pecting to find new planning resources. There was
also an outer necessity of having my ideas realized.
Why have you turned to the computer? Actually I turned to computers before I had access
to one, on account of the kind of precompositional
Clarence Barlow: In 1971 I attempted to realize a work I was doing. I was always highly dissatisfied
five-minute stochastic piece using an addingma- with "writing music from left to right," a procedure
chine and random number tables. Six months would that seemed to restrict my intuition to lower-level
have been necessary but for my sudden idea of em- processes since it was predominantly bottom-up. In
ploying a computer. Within a week of my first For- short, the computer permitted me to explore high-
tran lesson, I had the piece. level planning as well as bottom-up (event-driven)
John Bischoff: The power of the computer to carry elaboration of musical structure. Unfortunately, the
out proceduresand its general lack of innate musi- majority of programmedtools in existence today are

not sophisticated enough to support a fully interac- Kaija Saariaho:I had graduallystarted to work in
tive way of working on all compositional levels. my compositions with independent processes asso-
Joel Chadabe:Long ago I wrote instrumental ciated with differentmusical parameters.I became
and vocal music, mostly chamber music. Then I increasingly interested in the nature of "process"as
worked with analog electronic system. In about well as timbre as a musical parameter.In computers
1975 I started working with computers because I saw a means of entering inside sound concretely
my interests at that time, as now, lie in performance in orderto control timbre, and finding a vocabulary
with electronic systems. Computers have the sig- for describing the different factors that comprise
nificant advantageof exact repeatability from per- musical color. It was also a means of continuing my
formance to performance,and the setup time, research on musical processes in an especially suit-
because they do not require patching or tuning, able environment.
is short. Stephan Kaske: The reason I thought it would be
The main reason I like to work with computers necessary to use computers in my music was my
when composing is that I can compose while in the despair about a composition for chamber ensemble.
presence of sound, and, in my case, in the presence It became impossible to survey all the structural
of the functioning system. Since my compositions lines or developments of the composition. I needed
are functioning systems that operate with performer a helping hand that could keep the structural orga-
interaction, I begin with a crude model of the fin- nization under my control. I realized that a com-
ished system, something like a first draft of its puter programcould do the job for me, so I wrote
operations as well as the sounds it makes, and then a very inefficient Pascal programon an Apple II
I refine it until it's ready.If I had to work with a computer. Then I wanted to improve my computer
non-real-time computer system, I am not sure I music programmingknowledge, so I attended a
would want to use it. My primarymotivation in course at M.I.T. My compositional problem was not
composing is to be able to experiment with sound solved there either, but with digital sound synthesis
and musical process, and the quick response of a I was seduced to think about an aspect of music
real-time system is a prerequisite to successful and that I had tended to underestimate until then: tim-
enjoyable experimentation. bre. Unfortunately, the composition for chamber
Herbert Briin: I had been waiting for it. I turned ensemble was never completed.
composer of music only after I barely surfaced Jean-ClaudeRisset: I always had a certain vivid in-
from the helpless depression of a haunted victim in terest in timbre. I was intrigued by the potential of
1942. All my music attempts to reflect, by analogy, certain timbres to best express certain musical vir-
social configurations and relations that I preferto tualities. I enjoyed composing for traditional in-
those I see. Soon, however, I discovered that my struments-and still do-but I was disappointed
analogies kept referringto a "not yet reality" that by [analog]electronic music. I felt it opened a
could only be reached if it were true that people wide sonic field, but it did not seem to me to offer
have to change so that "our society as is" could enough control to composers, who had to, to some
function better. While not denying the potential extent, rely on ready-madeobjects or processes.
of that vision, I dislike it, because it would support I was fortunate to work with Max Mathews on
fascism and totalitarianism. It is thus under the rig- developing the musical use of the computer in
orous dialectics of a pregnant contradiction that I 1964-65 and 1967-69. Although it was not easy to
continue writing for instruments. At last the com- explore the possibilities of computer synthesis of
puter enables me to begin experimenting with com- sound, this exploration was rewardingbecause
positions that by analogy point to social processes everything could be capitalized upon and replicated.
where it is the structure that changes in order to The computer providedrefined control over sound.
preserve the variety of human temperament by It also helped in the application of compositional
guaranteeing the possibility of every human being's processes to sound structure. This was the answer
contentedness. to my more or less conscious urge to compose the
Roads 43

Fig.2. ExcerptfromJean-
ClaudeRisset'sDialogues
(1975)for instrumentsand
computer-generated tape.
?eA.
OLD
- - , *I-- ---
A iI I' I
Q-0-
or5 6400
sounds and give a functional role to timbre. To state However, it can be said that I "turnedaway"from
it more explicitly, these are the projects I wanted to analog electronic music. I had done work with
tackle with the computer: analog electronics (an old Moog synthesizer) and
had been frustratedby the lack of precise control
Experiment with the design of my own con-
over both the individual sounds and the progression
straints, instead of having to come to terms of sounds.
with instrumental or electronic constraints
I was first introduced to computer music by Joel
Assemble a personal pa tte of lively sounds, en-
Chadabe. Computers provide the potential to make
dowed with some characteristic of identity, but
also very ductile-thus susceptible to intimate any sound. Thus, they must be able to produce that
subset of those sounds that can be called "vital"
transformationsthat preserve certain character-
and "expressive."Realizing this potential is another
istics and alter others (e.g., the inharmonic
matter entirely. Generally speaking, it is quite diffi-
tones in my piece Inharmonique)
cult to synthesize electronic sounds that rival the
Create a flexible sonic world that could diverge
sounds of nature in complexity and interest. The
from the instrumental world but also merge
more I work with computers, the more I have come
with it in subtle ways (I tried this in
to appreciate the richness of acoustic instrument
my pieces Dialogues, Mirages, Profils, Pas- sounds as well as the subtlety of phrasing and
sages, and L'AutreFace) tone production imparted to those sounds by gifted
Suggest an illusory world, as John Chowning
demonstrated so convincingly, by playing di- players.
rectly, so to speak, on perceptual mechanisms,
thus unveiling perceptual "primitives" (cf.
Is composing computer music significantly
the decomposition of pitch and rhythm in
differentfromcomposingtraditionalvocal or
my pieces The Little Boy, Mutations, and Mo- instrumental music?
ments Newtoniens)
David Jaffe:I would not say I "turned"to the com- Kaija Saariaho:Generally speaking, the computer
puter since I continue to write instrumental music. is a tool for working out ideas, like a pencil. In any

Fig. 3. Page 10 from Kaija
Saariaho'sVerblendungen
(1984) for 35 instruments
and tape.
r
2
fAtf
I_____~- I
Pt' -o------- ----? • -4 ....

