21M.380 | Spring 2010 | Undergraduate

Music and Technology: Algorithmic and Generative Music

Lecture Notes

The course lecture notes are presented, one chapter per session, in the table below.

The following two files can be added to the individual chapters to produce a complete set of notes.

  • Cover & Table of Contents (PDF)
  • References (PDF)

The complete set of notes is compiled here as a single large file for ease of downloading (PDF - 11.8MB).

SES # TOPICS LECTURE NOTES
1 Foundations: Algorithmic and generative music systems (PDF)
2 Foundations: Musical parameters, mappings, and tools (PDF)
3 Approaches: Distributions and stochastics (PDF)
4 Foundations: Historical and categorical perspectives (PDF)
5 History: Serialism, loops, tiling, and phasing (PDF)
6 Workshop (PDF)
7 History: Michele Gottfried Koenig (PDF)
8 Approaches: Permutations, generators, and chaos (PDF)
9 History: Lejaren Hiller (PDF)
10 Approaches: Probability and Markov chains (PDF - 1.3MB)
11 Workshop (PDF)
12 History: Iannis Xenakis (PDF)
13 Approaches: Non-standard synthesis (PDF)
14 Approaches: Granular and concatenative synthesis (PDF)
15 Approaches: Mapping, sonification, and data bending (PDF)
16 Workshop (PDF)
17 Approaches: Cellular automata (PDF)
18 Approaches: Genetic algorithms (PDF)
19 Approaches: Grammars and L-Systems (PDF)
20 History: Mechanical musical automata (PDF - 2.9MB)
21 Workshop (PDF)
22 Approaches: Agents and ecological models (PDF)
23 Approaches: Expert systems and style emulation (PDF)
24 Discussion: Aesthetics and evaluations (PDF)
25 - 26 Sonic system project presentations (PDF)

Course Info

As Taught In
Spring 2010
Learning Resource Types
Music
Projects with Examples
Lecture Notes
Written Assignments with Examples
Design Assignments with Examples