Computer generated music

Computer-generated music is music composed by, or with the extensive aid of, a computer. Although any music which uses computers in its composition or realisation is computer-generated to some extent, the use of computers is now so widespread (in the editing of pop songs, for instance) that the phrase computer-generated music is generally used to mean a kind of music which could not have been created without the use of computers.

We can distinguish two groups. Those were computer generated the score, which could be performed by humans, and computer generated and performed music.

Computer generated Scores

One old and well known system to generate music score, was actually well before the time of computers. Mozart’s Musikalisches Würfelspiel was a system which used dice throws to select random measure from a large collection of small phrases, patched together these created musical pieces. Although not actually done with a computer, Mozart uses, though in rudimentary form, the same techniques that computers would later use.

One of the first composers to write music with a computer was Iannis Xenakis. He wrote programs in the FORTRAN language which would automatically produce scores to be played by traditional musical instruments. An example is ST/48 of 1962.

Computers have also been used in an attempt to imitate the music of great composers of the past, such as Mozart.

A present exponent of this is David Cope. He wrote computer programs that analyse works of other to produce new work from them. He has used this program to great effect which composers such as Bach, Mozart. But also on pieces of himself, combining his own creations with that of the computer.

Critics claim that computers are unable to produce music of the same quality as the great composers.