I"F-
__________r==f_
__
__
_____
_..... .. ...___ __.. . .. - -4

....
___
Prf 1k-
4): _ _ _
- '
olr
;_ .3
•
ZS:
~l1
90p I C
Oq14 o
ArC4
irr
Im ..
...... .....
Roads 45

case, the conditions under which people have to out on a piano back in your studio. Do we gain any-
work with computers differfrom the demands of thing by thinking of it as different?We only impov-
composers with traditional instruments. Forex- erish our sense of connectness to the rest of music
ample, the use of time is completely different when making.
you are composing intensively with paperand pen- Giuseppe Englert:The specific exegencies of the
cil, when you are dependent on your own motor fa- computer to the composer/programmerare: (1) in
cilities, than when you are using a slow timeshared the case of loudspeakermusic-the knowledge of
computer system, in which the computer rules acoustical phenomena and their mechanism that
your time. Under these conditions, composers can has to be created and (2) in the case of instrumen-
very easily lose contact with their original inspira- tal/vocal music [composed using a computer]-the
tion in the jungle of algorithms and bugs. knowledge of what has to be formalized with re-
On the other hand, computers widen the working spect to interpretation by the performer.
field and open up possibilities for contact with mu-
sical material that can be more concrete and in-
spiring than ever. Comparework with timbre using Whathave the practitionersof computer
computers and using an orchestra. With computers, music learned from the practitioners of past
composers can enter into the sound. Colors can be electroacoustic(electronic,musiqueconcrete)
built from the inside of a sound, and one can test music?
mixings and change things very freely. When writ-
ing experimental instrumentations for symphony Jean-ClaudeRisset: Not enough. I am thinking in
orchestra, the composer is very happy if the first particularof the knowhow of musique concrete
performancejust interprets the original idea. The concerning sound classification and transformation,
time span between the moment of composition and textures, contrast, and sound distribution via loud-
the performance(final listening) is at best several speakers.
months. It is also much more difficult to main- Herbert Briin: Here I speak for myself only: (a)
tain a searching mind within the confines of the a waveform is a sometime thing, (b)durations of
orchestra as an institution and traditional music sound phenomena are of supreme importance, (c)
circles in general than it is in computer music stu- any steady state is a risk, and (d)parallel motions
dios, where a curious and open attitude is a basic of differentparametersor components or attributes
requirement. may easily turn musical events back into acoustical
My work with computers includes much more events.
planning than my work with instrumental music. John Bischoff: We have learned at least three things:
The search for material takes a much longer time, (a) that musical sounds can be found in the unfore-
since I try to understandthe possibilities that the seen operating margins of a system; (b)that the
computer offers and find musical ideas that are idi- imperfections of an electronic instrument may mu-
omatic to this medium. My awareness of different sically parallel the involuntary noises of an acous-
musical parametershas grown as well, since aspects tic instrument, and therefore will add to the music
of performanceand interpretation must be included rather than detract from it; and (c) that a fruitful
in the work, if living music is desired. Here I have approachto a new technology is to search for the
noticed that the final mixing process replaces the qualities inherent in the technology itself. These
interpretation of instrumentalists. Hence, I should qualities will emerge and gain meaning apartfrom
have the same objective as they, namely an ana- any likeness to past musical conventions.
lytical yet sensitive approach to my material. Horacio Vaggione: Electroacoustic music (including
Conrad Cummings: It doesn't sound different. The concrkte and electronic music) has opened up a vast
environment where composition goes on is differ- area of sound discoveries by means of direct manip-
ent but there is also a difference between working ulation of tape. These discoveries were inaccessible
in your notebook on a camping trip and pounding it and even unsuspected in the framework of tradi-

Fig. 4. "Thesefigures show axis for spectral energy order the transitions that
the position of each sound and a horizontal axis for take place between the
(symbolized by a letter) in onset attack. A system of timbres." From Fractal
a timbral space defined by circular coordinates has (1983) by Horacio
two coordinates: a vertical been superimposed to Vaggione.
]E;
K B
D "B C
ZD--H
E
F
,CC I
E
L
tional instrumental music. The analog voltage- various techniques are bridgedso as to make the
controlled techniques of the 1960s enlarged the current technological environment of composition
possibilities of classic electronic studios by permit- extremely flexible.
ting the definition of time-variant functions and by As examples of current development in this
multiplying the means of access to analog modules. area, one could cite "intelligent audio editors" as
Towardthe end of the 1950s, however, Max Math- well as the advent of digital modules that will
ews began to develop digital sound synthesis. With quickly replace purely analog generating and sound-
the exponential growth of computer technology, processing devices in studios and on stage. How-
one was able to go further and further into the pos- ever, what urgently remains to be done to improve
sibilities of composing sounds on the micro level. the effectiveness of the composing environment is
Today,practically all sound manipulations relevant to attack the problem of the loudspeaker itself.
to electroacoustics are possible with digital means. Loudspeakersremain far behind in their ability to
It is even possible to transform concrete sounds produce audibly the timbral subtleties elaborated
through analog-to-digital conversion and to do this by other elements in the audio processing chain.
more thoroughly (through spectral analysis) than Marc Battier: Since electroacoustic music was
any analog technique could do. This being the case, mostly good at processing sounds and has developed
the most serious electroacoustic studios are now in many techniques for this purpose, computer music
the process of acquiring digital technology. One has incorporatedthese tools. What electroacoustic
should not speak of a "break"between electro- music gains is a flexibility unheard of before, the
acoustic and computer music, but of continual ability to create sound-processingsystems impos-
growth of a generalized "loudspeakerart" in which sible to build with analog means. I am currently
Roads 47

Fig. 5. Block diagram of
the system used to realize
On BeingInvisibleby
David Rosenboom.
Runningcross- Gate:thresholdand
Stimulus correlationsystem level sense
with short-term with timing
Adaptive memory parameters
filter
Response I Fourieranalysis
Associative
_ _
memory
Brain
- Coordinating array
. computer ,array
Sensereceptors Probabilistic
synthesis
control
system
hI Synthesis
system
working with banks of filters, up to 40 bandpass Clarence Barlow: I am able to allow myself to en-
filters and banks of transposition devices (like visage more elaborate algorithmic compositional
Harmonizers2)of several dozens of units, not to structures than formerly (providedthe musical con-
mention banks of several hundredoscillators (not text demands these).
only playing stored waveforms but also processing
natural sound). This accumulation of resources
brings new ideas into the practice of electroacous- Is any scientific branch (e.g., acoustics,
tic music. psychoacoustics) relevant to your current
compositional concerns?
How has your method of working changed since Marc Battier: I find many answers in the psycho-
you began using computers? acoustics domain, as well as unexpected and ex-
citing questions. We have both acousticians and
Herbert Briin: My method of working with in- psychoacousticians at IRCAM.The link with musi-
struments has not changed. There I continue to be cians is strongerwith the latter, and several musi-
the structure who stipulates the system whose cal pieces have been written after psychoacoustic
changes of state I compose. I have, however, added a experiments have been carriedout (for example,
method of working with computers. Here I com- timbral studies and studies of spectral fusion). We
pose the structure which generates the system know that the computer can play any sound, only
whose changes of state it composes. we don't know how to describe them to the com-
2. A Harmonizeris a commercially availabledevice that can per- puter. Cooperationbetween musicians and acousti-
form time-rate changing--shifting the frequencyof a signal up or cians is of the utmost importance in this activity. I
down without changingits duration.-Ed. am working on a piece that makes use of data from

