source file: mills2.txt Date: Sat, 30 Nov 1996 14:08:12 -0800 Subject: Re: TUNING digest 910 From: "Marcus Hobbs" > eric lyon writes: > In recent post, Brian discussed "computer generated music", and > chose to define it as the situation where a composer sets up a random > system and accepts the output from the program, direct to DAT. This > is a perfectly useless definition. I know many computer music > composers and not a single one works this way. i've done a lot of "experimenting" with algorithmic composition (i like using symbolic composer, as much as i wish it were interactive rather than a compiler) and i find myself editing the resulting material "by hand" (or by ear, rather). that is, the output of the algorithm is not at all completely satisfactory to me, so i interactively modify the results in my sequencer according to my musical taste, rather than try to modify the algorithm to produce the desired changes. the exact deviation from the algorithm is hard to characterize in terms of symbols, or the algorithm itself, but my ear determines it quite nicely. i get my surprises from the algorithm (i claim that i couldn't have created these complex sequences on my own), yet i get to put my individual stamp on the results. i like working this way! this is in line with how i work professionally, as a computer graphics dude. i write algorithms/shaders that achieve 99% of my goal, and hand-paint that last 1%. i find that visually, people expect imperfections in the artwork, at all scales--from the actual grain of the drawn line, to the animation itself. the exact amount of imperfection is hard to characterize in terms of symbols, but my eye recognizes it quite nicely as i interactively modify the artwork. marcus Received: from ns.ezh.nl [137.174.112.59] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sun, 1 Dec 1996 00:23 +0100 Received: by ns.ezh.nl; (5.65v3.2/1.3/10May95) id AA12590; Sun, 1 Dec 1996 00:25:40 +0100 Received: from eartha.mills.edu by ns (smtpxd); id XA12689 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id PAA23073; Sat, 30 Nov 1996 15:25:37 -0800 Date: Sat, 30 Nov 1996 15:25:37 -0800 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu