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Cellular Automata and Music Using Java

Posted by simoniker on from the musical-geekout dept.

Justin Powell writes "Take computers, mathematics, and the Java Sound API, add in some Java code, and you've got a recipe for creating some uniquely fascinating music. IBM Staff Software Engineer Paul Reiners demonstrates how to implement some basic concepts of algorithmic music composition in the Java language. He presents code examples and resulting MIDI files generated by the Automatous Monk program, which uses the open source jMusic framework to compose music based on mathematical structures called cellular automata."

7 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. DNA Music by A3thling · · Score: 5, Informative

    Lets hope it sounds better than DNA music. That was tried a while ago and was horrible.

    --
    Josh
  2. Fractal music by VAXGeek · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you like that, try this: Fractmus 2000 (win32)

    --
    this sig limit is too small to put anything good h
  3. KeyKit by jbum · · Score: 4, Informative

    My personal preference for coding this kind of thing:

    KeyKit, an awk-like language designed specifically for manipulating MIDI data.

    http://nosuch.com/keykit/

  4. Re:Visual Music by rexguo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Also, the short write-up we handed out during the exhibition can be found here.

    --
    www.rexguo.com - Technologist + Designer
  5. Re:For the same reason that lots of things are nic by paulbd · · Score: 3, Informative

    jmusic has nothing on the facilities offered by the programs mentioned in the parent. PD is an incredible environment for experimental music composition.

  6. from the my-favourite-artist-is-3.14159265.. dept. by Samah · · Score: 3, Informative

    After following some links, here's some cool human-assisted mathematically-generated music:
    http://www.geocities.com/vienna/9349/

    The first prime number and pi midi files are awesome ;)

    Might hafta wait til tomorrow tho - looks like the guy's geocities account got /.'d already =)

    --
    Homonyms are fun!
    You're driving your car, but they're riding their bikes there.
  7. Staff software engineer? by Number44 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm puzzled why the poster referred to the title of the guy as "Staff Software Engineer" as if it's something special at IBM. Not to denigrate the work he's done, but 'staff engineer' is not worth mentioning. In context as seen from an IBM Engineers perspective (I'm also staff, fwiw) it's pretty funny that you would even include it. Here's the ranks for those that might care:

    Band 1-5: The non-technical types.

    Band 6: "nothing" Engineer (new hires)

    Band 7: Staff Engineer (basically, you get staff in your first few years at IBM unless you're a total moron, and if you DON'T make staff at some point they basically have to promote or fire you)

    Band 8: Advisory Engineer (most IBM engineers spend the bulk of their career as advisory)

    Band 9: Senior Engineer (the fastest I've seen senior made was 10 years, and it's typically 15+ before you get to senior)

    Band 10: Senior Technical Staff Member or STSM (most engineers at IBM never make it this far)

    Band 11: Distinguished Engineer (you have to walk on water and have saved entire villages from destruction to get to this, you basically do whatever you want with a huge budget and work on only the coolest stuff)

    Band 12: IBM Fellow (you are the uber shiznit, report to the execs, and the world is your oyster)

    Look at this as an insight into the workings of the hive mind at IBM. We are the borg, yada yada yada.