spectral transposition and fusion studies, for tape cillators playing very close frequencies is a direct
and brass quintet. transposition of multiple-ray interference in the
Herbert Briin: Acoustics, cybernetics, economics, Fabry-Perotinterferometer.
linguistics, information theory, some mathematics, Clarence Barlow: The sciences of acoustics and psy-
and aesthetics are all relevant to my current work. choacoustics are valuable to me for increasing the
Joel Chadabe:In the recent past, system theory has audible relevance of a composition (like a knowl-
been a great interest of mine, indeed a necessary edge of good orchestration).I also often have to re-
interest in developing the concepts of interactive sort to algebraand other branches of mathematics
composing. At this point, artificial intelligence is in orderto optimize (or indeed realize) my composi-
of great interest to me, particularlyas a route to tional processes. I am also interested in phonetics
developing more interesting musician/machine and linguistics.
interactions.
David Rosenboom: Yes, especially psychoacoustics,
information processing in the brain and nervous Is any aspectof contemporarymusic theory
system, perception, cognitive modeling, mecha- relevantto yourwork?
nisms of attention and states of consciousness,
physiological aspects of performanceand musical HerbertBriin:Everyone.
proprioception, experimental aesthetics, and the ap- MarcBattier:Yes.Empiricalresearchon new tech-
plication of the methods of psychobiology to aes- niques of playing traditional music is useful to me
thetic experience-these are all very important in sound synthesis, as well as the electroacoustic
to my work. treatment of sound. The vocabulary of describing
Jean-ClaudeRisset: The field of psychoacoustics sound (enhancedby Xenakis, Boulez, and others) is
(relating to the physical structure of sound and its important in dealing with the new possibilities in
aural effect) is relevant to computer synthesis of the creation and articulation of musical material.
sound in general. It affects my compositional think- David Rosenboom: I am especially interested in
ing in several ways. Forinstance, I am interested in those aspects of contemporarymusic theory that
devising sonic structures so as to be able to bias attempt to achieve broaddescriptive and analytical
perception to organize them in one way or another, power when applied to the "music of the whole
both in the simultaneous and successive case, de- earth." By this I mean theories of music that are
pending on the fine adjustment of certain param- stylistically nonspecific. These tend to emphasize
eters. For example, one might adjust the parameters the scientific study of music from the point of view
to favor analytic perception-analyzing and segre- of perception and what might be termed aesthetic
gating, or synthetic perception-grouping and clus- information processing. I am particularlyinterested
tering. This relates to a branch of psychoacoustics in the work of theorists like JamesTenney on tem-
explored by Bregman,Warren,Wessel, McNabb, poral gestalt perception, David Wessel and John
Chowning, and McAdams. I am also interested in Grey on timbre, Diana Deutsch on musical percep-
the issue of categorical perception. Are established tion, D. E. Berlyne and Paul Vitz on experimental
categories necessary to differentiation?If so, how aesthetics, Manfred Clynes on morphological con-
can one teach (or learn) new categories? These are tour elements in expressive action, and numerous
vital questions if one wants to develop music by others I cannot list here.
structuring aspects of timbre. I also use the com- Otto Laske: I believe every composer is by neces-
puter to set up illusory situations in my composi- sity also a "music theorist," but for the composer
tions, as I did in the endless progression of "hot- this theorizing is highly procedural. Since tradi-
fudge sundaes" of pitch and rhythm-a branch ex- tional (including twentieth-century) music theory
plored by Shepard, Deutsch, Chowning, and myself. has been so consistently declarative, it has rarely
I also want to use physical models that are unex- addressed itself to problems of real music. What
ploited in sound. For example, "phasing" with os- happens when a primarily declarative theory is
Roads 49

Fig. 6. Opening of Psyche's
Act I, Scene 2 aria in Con-
rad Cummings's opera
Eros and Psyche, for vo-
calists, orchestra, and
computer sound.
10. Aria
, t- ca.52 Adagioj=ca.52
19 1 semplice.dolce
band. None comes, none comes, none comes, none
'9 vIc.pizz.
comes, none comes, none comes, none comes, none comes, none comes, none
o b.
. .. ,, , ,, ,
f1.
bsn, .
comes comes. They ad - mi- re me_ _ but pass me by, they

-- ,.none ad=
Smtr
.. . , . • .. . .... ".. • . . " -

....., ', . : •.."'. . ".'' . ... , .. : . . ,
W"'..."' ....•."..- ,'.....
-re by ad mi me
they butassmeby. ad-
they
m, m. bu.pass.me .re
bsnI.
-,.
. M.,
.....

turned into a procedureis shown by the so-called of electronic music. (Now that was new!) Structural
Princeton School of the 1960s. composition existed long before the advent of com-
The aspect of American music theory that is rele- puters. In short, the computer enables us to do what
vant to my work is strictly methodological-it is we did before but much more efficiently, as does the
the insistence on explicitness. However, in a proce- printing press.
dural approachto theory (as I have pursued it since John Bischoff: Applying computer technology to
1970), explicit means programmed. And what can music is bound to generate a new branch on the
be programmedare procedures,not mere databases tree of musical traditions. It seems likely that com-
(except where they are part of a knowledge base). In puters can aid us in creating new notions of what
brief, there are aspects of (American)music theory it means to be musical. On the other hand, certain
that are of methodological interest. Unfortunately, ideas absorbedfrom recent experimental music
its protagonists are a little too afraidof their own practices are relevant to working with computers.
courage and thus restrict the application of their John Cage'sinsights in regardto control in music
methodology to safe topics, such as "goodold" pitch seem particularlyhelpful. The League of Automatic
classes. Music Composers, of which I am a member, makes
music that is startlingly original yet its organiza-
tional structure is nonhierarchicaland cooperative.
How does computer music relate to the musical The group is organized as a network of microcom-
tradition? Is it a continuum or is it a turning point? puters running simultaneous and independent mu-
sic programs.These programscontinually exchange
Conrad Cummings: I hope the scientific mystique information along various paths. The rich and
of Modernism is passing in music as it has already unforeseen music that often arises from such a
passed in architecture and the visual arts. The prem- situation deepens one's trust in democratic musical
ise that music must be reinvented, free of its hin- arrangements.
drance from the past, challenging its listeners to Joel Chadabe:Formany composers, computer mu-
enter a new and unprecedented world-I well re- sic seems to be an extension of the tradition, with
member how exciting that was. Central to its im- the computer used as a surrogateperformer.Forme,
plementation was the notion that art must look to however, it makes possible a technique that I call
science. Computer music came of age at the very interactive composing, that I consider a signifi-
end of this premise's hegemony, in the early 1960s. cantly new and rewardingway of working. [See
Like an incredible amphibian, it's been left on dry Computer Music Journal8(1):22-27, 1984.]
groundas Modernism crested and receded. We'reall Stephan Kaske: Computer music is both a turn-
out here on the sand, finding a new life in an en- ing point and a continuation. On the one hand it
vironment very different from the one that spawned is a logical succession of a musical tradition that
us-and we're surviving splendidly! searched for more precise control of compositional
Modernism has no use for the vernacular.What structure and timbre, and that tried to introduce
a surprise that Modernism's child-computer mu- noninstrumental sounds into music. On the other
sic-thumbs its nose at distinctions between high hand, certain streams of contemporarymusical
art and popular art. Digital synthesis meets Star thought lead to the automation of musical process.
Warsand reaches millions! This will be a turning point, even if traces of auto-
No, computer music itself is not a turning point. mated composition can be found in music history,
It is the late product of one era launched into and since the composer will have to say goodbye to the
thriving in another. It's the knee joint. No better myth that creation is identical with the creator.
place to see Modern becoming Post-modern. The composer's way of thinking will presumably
Clarence Barlow: I do not think that computer mu- change dramatically.
sic exists as a separate aesthetic entity. If you mean Jean-Claude Risset: A priori, computer music does
digital electronic music, this is just a new subset not have to relate to musical tradition. The com-
Roads 51

