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From: janzen@pipa.DEC (Thomas E. J. LMO4/B5 279-5421 ECL Test)
Newsgroups: net.music.synth
Subject: improvisation by computer
Message-ID: <2605@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Jun-85 08:54:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.2605
Posted: Tue Jun 11 08:54:52 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Jun-85 01:39:40 EDT
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Re: machine improvisation
Computer improvisation has been done live on stage at least by Automatic 
Composers or something like that in San Francisco when New Music America was
there a few years ago.  The different micros talked to each other over serial
lines I think and intereacted, each doing something slightly random and the
others also, but interacting.  It was pretty awful, and they had a technical
problem that made it worse.  

	Anyway, there is certainly a potential in machine improvisation.
I was very interested in it, but am too cheap to buy a computer and too lazy
to build an industrial switch to run my 60-voice synth.  Otherwise I would
have tried it by now.  

	I am not interested in pop or rock at all, so I could make improv
rules for the machine that were easy for it to implement, rather than try to
implement ancient human rules of harmony.  I am interestd in live on stage
improvisation.  Oh yeah, I did make a computer improvise a little, using rules
similar to Hiller's in Illiac suite.  Hiller's was a machine-as-composer 
program from the fifties.

Tom Janzen  DEC Marlboro MA   A New Music America Reject

Posted:	Tue 11-Jun-1985 08:52 EST
To:	@SYNTH