puter is seemingly neutral, although some things tion in extremely important ways. The great Greek
are easier to do than others. But tradition has great thinkers from the island of Samos did not have
weight in music, where one deals with the fuzzy computers made of silicon. They did, no doubt, ma-
norms of collective expression. Tradition is heavily nipulate symbols by whatever means were at their
present in the Weltanschaung of everyone, includ- disposal and the computer is, let us not forget, pri-
ing the composer-through the composer's train- marily a manipulator of symbols. It is the rest of
ing-and in the skills and habits of performers.It is electronic and electromechanical technology
present in the "history,"the "mindset" of the lis- that translates these symbols into some physical
tener, who categorizes and discriminates (or does manifestation.
not discriminate). The listener's mindset is espe- It has been said that Galileo changed astronomy
cially present in the perception of pitch and timbre, through the development of the telescope. He must,
where discrimination can be severely impaired however, have had an idea of what to do with it and
by excessive reference to previously established he basically demonstrated the truth of Copernican
categories. theory, created previously without telescopes.
Yet I believe that computer music (at least in One is reminded again of Einstein's simple require-
some of its many trends)is indeed a turning point. ments, merely for pencil and paper.The Futurists
It helps escape some traditional constraints, espe- expanded our musical awareness to include the
cially the constraints of mechanical systems for the realm of noise, and Cage helped us to understand
production of sound. It also offers new ways of deal- silence. Neither requiredthe development of com-
ing with inescapable tradition. Other aspects of puters. Computers have helped to expand human-
computer music can be regressive, as I point out in ity's reach. It is up to human beings alone to expand
my answers to some of the other questions. their minds.
Giuseppe Englert: Computer music, to mark a
turning point in musical tradition, has to satisfy
two conditions: (1) the musical concept of a piece What new musical concerns have been introduced
requires the use of a computer and (2) this necessity through your work with computers?
is perceivable to the listener. We have alreadywit-
nessed two events that have shaken tradition: the Horacio Vaggione:I am interested in generating
appearanceof electricity and electronics-loud- timbral polyphonies: complex events producedby
speaker music, and the introduction of new compo- many simultaneous sound sources. In my work, al-
sitional categories, like indeterminacy,randomness, gorithms for sound synthesis create groups or fami-
and probabilities. These two "revolutions" have lies of sound files that are digitally mixed so as to
deeply affected musical life, and have partially produce complex textures, fused timbral entities,
masked the influence of computers on musical stream segregationprocesses, or large constellations
thinking. The presence of computers is not com- of tiny fragments of sound materials. Each sound
pletely accepted on the musical scene. For a long synthesis algorithm contains instructions for ex-
time, it had to be justified by the imitation of tradi- ecuting micrological procedures.For example, an
tion. The "turning point" is, for most people, not algorithm can control the degree of fusion or of
really visible yet, but it will be. spectral parsing. It can control the speed of transfor-
David Rosenboom: I believe that the introduction mation of various sound parameters,or it can con-
of computers to the world of music has changed trol the interpolation or exchange of values between
and will change nothing that is fundamental to mu- several groups of parameters.In this way of work-
sic as an art form. What changes music is ideas, not ing, the composition begins on the microspectral
tools. It is true that the computer has provided us level. Once a network of sound sources is deter-
with marvelous tools for thought development and mined, one proceeds to define logical models of in-
has opened up a vast new sound palette for our ex- teraction between the sources. This is one of the
ploitation. It will aid us in our growth and evolu- most interesting aspects of computer composition:
52 ComputerMusic Journal

the creation by programmingof specific and highly Much of my subsequent work was devoted to the
differentiatedfields of relationships. These relation- realization of this goal. Though many of the early
ships can be based on any kind of model: statistical, experiments were beautiful examples of artistic
ergodic processes, arbitrary,psychoacoustic prin- manifestation, we are only now reaching the point
ciples, etc. in the development of intelligent instruments that
HerbertBriin: After the "mixtures" of timbres of allows the realization of a significant portion of
instruments and the "composition" of timbres in that early vision. There is still much to do, but the
the electronic music studios, the computer now in- results are encouragingand the vision is still intact.
vites "transformations"of timbres. Not the concern The second areaI mentioned previously, namely,
is new, but its practical significance: in addition to extended musical interfaces to the human nervous
changes of timbre we can now almost compose the system, is certainly related to real-time algorithmic
timbre of changes and the timbre of change. composition. It could really be considered a sub-
David Rosenboom: Two areas of my work with category,one in which the input structures include
computers have opened up significant musical con- the intelligent processing of electrical signals re-
cerns, at least for me. The first involves the use of corded from the brain or other parts of the nervous
algorithmic compositional techniques in real time, system.
live performance.The second involves extended Charles Ives said earlier in this century that
musical interface with the human nervous system. someday music would be made by direct connec-
Since my earliest work with computers I have tion to the human brain. In 1927, the physiologist
been concerned with real-time algorithmic com- E. D. Adrian reportedon the effects of listening to
position. The great speed with which even early the audible manifestation of brainrhythms we came
computers could execute instructions was an object to call alpha waves. In 1965, Alvin Lucier took the
of great awe and inspiration. My interest in elec- next step by creating his Music for Solo Performer
tronic music, beginning in the 1960s, has always using alpha waves. Since that time, many compos-
emphasized live performance.During my student ers, kinetic artists, sculptors, performanceartists,
days, access to electronic music facilities was lim- and others have explored the world of bioelectronic
ited to the "classical" studio. Modular, voltage- signals.
controlled synthesizers were on the horizon but These signals have been the subject of my re-
were not yet widely available. I did, however, have search since 1968, and have, of course, revealed
the good fortune to come in contact with the work an enormously rich and complex coding of human
of LejarenHiller at the University of Illinois. activities. Perhapsmy most complex work in this
This led me to an expansion of the notion of area is On Being Invisible. In it a feedback loop is
performanceand improvisation to include what created wherein the performerand the performer's
normally would be called compositional "pre- or nervous system become like complex circuit ele-
compositional" activities. To be able to animate ments in a large system. Sometimes they play the
compositional processes at will, as an option avail- role of initiator of actions, sometimes they play a
able instantly to the performingmusician, seemed more passive processing role in a system with a life
simply fantastic. To be sure, disciplined improvisa- of its own.
tion involves the animation of compositional pro- In a performanceof On Being Invisible a com-
cesses in the performer'smind and even in the puter begins by generating sound, either by means
collective mind of the performinggroup. Adding of a stochastically controlled music programor a
this new kind of process to the possibilities already stored, preprogrammedcomposition. Also inside
available, however, was very exciting. Moreover, the computer is a model of perception. All the com-
with suitable inputs, these processes could be made puter's sonic output is analyzed according to this
to react to the activities of the performer,which model of perception, which attempts to make pre-
might change from performanceto performance,or dictions about the structural significance of the
to the internal workings of a performinggroup. sonic events as they will be perceived by the lis-
Roads 53

tener. Additionally, the computer records and ana- events-one after the other, be it with Cmusic,
lyzes transient brain signal events, known as event- Music V, or Music 11. Only if there was an intelli-
related potentials (ERPs)and coherent waves (alpha, gent computer music system that enabled me to
beta, delta, theta, etc.). Recent research has indi- work out structural ideas interactively, would new
cated that peaks contained in the ERPwaveform concerns be introduced into my music.
and their trends of growth and decay are signifi-
cantly correlatedwith the salience of the stimulus
to the subject, as well as to other psychological pa- Traditionally, computer music synthesis has been
rameters. Analysis of the coherent waves provides a a relatively difficult task for anything beyond the
context for the interpretation of these events. The simplest of effects. New digital instruments make
computer attempts to obtain confirming or noncon- synthesis much easier than it has been. Do you feel
firming information from these brain signals as to this will have a positive or a negative effect on the
its own predictions of the perceived structural sig- musical scene?
nificance of given sonic events.
In one mode of performance,a confirmation re- John Bischoff: This question brings up some com-
sults in an increase in the probability that the kind mon computer music assumptions: (1) computer
of sonic changes associated with the confirmation music should be primarily concerned with timbre
will occur again. A nonconfirmation results in a de- (an idea that stems largely from Europeanserial
crease in probability of such an event. music); (2) given an interest in timbre, one would
The sonic events are dealt with on several hierar- necessarily turn to digital synthesis techniques.
chically related levels of musical structure (remi- Will the greateravailability of digital synthesis be
niscent of the hierarchical Meta Hodos systems positive or negative? Who can tell? Any musical
described by JamesTenney). Changes in the sound feature that is made dominant and effortless by a
parameters(pitch, loudness, timbre, etc.) occur new technological advance is the first thing one
according to contextually sensitive weighting should reevaluate.
schemes that take into account the recent history Herbert Briin: It will have a positive effect on the
of the parameter,its rate of change, and other fac- musical scene. The more people can do what they
tors. Since many of the relevant brain signals are want to do, the more dignified becomes the critical
significantly affected by the performer'sshifts discussion of what they did.
of attention, this work has been described by Jean-ClaudeRisset: Certainly making computer
LarryPolansky as "an attention-dependent sonic music has, in the past, been a difficult task, and it
environment." still is. However, there is always a risk in making
Stephan Kaske: I have been fascinated by the con- tools "easier,"that of limiting their power and
trol of timbre one has with digital techniques, and making them stereotyped. It is a difficult challenge
this has extended into my instrumental works as to design digital instruments that are easy to use
well. But the more I work with computers, I realize yet which preserve the diversity of possibilities in-
that my actual way of thinking compositionally herent in the computer. Many digital synthesizers
hasn't changed much. I still spend a great deal of are difficult to reconfigure,and they provide a lim-
time figuring out musical structure without a com- ited palette of sonic possibilities that is hard to es-
puter, in particularthe temporal organization of a cape-hence, sonic clich6s. Avoiding such clich6s
piece. was one reason for going to the computer in the
Programmedmusic that doesn't use a huge data- first place.
base or knowledge base typically results in rather Real-time operation is hard to resist. It may entail
boring compositions, since the overall organization a less thoughtful approach,and trial-and-erroron
is very linear. That's partly because the user inter- real-time systems is not guaranteedto lead you
face of many computer music systems forces one to where you want to go. The technical demands of
punch in all those little notes and numbers-sound real-time synthesis still impose limits on sound

richness. Some synthesizers can recorda natural truly great works being created. Some of the finest
sound (e.g., a note from a trombone) and transpose composers, particularlyyounger ones, cannot afford
it in pitch. While this makes it easy to generate or do not have access to the fruits of developments
scales from a sound, such scales sound very me- in computer science. Of course, such proliferation
chanical-a turnoff for many listeners. will also result in a great deal of boring and un-
Hence, the effort to make synthesis easier may interesting work being created with these instru-
lead to a musical regression-as was the case with ments. So what else is new? Nothing will change
most uses of analog synthesizers comparedwith the in this regard.The proliferationof the piano has
previous practice of electronic music before syn- resulted in great music and uninteresting music,
thesizers were invented. It remains a tough but none of which can really be blamed on the piano
worthwhile challenge to make the musical poten- itself.
tial of the computer bloom. We must improve the In addition, I might point out that the creation of
interactivity and real-time possibilities of comput- "great"works is not the only legitimate goal for the
ers, but we must also improve our input languages use of these instruments. A vast amount of musical
and information transmission. activity by the people of our culture is undertaken
Conrad Cummings: It happened with the Moog for the personal edification of themselves as indi-
synthesizer already.Composer X: "These sounds viduals or their social groups. The evaluation of
that we worked so laboriously to generate-we musical works for their high cultural longevity is
can't use them anymore because they're in every an irrelevant activity for these persons. Their musi-
video game." Modernism was inherently elitist. We cal activity has its own legitimacy, even if its mean-
knew the way of the future, and we would teach it ing is limited to a relatively small social sphere.
until everyone else saw that it was right. Putting The people need rich and inexpensive resources for
the music of Modernism in a video game is not their musical activity. This is an important point
cheapening or perverting it, it is unselfconscious and should not be overlooked by those primarily
guerilla warfareon the highest level. You want to concerned with "high"art.
show us the right way to use your sounds? Well Giuseppe Englert:Devices that aid composers in
thanks, but we'll use your sounds our own way! certain tasks enable them to concentrate on other
Ease of access and ease of use lead more people to tasks that are more important to them. But such
use the tools for more varied ends. Nothing could devices will impose limitations on composers or
be healthier for the continuing vitality of our musi- pose unforeseen problems on them. Certainly musi-
cal life. cians involved in live electronic music performance
Stephan Kaske: Did the introduction of the welcome digital modules.
pianoforte have a negative effect on the musical Digital synthesizers and signal processors have
scene? Or the first sine wave generator?If the only an extremely wide dynamic rangewith low noise,
virtue of music producedusing computers was the matching the capabilities of high-quality amplifiers
capability of generating new timbres, then com- and loudspeakers. Analog tape is the weakest link
puter music would be a poor show. The introduc- in the performancechain. Therefore,new tech-
tion of inexpensive digital synthesizers like the niques that allow musicians to dispense with ana-
YamahaDX series is releasing composers from the log tape will enhance the acoustical quality and add
obsession of creating new timbres. I suppose it will liveliness to concert performances.
have a positive effect on the scene in that it will Marc Battier: Fora long time there have been works
help many composers who had been seduced by the for tape and instruments, developing the idea of a
rather peripheral aspect of sound synthesis to get mixed music, and there have also been works for
back to the real thing called music. electronic instruments and orchestra (not to men-
David Rosenboom: I feel this is a decidely positive tion pieces in which the older Ondes Martinot or
development. The proliferation of accessible, power- Hammond organ has been used). At IRCAM we are
ful new tools can only increase the probability of working toward an integration of traditional instru-
Roads 55

ments and electronics. In orderto achieve integra- Herbert Briin: The question ought to be investi-
tion, we use several modes of interrelation between gated and politically analyzed. Forexample, is
the two worlds. We use digital sound processors, ca- artificial intelligence desirable if it triumphantly
pable of sound synthesis and natural sound treat- simulates the human moron's submissive obedience
ment in real time. The real-time processors can and ruthless efficiency? Furthermore,I cannot sim-
respond to commands from a performeror conduc- ulate compositional processes. I can, however, com-
tor, and more generally to cues from a traditional pose automated processes or processing automata.
instrument. Thus it is responsive to gestures. Its ac- Giuseppe Englert:Algorithms have been intro-
tivities can also be triggeredby sounds, after some duced by many composers at all times. There are
sort of pitch, octave, or amplitude threshold detec- also compositions for which all attempts to dis-
tion. More importantly, the sound quality and capa- cover rules or formulas have failed. Composition
bilities of modern sound processors are such that it rules are algorithms that can be traced in works of
is not so much an instrument as it is a network of more than one composer in a specific historical pe-
sound activities. The positive aspect on the musical riod. More interesting are individual algorithms
scene can be viewed as a better connection between that a composer invents, eventually for only one
the electronics and the instrumental performers, piece. The research made by Andr6 Riotte on com-
the conductor, and the composer. positions of J.S. Bach, Stravinsky,and Bartokreveals
astonishing facts.
For some of my works like the cantata Au jour
What do you think of attempts to automate or ultime liesse (1963) and the string quartet La
simulate compositional processes? joute des lierres (1966) I have built strict rules and
mechanisms. These are algorithmic compositions
Otto Laske: This question concerns a much ma- written long before I became interested in com-
ligned and even more misunderstood topic. The puters. My recent compositions are automated
issue is human musical planning. Forme, computer to a large extent: Mutations Ocre-Violet (1982)
programsfor composition are planning aids, re- for NEDCO digital synthesizer lasts 30 minutes
gardless of whether they "automate"or "simulate" and requires only a few manual interventions dur-
cognitive processes. It is always the human com- ing performance.Babel (1981) for orchestraand
poser who develops the meta-plan for the use of Ecorces (1982)for five instruments are pieces in
such tools. which pitch, duration, and articulation are cal-
Although an individual's compositional processes culated and printed by computer, with dynamics
are, by nature, highly idiosyncratic, one would have addedby hand afterward.
to be a solipsist in the sense of Schopenhauerto The myth of automation (for power)has accom-
deny that composers share a common cultural panied the intellectual life of mankind a long time.
context, including certain scripts and procedures. Adam eating the Apple (Ho-ho! Coincidence?)Pro-
(Schopenhauer,in good German fashion, recom- metheus, Rabbi Loew-Golem, Faust-Homun-
mended a beating as the only way to cure solipsism. culus, etc. The logical scheme behind the myth,
I don't know what the musical equivalent would simplified, is as follows: "WhatI know I can de-
be.) The question is: How can we transferhuman scribe. What I can describe I can reproduce(or sim-
musical expertise to a computer and represent it ulate)." This represents three stages: knowledge
within the machine? How can we construct musi- acquisition, description, and formalization. To fully
cal knowledge bases incrementally? How can we get automate a composition process we have to know
the machine to explain its musical reasoning to a all about what goes on in a composer's brain (and
human being? There is nothing peculiar about mu- other interior organs) in a given cultural context.
sical expertise that would force us to use different For the moment we have only partial knowledge of
methods from those used in artificial intelligence the problems involved, which limits present expec-
applications today to solve these very legitimate tations in automated composition. A final remark:
problems. in all traditions or legends related to the myth of

Fig. 7. Page 1 of Ecorces
(1982) for five instruments
by Giuseppe Englert.
0
0
S ax n...
t. ...... .. ..
sig itte ...
7771'i -
" .
t>>"~1[ -
I lat
remoloF...... t.... .......nge . a ticulation mul tipl" o s mblable
automation, the simulation of man by artificial DavidJaffe:A goodcomposerdrawson a wealth

means is finally condemned and punished. This of practicalexperiencewith musicalmaterialsand
could explain why some of our colleagues become is versatilein a numberof techniques.Fora given
irrationally angry when discussion turns to musical piece, a composerdevelopswhatevertechniques
automation. areneededto producethe desiredexpression.When
David Rosenboom: I am very concerned with par- workingwith a computer,a composerwho can pro-
ticular kinds of applications of these processes. I be- gramcan depicta musicalidea in termsof a pro-
lieve this to be an absolutely valid and interesting gram.The programcan be completelydeterministic
pursuit and possibly, a new kind of music that can or haveprobabilisticelements.Evenif it is deter-
be listened to with new ears and a new type of mu- ministic, it maybe sufficientlycomplexthat the
sical attention. exact detailsof the outputcannotbe imaginedin
Roads 57

advance. However, this does not imply that the problems like the musician/machine interface. In
composer does not have a clear general conception an improved music programmingenvironment, it
of the result. would certainly be useful to automate specific com-
On the other hand, automation is not a prere- positional procedures,depending on the composi-
quisite for quality, nor does it guarantee quality. tion technique being used. For example, if one is a
It is neutral. It is just a technique that can be used friend of stochastic music, why not have the com-
toward artistic ends by an imaginative composer. In puter generate the randomnumbers rather than
my computer music, I have used a variety of tech- throwing dice or coins, like composers did in the
niques within a single piece that span a landscape 1950s? Or if one is obsessed by patterns, why not
from completely automated to completely manual have the computer generate them ad infinitum ac-
composition. Automation can be implemented on cording to the composer's rules?
any level of the compositional process. Often I will A complete automation of the composition pro-
specify exact pitch and rhythmic material but have cess is of merely scientific interest. Among other
automated systems controlling how these are used. things, composition involves emotions, and for
Sometimes automated systems can produce re- some it is pure emotion. So complete automation of
sults that could not be attained with manual tech- the composing process calls for a computer with
niques. For example, in Silicon Valley Breakdown, feelings. I would not object to listening to a com-
tempo, rubato, and phrasing are automated such puter composition created from a programmed
that groups of instruments can have wildly varying model of emotions. Let's hear what Maestro Com-
rubatos but still "understand"where they are in the puter wants to tell us!
music. Several schemes are used, depending on the Marc Battier: Automated musical processes are a
musical context. One scheme involves ensembles of general part of contemporarymusical thought. The
pseudo-instrumentalists, called voices. Each voice concept has been applied in instrumental music
follows its own tempo and rubato trajectory,yet (for example, Michel Philippot) and in electro-
within the context of this high level of contrapun- acoustic music studios (more evidently in Ameri-
tal independence, keeps track, from moment to can and Belgian studios). Computers offer a syste-
moment, of the resulting harmonic combinations. matic way of investigating this subject.
Based on what it "hears,"each voice or ensemble Horacio Vaggione:The role of the composer in
of voices can alter its own or another voice's pre- working with computers is to produce new musical
planned behavior. (This intervoice communication situations by programming.Automated processes
is implemented via message-passing in the Pla pro- are an important part of this approach.However,
gramming language.)In this manner, a responsive the composer is not limited to strategies like pure
improvisational ensemble is created that neverthe- determinism or pure stochastic processes. I am very
less remains faithful to the precomposed plan. interested in creating compositional systems in
Stephan Kaske: Every composer should know a which the software is based on collections of au-
little about how he or she works, since intuition is tonomous musical objects, that is, modules that
too nebulous a term for describing the composi- contain some kind of specific knowledge and are
tional process. So a simulation of creative phenom- thus able to execute well-defined tasks. These mod-
ena is definitely worth profound scientific inves- ules can be made available permanently so they are
tigation. But I wonder if I would be interested in available to form various networks of functions. A
automating composition to such an extent that I single message can activate any module, and the
would be only peripherallyinvolved in the com- module must respond by sending messages to all
position process. relevant modules. Activating a module by sending
We have to determine which processes of com- it a message accomplishes a specific musical task.
positional design could profit from automation. For example, one module might distribute sounds
Taking the most recent compositional resources in time according to a law of evolution on another
into account, we might best concentrate on urgent level, or direct the flux of sounds toward the inputs

Fig. 8. A graphic represen- fled to the left. The vertical rameters within the sound
tation (not a score) of two lines indicate simultane- of a chord, e.g., waveform
sample phrases from John ous chords. Lines with or filter changes. The
Bischoff'sNext Tone, arrows indicate nearly tempo is slow; for ex-
Please (1985). Each circle simultaneous chords. The ample, the first chord's
represents a three-tone "v"symbols represent duration is about four
chord in the range speci- regularly modulated pa- seconds.
"NEXT TONE, PLEASE"

John Bischoff
Sop. v v 1vvvvOvv VVVVVV vvv vv v v v

VVVv v Y vey
Alto 1vvvvvv
2YVv vvj vv
vjv-4v rvvv vv
Tenor I
Bass
1 2
of an automatic digital mixer according to messages point is important because traditionally,making

received from other modules. music has involved repeatedplaying and listening. I
don't see why it would be any different for com-
puter music. How does one try out ideas for a piece
What are the dangers of computer music? without actually defining and building the piece? In
computer music, once design decisions are made,
Giuseppe Engelert:There was a time when, by sing- they are harderto change because of the large
ing Verdi'snewest arias in the streets, people mani- amount of development time invested in them. A
fested their sympathy with the Italian independence related dangeris to get stuck in a perpetual design
movement and gave moral support to the activists, state and never make it to reviewing or testing the
the Carbonari.Verdi'soperas constituted a danger aesthetic assumptions one's work is based on.
to the Austrian power. Times have changed; music Joel Chadabe:Computer music is dangerousto per-
does not triggerrevolutions anymore. We have to forming musicians who depend on commercial jobs
admit that computer music is not dangerous. for living, because computers can produce accept-
Marc Battier: The time when computer music able orchestral sounds relatively inexpensively. The
sounded more computer than music has gone. I see same could be said of set designers who were put
no danger, except the dangerof being totally about of work by computer graphics used in film-
sorbed by computer programming.However, pro- making. Overall, we're entering an age when
gramming will be less and less associated with people's ideas of what is amusing is changing, and I
computer music in the future, in that musical tools fear that the music literature that I grew up with,
will be offered to composers. These will partly fill and the method of its delivery (i.e., performancesin
the gap between the composer's intentions and the concert halls) will seem increasingly less rewarding.
means of realizing them. The dangerwould be to
lose control of the development of these tools, and
as Phillipe M6nardused to say, let Radio Shack do What are the worst cliches of computer music?
it all.
John Bischoff: Computer music systems of any Herbert Briin: The drone and the loop. It is not
kind are so much more complicated than musical enough that they are the cheapest bragof "can-do-
instruments of the past that there is a tendency for ism," they play a hapless tribute to just that which
a composer to spend increasingly more time de- holds them in freezing contempt: well-tempered
signing a piece and much less time playing it. This tonality.
Roads 59

Kaija Saariaho:Quite often computer music com- more portable, so that we could use them in my
posers focus their ambitions on purely technical as- remote province.
pects, for example extremely complex algorithms Otto Laske: The most important aspect I would
for composition or synthesis. Little attention is want to change is the way in which computer mu-
paid to the fundamentally musical elements. This sic is taught today. I would like to see the notion of
lack of attention does not stem from a radical ap- a "computer"interpretedmore broad-mindedly.A
proach that searches for musical solutions for new comprehensive computer music curriculum that
directions, but rather stems from a lack of interest. deserves the name would have to include cognitive,
The consequence is that what is heard is often mu- historical, technological, and scientific topics. It
sically conventional, and the solutions are banal. would also have to include a "composition theory"
Too many computer pieces are like audible games, that discusses musical planning, as well as topics
without any artistic content or depth. The worst relating to sonology (i.e., systematic orchestration
clich6 is a cold, technologically meaningless and based on insights into the score). Artificial intel-
boring-soundingpiece that supposedly is made with ligence topics such as planning paradigms,expert
ingenious algorithms. This strongly contradicts the systems, and knowledge representations should be
searching spirit that is usual among computer mu- included as a matter of course, on a par with digital
sic composers. Maybe the equipment has been too signal processing and software engineering.
elementary to enable composers to save their en- At the present time, the limitations of "computer
ergy for composition after the tiring programming. music" in the very narrowsense are becoming quite
Probablyalso many computer music composers apparent.One knows a bunch of very idiosyncratic
have until now been more interested in technologi- sound-synthesis techniques, displayed in overlong
cal aspects than music itself. pieces, and they are giveaways. They classify a work
David Jaffe:The assumption that loudspeakerplace- based on the techniques it uses. But that is why we
ment is irrelevantand unimportant is counterpro- abandoned"electronic music"!
ductive to the advancement of computer music. There is very little interest today in teaching
Although there have been composers such as [D.] computer music in the broadsense of a computer
Scarlatti who have written for only one instrument, as a symbol manipulator (ratherthan a data proces-
most composers since the seventeenth century have sor), which would introduce a broadspectrum of re-
written for a variety of musical forces. It will be a lated disciplines. This I would like to change.
pity if computer musicians forget this and write all Clarence Barlow: I would not want to change any-
their music for four speakers in a square or two thing, but I wish all the same that I could be con-
speakers in the front of a room. I would like to see fronted with less music resulting from inscrutably
more experimentation with nonstandardspeaker abstract, extramusically autonomous processes in-
placements and nonstandardspeakers. The idea audible to me as a listener. I want to hear more mu-
that speakers should be completely general is also sic resulting in an obvious way from a musically
counterproductive.I would like to see idiosyncratic powerful idea, such as was desirable as a matter of
"speaker-instruments"built to have a certain desir- course before computers entered the scene.
able sound and projection, in a manner analogous to
a fine violin. Perhapscomputer musicians will have
to become loudspeaker artisans. What is your assessment of the state of computer
music in today's society?
If you could change some aspect of current Marc Battier: The French state radio has two pro-
computer music practice, what would that be? grams devoted to culture and music. Computer mu-
sic is often played on these programs, and also on
Jean-ClaudeRisset: I would want to have the won- other private stations. There have also been several
derful programsthat exist or are being developed be educational programs. We may regret that these pro-

grams spend more time talking about the music sell insurance, and some programcomputers. The
than playing new pieces. Also, due to the fact that most valuable commodity for a composer is time,
we have several music research centers in France, enough time to compose. The time must be steady
computer music can often be heard in concert. and must continue for a lifetime if the composer is
HerbertBriin: Not being a fame-backed composer I to have a chance of developing a mature style.
can only assert with some evidence and full convic- Horacio Vaggione:Apropos the subject of the "com-
tion that my six pieces in SAWDUSTare (a)credible poser seduced into programming"I recommend the
complimentary acknowledgments of the immense readerto the article by Gareth Loy that appearedin
gift presented to me by technology, (b)the most Perspectives of New Music 1980-81. Before offer-
radical display of "computer age composition" to ing a well-articulated panoramaof the dangersand
date, and (c) one of the successful attempts to re- advantages,and of the technical and subjective
store living interest in the function of composed changes that can result from the interaction of the
music to contemporarylistener's society. composer and the machine, Loy cites this statement
by Harry Partch:"I am not an instrument builder,
but a philosophic music-man seduced into carpen-
Manymusiciansinvolvedin the new musical try." Of course, Loy speaks of positive seduction,
technologies have noticed the of
danger being like that music students experience for their instru-
"seduced"into programming or another ments. He also points out the aesthetic aspects of
extramusicalagenda.Do you see this as a the practice of programming.Composers were the
for
problem yourself? first to use the computer for artistic purposes. The
resemblance of composing and programmingis ob-
Giuseppe Englert: Some extraordinarypianists have vious, since both deal with processes that evolve in
been "seduced"into becoming composers. Percus- time defined by specific constraints. From a musi-
sionists have become conductors. This is not to cal point of view, however, the finality of program-
of
speak composers who become managers or ma- ming does not rest in itself, but in the musical
nipulators. How comforting that in the fast field in results that the composer can produce with his
and aroundmusic, where so many disciplines inter- digital partner.
mingle, one can be seduced by one activity rather Composers "seduced"into programmingin the
than by others! In my case, I still compose and per- negative sense are people who lose their need to
form music, and love programming. produce music in orderto dedicate themselves ex-
David Rosenboom: I don't see this as a problem par- clusively to the exploration of communication with
ticularly. I am often frustratedby the drudgeryof the machine. At this moment, we can say they are
programming,as I am by the of
drudgery copying no longer musicians. But they can become good
parts from a score. I have learned, however, to ac- programmersif their interest takes them that far. In
cept both as necessary parts of musical activity. I the same way, this ex-musician programmercan be-
can, at times, even transformboth into almost medi- come a fine collaboratorfor a composer that doesn't
tative, creative disciplines. I enjoy very much the understandcomputer science but who desires to
creative aspects of programmingand creation of cir- work on certain ideas and musical images whose
cuitry, for both have led to many new musical con- characteristics (e.g., complexity) could only be ac-
cepts and methods. complished by means of computers.
David Jaffe:The problem is not a dangerof being HerbertBriin: I wish I were a brilliant programmer.
"seduced."The problem is that being a "composer" My respect for those who are good programmersis
is still not considered an honest profession in the deep and affectionate. Nothing whatever can belong
United States of America, although in some circles to an "extramusical agenda" once I have used it for
it is a fashionable hobby. Nearly all American com- the composition and realization and implementa-
posers have to support themselves doing something tion of a "piece of music."
other than music composition. Some teach, some Marc Battier: Generally speaking, I notice that those
Roads 61

composers who have had to write programsin order computer/synthesizer. The relation between image
to compose have a different view of computer mu- and music was improvised and not strict.
sic. At IRCAM,we have composers who program, Since 1981 visual artists have become more am-
others who don't, and in between those who can bitious concerning resolution and color, and they
transcribe traditional scores into data for a program are no longer satisfied with portable equipment.
such as the SCOREinput language. However, we all The very high cost of renting video equipment for
know of musicians who have been completely concert spaces has become an obstacle to our com-
eaten up by the computer, and who have combined performances.
pletely quit their musical activities. The other side The fact that the performanceof computer music
of the problem is the composer who only works is not visually spectacular has deprivedus of the
with tools developed by another composer, and is support of television. This may partially account
thereby limited. Nevertheless, programmingis a for the difficulty of inserting computer music into
natural aspect of computing, and music is a field in general musical life.
progress, so programmingnew musical models Joel Chadabe:The idea of interactive composing is
seems now a part of contemporary musical easily extendible to video, computer graphics, and
thought. dance. Video images can be used in parallel with
Joel Chadabe:I do not think composers have a mo- the music. Since the performancedevice in an in-
nopoly on creativity. I know researchersand equip- teractive composing system can be freely chosen, a
ment designers who are more creative than many device that translates physical dance motions into
composers. It is understandablethat at this point in music information can allow dancers to be perform-
the development of computer music, the design of ers of music.
the instruments themselves is a primary concern. David Rosenboom: I have been involved with mul-
Many people are likely to become involved in this, timedia work a long time, certainly before my first
including composers. It is fascinating, and should work with computers. Most recently, I have created
not be derided.In my own case, writing the PLAY two works in this category. In the Beginning (The
program,I have noted the satisfaction one feels in Story) was written in 1980 for chamber orchestra,
doing something that others might find useful. But film, and synthetic speech. A complex fabric of
outside of that excursion into general-purposesoft- music created with a model of proportionalstruc-
ware development, I have not been tempted by tures (pitch and rhythm), melodic shape contours,
general-purposework. That might well change, stochastic selection processes, and other subjective
however, in the future. musical concerns was created in part with the aid
of a computer.
This music was combined with a text, a dialogue
Are you interested in combining your musical of synthetic speech, and a film (photographedby
works with other media? George Manupelli).The film depicted surrealscenes
of clay-coveredfigures acting in relation to the text.
Giuseppe Englert:Between 1976 and 1981 our The artistic subject concerns modeling behavior,
GroupeArt et Informatiquede Vincennes gave many evolution, and the development of global human
concerts, with great success. In these concerts, vi- consciousness.
sual artists (Bret,Huitric, Nahas) displayed on a The second work, Daytime Viewing, was created
video screen animated images realized in real time over the period from 1979 to 1982 in collaboration
by the COLORXsystem (L.Audoire) controlled by with the artist JacquelineHumbert. It involves mu-
a DEC LSI-11 computer. Accompanying the visuals sic performedwith computer-aidedinstruments,
were musicians (M. Battier, G. Dalmasso, Holle- visual material created by mixing photographic,
ville, Hunstiger, and me) playing on hybrid com- drawing, and computer graphics processes, elec-
puter/synthesizers (computer-controlled analog tronic processing of sung and spoken text, video,
synthesizers), and then on the Synclavier I digital fashion and costume design, and theatrical perfor-
62 ComputerMusic Journal

mance. The work is concerned with modern com- Otto Laske: Since 1980 I have repeatedly collabo-
munication media, television, and images of women rated with a modern dance choreographer(my wife,
in contemporary society. Peggy Brightman),and have come to appreciatethe
Kaija Saariaho:In my piece Study for Life (1980) I more than musical concerns that enter into such a
combined white light and dancer with electronic collaboration. I am particularlyinterested in works
tape and soprano. The light part is very precisely where choreographerand composer use a common
scored. It represents in my mind a visual parameter plan but different computer programs(planning
for some musical ideas in the piece, since all the aids) to accomplish it. An example of this way of
material on tape consists of sounds made with glass, working is Windshadows (1982) for flute, dancer,
which in turn gave me associations of reflections, and mobile, with Peggy Brightman.
different intensities, and shadings. After this piece I In Windshadows, the choreographyis based on
have had many plans to continue work in this direc- output from G. M. Koenig'sProjectOne program,
tion. For example, I would like to try to realize my and the music is based on output from Iannis Xena-
formal ideas with video. I see in video and in music kis's ST program.These programsact as planning
many common factors, the most important being aids for designing and realizing a form. In Wind-
that they are both arts in time. In my composi- shadows, both the dance and the music are based
tional work I use much drawing, and I would also on the idea of a sequence of events whose distri-
like to try to realize these ideas in visual form. bution in time and space increases up to a mid-
Artistic experience can be used to enlarge several point, and then returns to its initial state. To realize
senses, and the senses are naturally intertwined. In this idea musically, I defined a form in five sections
my score for Study for Life I ask that the room be for solo flute with the aid of the ST program.Peggy
filled with scents. I am also interested in multi- Brightmanused Koenig'sprogramto yield a blue-
dimensional works of art, but in the abstract, strict print for each section that would correspondin
sense. Right now I am working with a spectacle, certain ways to my structure. This blueprint was
where music is connected to actors' movements. interpreted by the choreographer/dancerteam in
The amplified, well-controlled breathing of the terms of Rudolf Laban'sEffort/Shapetheory of
actors is part of the music, which also consists of movement.
tapes and live processing of sound.
Roads 63


Meta Instruments 3 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Meta Instruments 3 PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Meta Instruments 3 PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Symposium on Computer Music Composition

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

Introduction Otto Laske (Boston, Massachusetts USA)

40 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

42 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

44 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

Pt' -o------- ----? • -4 ....

_..... .. ...___ __.. . .. - -4

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

46 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

48 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

band. None comes, none comes, none comes, none

comes comes. They ad - mi- re me_ _ but pass me by, they

.. . , . • .. . .... ".. • . . " -

50 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

54 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

56 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

automation, the simulation of man by artificial DavidJaffe:A goodcomposerdrawson a wealth

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

58 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

"NEXT TONE, PLEASE"

Sop. v v 1vvvvOvv VVVVVV vvv vv v v v

of an automatic digital mixer according to messages point is important because traditionally,making

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

60 Computer Music Journal

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

This content downloaded on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:58:34 PM

You might also like

_..... .. ..._ .. . .. - -4